A recurring theme throughout MoneyConf was the value proposition that cryptocurrency holds for non-Western consumers living in unstable economies. Due to be launched later this year, Kuvacash is a new cryptocurrency platform that seeks to address the catastrophic effect that hyperinflation has had in Zimbabwe.
Powered by digital currency Dash, the new peer-to-peer payment system enables consumers to exchange US dollars for blockchain tokens, which can then be used to pay for goods or services at any retailer that uses the Kuva app or to send and receive money instantly via a phone number without the need for a bank account.
In addition to the platform itself the brand is instigating wider change by using Kuvacash to re-imagine the transport network in Zimbabwe’s capital city, Harare. With the city’s council vying to ban the city’s highly polluting kombis but failing to propose any viable public transport alternatives, the brand is proposing an emissions-free, aerial cable car that will integrate with its payment system to transport passengers across the capital’s central business district.
For more on how young Africans are investing in their future through cryptocurrency, see our Generation Z Money Market.