Benkiko is a Kenyan Blockchain startup that is working on a digital bank with the goal of making Cryptocurrencies easier to use for day-to-day payments.
Cryptocurrencies are a set of digital Currencies that are enabled by the emergent Blockchain technology and whose advantages and transformations we can’t begin to imagine right now. With the first attempt being that of Satoshi Nakamoto who created Bitcoin in 2009.
Blockchain is simply put, a ledger that tracks the movement of value between people online, anonymously and can enable the value to be moved as fast as information can across the globe. Something Benkiko hopes could power intra-Africa trade within the African Free Trade Area.
Benkiko is based on The Stellar Blockchain. Established in 2014, Stellar has distinguished itself from other Blockchains by being the Internet of Money blockchain with other advantages being ease of issuing your own crypto tokens easily.
Benkiko currently has one token called Benkiko USD, USBD is it’s ticker symbol. With USDB users are able to deposit to the Benkiko platform easily and with its support for over 54 currencies, users can send money globally instantly at near-zero fees.
Benkiko’s big vision is pegged on the growing digital economy. With the current internet penetration in Kenya and Africa, Benkiko strives to help its users take advantage of the internet opportunities available to send, pay, and get paid online.
Another big catch and advantage for its users is the ability to Do More with your money online. This, the team says, using the convenience of Stellar blockchain, everyone else can be able to issue their own digitally tradable, and exchangeable tokens which could in fact represent digital securities to businesses and startups, community currencies, rights to ownership and access, and other limitless possibilities.
To put this into perspective, imagine you’re running a startup that’d like to raise funds. No Angel investors or VC in sight, you can issue digital tokens for your startup which the general public can buy to invest in you. The digital tokens for your startup work as digital shares and people can buy and sell them easily just like in the stock exchange.
Ideally, this enables you and everyone else to become an investor with as little as $1 something we couldn’t do before.
With the buzz going on about DeFi projects, NFTs and crypto in general, this seems like a good opportunity to get our people’s hands on this revolutionary technology that promises to level the playing field for everyone as well as make the world a real digital village.
Some of the unique features Benkiko has include;
- Deposits and Withdrawals – You can easily deposit to your Benkiko account through Mpesa, and bank accounts.
- Send – Enabling you to send money locally and globally at the same low fees.
- Request – This unique feature looks to power online commerce on Social platform where you can copy a payment link and share to receive payments.
- Exchange – Like the feature says, you’ll be able to buy and sell all the tokens available on Benkiko in a few clicks.
- Benkiko Store – Like Play store where you find all your Android app, apps powered by Benkiko will be found on the Benkiko store, directly integrated with your wallet for easy payments.
- APIs and SDKs – Enabling startups, businesses to deploy services that are powered by Benkiko.
The growth for The Digital Bank for The Digital Economy has been tremendous with almost 1000 users in just 3 months. We can only wait and see.
The biggest challenge, the team says, has been interpretation of the law in relation to such nascent technology as it is not clear which agency is responsible for such matters.
You can download the Benkiko app on Google Playstore here.
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