Online payment still a problem in Nigeria – App developer

Could you tell us a little about yourself?Nikunj Handa: I was educated in Singapore and hold two bachelor’s degrees in Finance and Information Systems Management. I have a great interest in social entrepreneurship and crypto-currencies.I was working for the Meltwater Entrepreneurial School of Technology in Accra, Ghana, as a technical teaching fellow for a year […]

Could you tell us a little about yourself?
Nikunj Handa: I was educated in Singapore and hold two bachelor’s degrees in Finance and Information Systems Management. I have a great interest in social entrepreneurship and crypto-currencies.I was working for the Meltwater Entrepreneurial School of Technology in Accra, Ghana, as a technical teaching fellow for a year before I started Kitiwa. I was training young Ghanaian entrepreneurs to build tech start-ups, websites and mobile apps.
How did Kitiwa come about?
Handa: Kitiwa is something we have been working on for the past three months.People in Ghana and Nigeria have a big problem making online payments. Paypal is still not in Ghana. Local visa and Mastercard cards often don’t work. Ghanaians and Nigerians needed an easier way to pay for things online and so we started Kitiwa to allow them to buy bitcoins and pay for things online. We are the only company selling bitcoins at a fair price to Ghanaians and soon, Nigerians. In this region, West Africa, I can say that Kitiwa is an entirely new creation.
How much impact has Kitiwa had in Africa?
Handa: Kitiwa is currently only in Ghana but aims to launch in Nigeria as soon as it gets regulatory approval. We are hoping that this happens by the end of September.It has gained popularity in Ghana and we are expecting a similar response in Nigeria, largely due to the fact that Ghanaians and Nigerians face the same problems when it comes to online payments and remittances.
What’s the origin and meaning of the name ‘Kitiwa’?
Handa: ‘Kitiwa’ is a word in the Twi language (spoken in parts of Ghana). It means ‘small’ and is often used by people to refer to small amounts of money.
What audience did you target when you were creating it?
Handa: Ordinary Ghanaians and Nigerians, who would like to make online purchases. Ghanaian and Nigerian merchants, who would like to accept payments easily, with very low fees. Ghanaians and Nigerians in the diaspora who would like to send money back home to their friends and family cheaply and instantly.We achieved a part of our goal by allowing ordinary Ghanaians to easily make online payments using bitcoins. This will soon be replicated in Nigeria. After that, we will focus our efforts on merchant payments and remittances.
What exactly is Kitiwa app about?
Handa: Currently, it allows users to buy bitcoins online using mobile money options and bank transfers. It will soon enable bitcoin remittances and merchant payments. I have been an enthusiast of the currency and have been following it in the news.
Who/what has been your greatest motivation?
Handa: I am very inspired by Muhammad Yunus, the founder of the Nobel Peace Prize winning, Grameen Bank. The work he did in the area of microfinance to liberate poor Bangladeshis out of poverty with microloans was very inspirational. I would like to do the same with Kitiwa in allowing Ghanaians and Nigerians, easily and cheaply, make and accept online payments. I would also like to lower the cost of remittances so that Ghanaians and Nigerians can send more money home, easily, without spending too much money on fees. We are also going to provide a very easy to use and much cheaper service than our competitors.
We are partnering with payment providers and banks. We are working on partnerships with government bodies. For now we raise funds from Angel investors and VCs, like most other start-ups.
Can you explain what ‘crypto-currencies’ are?
Handa: Crypto-currencies are a new breed of digital currencies that are based cryptography. In other words, they use cryptographic functions to work in the “backend.” The common man is usually not exposed to this complexity. To a common user, they are just like any other digital currency (like mobile money or the money in you PayPal account). Bitcoin was the first crypto-currency to be created. It was created in 2009.
How did you come to Africa?
Handa: I came to Ghana to work for the Meltwater Entrepreneurial School of Technology (meltwater.org). I spent a year teaching young Ghanaian graduates how to start software companies, build websites and mobile apps. After the year, I left my job to start Kitiwa.
Many may not agree with you that Nigerians have problems making online payments. What is the basis for which you make this assumption?
Handa: Many of our users have complained that their Nigerian Visa or MasterCard cards get rejected on some websites. Until recently, Nigerians were also very frustrated because there was no PayPal. Merchants also find it difficult to accept payments in Nigeria. PayPal still doesn’t allow Nigerian merchants to accept payments. We made these conclusions based on these conversations that we have had with our beta-testers and customers.
In general, bitcoins are a better solution to making and accepting online payments because they are decentralised. Unlike Visa, MasterCard or PayPal, that are centralised solutions, bitcoins are not governed by any one person or company. It is possible that one day, PayPal might decide to leave Nigeria again, or that Visa or MasterCard might make it increasingly difficult and more expensive for Nigerians to use their services.However, it is impossible that bitcoin will discriminate against Nigeria, Ghana or any other country. Bitcoins, as a decentralised solution, will always be accessible to Nigerians and Ghanaians at the same speed and cost at which they are to the rest of the world. Transacting in bitcoin is much, much cheaper for merchants than using PayPal, Visa or MasterCard.
How much have you interacted with the Nigerian business terrain?
Handa: Not much. I am only starting to get exposed to it. People in Nigeria have been contacting us in Ghana and trying to buy bitcoins from us. There is clearly a need in the market.
Could you shed more light about the currency ‘bitcoin’?
Handa: This is a very broad topic. But the main thing to focus on is that bitcoins are a currency like the US dollar or the Nigerian naira. They can be moved around from one person to another instantly and extremely cheaply (<USD 0.04 per transaction, regardless of amount). They are decentralised so they cannot blacklist Nigeria. Nigerians will always have access to bitcoins.
How exactly does the Kitiwa start-up work?
Handa: People come to kitiwa.com and buy bitcoins using mobile money. They send us the money and we send them the bitcoins. Soon we aim to allow Nigerians in the diaspora to use kitiwa.com to send money back home using bitcoins. We plan to convert the bitcoins to naira and give it to Nigerians using the existing mobile money solutions.
What kinds of challenges have regulatory approval and education posed to you and is this only in Nigeria?
Handa: No, this is both in Ghana and Nigeria. We have to get appropriate approvals for doing business in Ghana and Nigeria before we can launch. Unfortunately, bitcoins are a new concept and are not regulated in Ghana and Nigeria yet. So, it takes time for the government to understand this new space and give us approval.
When you are not working, what are you doing?
Handa: I like to travel when I am not working.