在中国，我们这代人十分有幸生活在一个金融快速普及的年代，它为我们的生活带来了太多的便利，举个最简单的应用场景：当你拥有一张银行卡，你就可以在你身边最近的银行 ATM 完成最基础的提现、转账等操作；或者是在各个商业场所，线上平台等进行无现金消费。而现在，移动支付（如微信支付，支付宝，Apple Pay）的普及，你甚至无需持有银行卡，只要拿着一台每天都会随身必备的手机，既可完成以上一系列事情 …

没错，这就是「普惠金融」所为我们生活带来的幸福感提升，而这也是我国的战略发展计划。不过，当我们切换到全球视野，在我们每天都习以为常享受着金融普及所带来便利的同时，你没有想到的是，全球有超过数十亿人连最基础的金融服务都无法接触过，他们面临着贫困，交通不发达，用电困难，互联网普及不足，无力购买手机，缺少对金融机构的信任，缺少有效身份证明等等。

对于全球这些弱势群体来说，他们可能连一张银行卡都没有，自然所有衍生的金融场景就不复存在了，甚者有时对于那些生活在山区的人们每一次转账，提现都要付出超过半天甚至一天的时间。

基础设施尚未普及，使用成本必然大幅增加...

因此，为了解决这个问题。 Kora 应运而生。它是一个试图采用区块链技术，为社会各阶层人士提供「低成本」的金融服务平台，为什么要使用区块链技术呢？因为涉及到金融，「信用与信任」必然是最大的问题所在，只有信用和被信任才能解决金融断层问题，而这恰恰就是区块链技术中最显著的一个特性。

Kora 要解决的不仅于此，它还将试图运用区块链技术应用到传统生活资产多种领域。由此，创造一个传统行业无法达到的信任，安全，和透明化的高效能市场。

那么，Kora 具体是怎样解决这些问题的呢，为了让各位更加深入的了解这个项目，我们有幸请到了 Kora Network CEO Dickson Nsofor 做客链眼（lianyan.pro），下面我们依旧将采用访谈的形式帮助你了解 Kora 的背后创新之处。

# 贴心小提示：以下提供英文和中文翻译两种语言，为了保证语言的纯正性和精确性，具有英文阅读能力者请以英文为准 #

Q：Thanks to Kora CEO Dickson Nsofor, for the lianyan.pro interview, first of all, we introduce ourselves, I believe this is the first time that you have participated in an interview with the media from China. lianyan.pro is a project reporting platform dedicated to exploring innovative block chain research. We will use interviews to help the block chain supporters understand the story and innovation behind block chain projects. Then, please introduce yourself and your team first?

非常荣幸 Kora CEO Dickson Nsofor, 参与 链眼（lianyan.pro）访谈栏目，相信这或许也是你们第一次接受中国媒体采访，简单介绍一下我们，链眼（lianyan.pro）是一家致力于探索创新区块链研究的项目报告平台，我们将引用创新的访谈形式（社区可共同参与）来帮助区块链爱好者了解项目开发团队背后的故事与愿景，那么，请介绍一下你和你的团队吧？

A: I am Dickson Nsofor, CEO of Kora. Kora is a financial services company that utilizes blockchain as an infrastructure to provide financial services for users without the huge cost of establishing and running a brick and mortar financial institution. Kora is committed to alleviating poverty through the smart use of technology, leveraging blockchain as a tool to make the lives of people better, especially in emerging communities.

We at Kora see blockchain as the missing piece that will connect people, communities and capital. At Kora, we believe that technology should empower instead of displace existing communities and networks and this is at the core of what we do as a company.

I am favored to lead a very strong, experienced and diverse team with the guidance of a distinguished board of directors including renowned payments expert Faisal Khan; t blockchain influencer Dinis Guarda, CEO LifeSci; John Edge, the chair of ID2020, and Anthony Ritossa, chair of Ritossa Family Office).

我是 Kora 的首席执行官（CEO） Dickson Nsofor, Kora 是一家金融服务公司，它利用区块链作为基础设施，为全球用户更加低门槛的提供金融服务，运行这项金融服务不需要庞大的金融机构和网络。Kora 的创新之处在于它能够巧妙的利用当前区块链技术为全球数十亿弱势和贫困群体提供金融服务，使得人民生活更加美好。

我们 Kora 觉得区块链将会成为连结社区和资本的一道桥梁。在 Kora，我们相信科技应该是完善而非去取代现有的社区和网络，然而这些就是我们公司的核心宗旨。

在一个杰出的董事会的指导下，我很乐意领导一个非常强大，经验丰富和多元化的团队，当中包括十分知名的支付专家 Faisal Khan; 区块链领域 top-10 影响者Dinis Guarda，CEO LifeSci; ID2020主席John Edge和Ritossa Family Office主席Anthony Ritossa）。

Q：Why do you want to do the Kora project? What is the innovation of Kora?

你们为什么要做 Kora 这个项目？介绍一下 Kora 的创新之处？

A : The World Bank estimates that over 2 billion people around the world cannot access financial services, majority of which live in developing economies. This represents the number of people who cannot save money, take loans, transfer and receive money, or access the financial tools that are fundamental to improving livelihoods in these communities.

What I have realized is that banks and traditional financial institutions see the cost of serving the unbanked as just too high because of the low value of transactions but at a very high volume. However, using the Kora blockchain, it will be possible to develop a viable and scalable business model to the unbanked.

Through the Kora blockchain, we are reducing barriers to banking for the unbanked by lowering the cost to serve the low income market while ensuring data protection for customers. We empower existing communities through what we describe in the white paper as CVN’s – which simply means simulating community local offline savings practices in a digital way on the Kora Network

据世界银行估计，全球有超过 20 亿人无法获得金融服务，其中大部分人生活在发展中经济体。这代表了他们将无法进行存款，转账和收款，自然也无法获得贷款。他们也无法使用一些用来改善生活的最基础的金融工具。

我所意识到的是，银行和传统金融机构认为，服务一些没有银行帐户群众的交易价值低，服务量大，银行的运营成本也太高 。然而，使用 Kora Band Stand，我们将有可能开发一个满足于所有人可行的和可扩展的金融应用场景。

图： Kora 白皮书

通过 Kora Network 区块链，我们将降低传统银行服务市场的成本，同时也确保了对客户的数据保护。我们通过白皮书中描述的 CVN 模式来授权现有社区——这仅仅意味着在 Kora 网络上以数字方式模拟社区本地离线储蓄实践。

图：Kora 白皮书

Q：We know that inclusive finance has been gradually popularized in China and some developed countries, but for many parts of the world, they cannot enjoy the convenience brought by Inclusive Finance and the improvement of their quality of life. What's the difference between KORA and traditional banks, how do you reduce the use of the threshold so that the rest of the world can't enjoy or can't enjoy the inclusive finance to use your products?

我们知道，普惠金融对于中国和有些发达国家已经逐渐普及了，但是对于全球很多地区，是享受不到普惠金融所带来的便利，以及生活质量的提升。kora 与传统银行有什么不同之处，你们是如何降低使用门槛，让全球其他享受不了或者无法享受普惠金融来使用你们的产品？

A：Associated costs in the traditional banking system are very high, these include property fees, staff headcount, and IT infrastructure. Banks typically recoup on these costs by charging high fees for loans, account maintenance, ATM withdrawals and money transfers which unbanked customers are unwilling to pay. In many communities, formal banking is seen as something exclusively for the wealthy. Also, banks are tightly regulated which places constraints on the levels of innovation they can provide to financial services. However, PWC estimates that the un(der)banked population hold at least $360 billion in unmet deposits in 2016 alone. In addition, a 2016 McKinsey report estimates that widespread adoption of financial services through digital finance could result in a $3.2 trillion increase in GDP of all economies by 2025

The Kora Network will solve this problem by leveraging its four layers of infrastructure to provide a low cost, universal access financial services platform accessible via SMS/USSD on feature phones, or with internet access via mobile app, enabled by blockchain technology. This helps communities build self-sustaining, community-owned financial services ecosystems, drastically reducing the cost and time required to provide financial services.

传统银行系统的相关成本非常高，当中包括物业费，员工人数和 IT 基础设施。银行通常通过收取高额的贷款费用，账户年费，ATM 取款手续费和汇款费用来收回这些费用，然后这些都是没有银行帐户群众们不愿意付的。在有些国家中，许多银行业务被视为专门为富人提供的东西。此外，银行也受到严格的监管，这限制了他们可以为金融服务提供的创新水平。然而，普华永道估计，仅在 2016 年，没有银行帐户的群体至少拥有 3600 亿美元而没有将其存入银行。此外，2016 年麦肯锡报告估计，到 2025 年，通过数字金融广泛采用金融服务可能导致所有经济体的国内生产总值增加 3.2 万亿美元.

Kora 网络将通过利用四层基础设施区块链技术，通过 SMS/USSD 格式的电话功能或者互联网手机程序就能提供并使用的一个全球金融服务平台。这有助于社区建立一个能够自我维持，自供自给的金融服务生态系统，且大大的降低提供金融服务所需的成本和时间。

图：Kora 白皮书

Q：In the white paper, we can see KORA's anchored currency, eFiat, a stable currency that can be exchanged with the legal currency 1:1. I think this is a very smart economic design. How do you get eFiat to circulate around the world?

在白皮书中，我们可以看到 kora 的锚定货币 eFiat ，是一种稳定货币，可以与法定货币 1：1兑换，我觉得这是个非常聪明的经济设计，你们是如何让 eFiat 进行全球流通呢？

A：We expect that as more users continually engage with the system, usage of eFiat will increase exponentially. Users will be offered the benefits of digital currency in a form they already understand and trust which will improve its acceptability and adoption.

我们预计，随着越来越多的用户不断去使用 Kora 系统，eFiat 的使用量将呈指级数增长。用户将获得他们已经了解和信任的的数字货币形式的好处，这将提高其可接受性和采用率。

Q：Banks, local self-organizing networks, mobile payments, block chain projects are good economic model closed loop, do your have any attempt, Is the probability of KORA successful?

银行，地方自组织网络，移动支付，区块链项目是你们的经济模型，你们是否有过尝试， Kora 是否能够落地成功吗？

A：In April 2018, Kora successfully launched its pilot in Jere Community, Kaduna State, Nigeria, with over 300 farmers. Kora partnered with Virtual Terminal Network (VTN) for the agent network and banking infrastructure and Gricd an agro-full-scale production with a global perspective on the production, processing plants and education in the field of affordable food storage methods. We are currently finalizing modalities to fund agricultural CVNs in Ghana which will kick-off in July 2018.

2018年4月，Kora 成功在尼日利亚卡杜纳州杰雷(Jere)设区启动了试点计划，有 300 多名农民参与。代理网络和银行基础设施方面，Kora 与虚拟终端网络（VTN）合作。Kora 并与 Gricd 合作，开展具有全球观的农业全面生产，涉及可负担的食物储藏方法领域的生产、加工厂和教育。对于 2018 年 7 月将推出为加纳（非洲西部的一个国家）农业 CVN 融资的模式，目前我们正处于最后完成阶段。

Q：We know that for Kora, the more people you use, the better, how do you make breakthroughs in user growth and marketing, Can you tell us about your plan?

我们知道，对于 Kora 来说，使用的人数越多越好，你们如何在用户增长和营销方面做出突破，你们的计划方便说一下吗？

A：Thus far, we have increased our penetration through various partnerships with traditional banks in Africa, payments companies, USSD providers, Telcos and other Blockchain industry players. We have been able to connect with these key stakeholders because of the urgent need of a solution like Kora in these regions. Going forward, we intend to use this same strategy to deepen our reach across the continent while reducing costs in the ecosystem.

迄今为止，我们已经通过与非洲传统银行，支付公司，USSD 提供商，电信公司和区块链行业创新者的各种合作伙伴关系，提高了我们的渗透率。 由于在这些地区急需像 Kora 这样的解决方案，我们才能够与这些关键利益相关者建立联系。 展望未来，我们打算利用这一战略来加深我们在整个大陆的影响力，同时降低全球金融生态的成本。

Q：From the white paper, we can see that Kora Network has established Ethermint partition application. What kind of public block chain platform is Ethermint? What is the difference between it and Ethereum? For you, Kora Network needs a high-performance platform. How do you support high performance transactions?

从白皮书中我们可以了解到 Kora Network 建立 Ethermint 分区应用，Ethermint 是一个什么样的公有链平台？它和以太坊有什么区别？对于你们来说， Kora Network需要一个高性能的平台，你们是如何做到支持大并发量交易？

A：The Kora Network is built on Ethermint, which implements the Ethereum Virtual Machine with Tendermint consensus. We chose Ethermint because it supports the Ethereum development community, which is among the largest in the blockchain space, while also fulfilling the vital network requirements of scalability, programmability, and Resilience.

Ethermint integrates natively with the Cosmos Network, which is building an internet of blockchains that connects disparate chains together in a decentralized manner. By integrating with Cosmos, we will be able to connect with Ethereum, Bitcoin, the Cosmos decentralized exchange and various other Cosmos Zones, making the Kora Network natively interoperable with other blockchains.

Kora 网络建立在 Ethermint 上，该网络与 Tendermint 共识而实现了以太坊虚拟机。我们选择 Ethermint 是因为它支持以太坊开发社区，而该社区是区块链领域中最大的，同时也满足了可伸缩性、可编程性和具弹性这些重要的网络要求。

Ethermint 本身与 Cosmos 网络集成，该网络正在建构区块链互联网，以分散的方式连接不同的链。通过与 Cosmos 集成，我们就能与 Ethereum、比特币、Cosmos 分散互换，以及与 Cosmos 其他区域连接，使 Kora 网络自然地可与其他区块链交互操作。

Q：Where is the application scenario of Kora Network? We see the introduction of the white paper, the field of payment, the allocation of international data in agriculture, How are you going to get into these areas?

Kora Network 的应用场景在于什么地方呢？我们看到白皮书介绍，支付领域，农业领域，信用贷款，你们是如何将其打通？

A：There are many applications scenarios for the Kora Network. For instance, money transfer to my hometown in Jos, Nigeria, is very expensive between 5-8% in fees. Usually, someone has to travel to the city which can take up to three hours to pick up the cash from the nearest Western Union, MoneyGram or TransferWise location. With Kora, customers will now be able to send/transfer money, make bill payments, get microinsurance as well as other use cases

Kora Network 能够在很多场景被使用。 例如，我的家乡尼日利亚乔斯的汇款费用非常昂贵，费用是 5-8% 。通常，一些人必须花费长达三个小时的时间前往都市， 才能去到最靠近的 Western Union（西联汇款）， MoneyGram 或 TransferWise 进行提现和汇款。 然而借助 Kora，客户随时都可以汇款/转账，支付账单，获得小额保险以及其他金融服务。

Q：Where is the Token use of Kora Network? What role does it play in Kora Network?

Kora Network 的 Token 用途在哪？它在 Kora Network 担当怎样的角色？

A：The Kora Network Token “KNT” will be used as the staking unit for selecting block producers, as well as a single medium to pay for costs incurred by the Kora Network. When users transact on the Kora Network, they will pay a fee denominated in KNT and set by the validating Block Producer. The Block Producer shares this fee with the holders who voted for them. The less transactions that occur on the blockchain, the less rewards all block producers and stakers will receive. Thus, KNT holders are incentivized to vote in block producers who keep transaction fees low. Holding KNT equates to having a partial role in the Kora Network

Kora 网络令牌“KNT”将作为选择块生产者的权益证明，也是用于支付 Kora 网络所产生的费用的单一介质。 当用户在 Kora 网络上进行交易时，他们将支付由验证的块生产者设置的 KNT 费用。块生产者与投票支持他们的持票人分享此费用。区块链上产生的交易越少，所有区块生产者和投票人获得的回报越少。因此，KNT 持有人被鼓励投票予交易费用低廉的块生产者。持有 KNT 等于在 Kora 网络中起了部分作用。

Q：Describe the current progress of Kora Network and the next plan and roadmap？

介绍一下 Kora Network 的当前进展，以及下一步计划和路线图吧？

A：I am excited to tell you that Kora successfully reached the token sale hard cap of USD12 million in 10 days. Out of an old total supply of 750,000,000 KNT, The total tokens sold for the hardcap was 300,000,000 KNT, with burnt remaining unsold tokens of 37,500,000 KNT. The new total supply: is 712,500,000 KNT. Thanks to our supportive community, investors and especially our Lead Investor FBG Capital, we are positioned to be the biggest blockchain project out of Africa.

In coming weeks, Kora will be listed more exchanges. Also, the Kora gateway and testnet will go live on July 1st. We plan to onboard at least a 100,000 active users in the next six months.

我很高兴地告诉你，Kora 在 10 天内成功地获得了 1200 万美元的 Token 融资。总量为750,000,000的 KNT，当中已销售的 Token 数量为 300,000,000 KNT，剩余未售出的令牌 37,500,000 KNT已进行销毁。现在新的总供应量是712,500,000 KNT。感谢我们的支持社区，投资者，特别是我们的主要投资者 FBG Capital，我们将努力成为非洲最大的区块链项目。

未来几周，Kora 将在多家交易所上市。此外，KORA 网关和测试网将于 7 月 1 日上线。我们估计在未来六个月内至少会有 100000 名活跃用户加入我们。

Q：What achievements have been made by Kora Network? Can you share with us?

Kora Network 取得过哪些成绩与成就，可否与我们分享一下？

A：In May 2018, I presented at the Blockchain Breakthrough II: Startup Pitch in NYC. Among the judges and attendees was Nick Spanos, the founder of the first Bitcoin trading floor on Wall Street. Kora competed against 12 other startups, and won. Also, Kora was named among Entrepreneur Magazine's most promising blockchain networks for the first quarter of 2018.

These awards and much more underscore the recognition the industry is placing on Kora.

2018年5月，我在纽约 Blockchain Breakthrough II : Startup Pitch in NYC 作了项目路演。 Kora 与另外 12 家初创公司竞争，并获胜！评选人是 Nick Spanos，他是华尔街第一个比特币交易大厅的创始人。 除此之外，Kora 也在 2018 年第一季度被企业家杂志命名为最有前途的区块链项目。

这些奖项和荣誉表明业界对于 Kora 的认可。

Q：Finally, I am very grateful to Mr. Kora Network CEO Dickson Nsofor for participating in this interview. Is there anything else you want to say to us and Kora supporters?

最后，非常感谢 Kora Network CEO Dickson Nsofor 先生参与本次采访，最后还有什么话 Kora 支持者说的吗？

A：At Kora, we say that we are a global digital banking solution utilizing cutting edge technology to improve financial services. We intend to connect the world financially, starting out of Africa.

It is certainly the best time to be Alive!

在 Kora，我们说我们是一个利用尖端技术来改进金融服务的全球性数字银行解决方案 。 连结世界金融，就由非洲开始！

编辑/采访：Gootor（链眼 CEO）

翻译：tiam（特此感谢）

受访嘉宾：Dickson Nsofor（Kora CEO）

受访项目：http://www.kora.network

免责声明：本文仅为作者及嘉宾个人观点，不代表链眼立场，不保证其权威性和完全真实性；亦不构成任何投资意见及建议，投资者据此操作风险自担。

版权声明：本文独家首发自「更专业的访谈式区块链项目报告平台」：链眼（www.lianyan.pro），原创文章。转载请务必注明来源及出处。其他咨询及合作联系：[email protected]