Kelvin Mulama (Kenya) - Community Banking: A Pathway to Financial Inclusion for the Poor
Shopokoa is a community-based lending platform that uses technology to make it easier for SMEs in Africa to access financial services. Shopokoa is a community-based lending platform that uses a variety of technologies to make it easier for SMEs in Africa to access the funding they need.
- Blockchain: Shopokoa uses blockchain to track all transactions on the platform. This makes the platform more secure and transparent, and it also reduces the risk of fraud.
- Artificial intelligence (AI): AI is used to assess the creditworthiness of borrowers and to set interest rates. This helps to ensure that borrowers are able to repay their loans and the community is able to earn a return on their investment.
- Community banking App: Shopokoa offers a community banking app that allows SMEs to access their accounts and manage their finances on the go. They can send and receive money,pay bills and access the funding they need through the app.
- Mobile point-of-sale (POS) device for merchants: This device allows merchants to accept digital payments from customers.
- Cash in/cash out agents: ShopOkoa has a network of cash in/cash out agents who allow SMEs to deposit and withdraw cash from their savings accounts.
How Shopokoa works:
A small business owner downloads the Shopokoa app, signs up, selects a country, and joins the country's community. They can then start saving to the community pool and request a loan at a lower interest rate from the pool. At the end of each financial year, the interest earned is shared among the community members as a dividend, which encourages everyone to repay their loans on time.
Website: https://www.shopokoa.com/
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