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Wav U White Paper
Wav U White Paper
Contents
1. Introduction
2. Problem Statement
3. Opportunity
4. Solution Statement
5. Market Overview
5.1. Internet Access/Connectivity
5.2. Mobile Phone Access
6. Kesholabs Startup studio
7. Wavu Token
7.1. Token Allocation
7.2. Token Usage/Benefits
8. Funds Usage
9. Roadmap
10. Founding Team
10.1. Leadership Team
10.2. Technical Team
11. Advisors
12. Conclusion
13. References & Appendices
14. References
1 INTRODUCTION
This bodes well for Blockchain and crypto- GDP of over $2.4
currency solutions as young people are trillion
increasingly showing high-level engagement,
using, trading and contributing to communities
in the nascent space. The fact that technological
solutions, internet and mobile penetration
are growing so rapidly, means an opportunity
to solutions that will scale meaningfully. That
means more Africans will have the tools to plug
into the cryptocurrency ecosystem.
1
2 Problem Statement
The standard in the current business world is that existing business startup
and growth strategies are very similar. You start out by finding a niche, building
your product and competing with small to large established enterprises. As
you grow, you also have to watch out for other companies encroaching into
the same market.
This means any company, small or large is always fighting for market share
with often no competitive advantage except in very rare instances. With the
above methodology of doing business, there is no easy way to garner following,
gain early beta testers for products without spending a large proportion of
resources in advertising and customer acquisition costs.
Until the advent of Blockchain and tokenization, you could not easily share
the benefits of success akin to what the likes of Binance have done without
the formal process of registration and shareholder ownership. In spite of this,
the advent of the internet and mobile broadband has empowered billions of
people globally to have access to the world’s knowledge and information, high-
fidelity communications, and a wide range of lower-cost, more convenient
services.
3
4 Solution Statement
Over the last few years, there has been tremendous exuberance around
the potential of crypto-based tokens. The age of tokenization and tokenized
ecosystems is upon us. Heralded by the launch of Bitcoin in 2009, the Blockchain
technology underneath has evolved and led to the rise of Ethereum, AION and
Decred among others. This has leveraged a phenomenon of decentralization
that could sweep the world over the coming decades, providing a competitive
advantage to those that embrace it early enough.
Kesholabs is releasing Wavu, a token for its ecosystem with the aim of having
every project they build use it. This allows us the ability to potentially raise
capital and create buy-in from our user base for all of our future products.
Ecosystems encourage customers to comprehensively use the whole range
of the companies’ offerings. This provides convenience to customers since it
only requires a single account to use all available services. Ecosystems also
allow companies to maximize the business from each customer with easy
opportunities to upsell and cross-sell.
Wavu will become an integral part of the digital economy that Kesholabs is
building in Africa. As the crypto-currency economy grows into the trillions,
product users and token holders will benefit from a diverse set of solutions
and access to a broad range of commercial services. These benefits will accrue
to them both from our successful products and partnerships that Kesholabs
builds along the way.
4
5 Market Overview
More specifically, the East African block alone has over 416 million people,
making it the single largest population block in Africa. This block accounts for
over 1/3 of Africa’s population.
5
Block Population Mobile connectivity Internet connectivity [2]
[2]
Eastern Africa 416,676,295 215,200,000 101,770,000
The median age in Africa is 19.5 years. This differs greatly with the global
average of 29.6 years. It is forecasted that over the next 50 years it will jump
to 37 years of age. Age-wise, the size of the youth population globally has
peaked in all regions but Africa. This demographic is experiencing massive
growth. Africa accounts for 19% of the global youth population, a number
that’s anticipated to hit 42% by 2030. [8] Africa’s population is mostly young
and to some extent this is a potential bright spot. It is this demographic that
is highly attracted towards the mobile and internet phenomenon with an
extremely high likelihood to drive positive change.
6
5.1 Internet Access/Connectivity
VC funding has reached to $255 Billion in 2018. There was an almost four-
fold increase in total startup funding received for African startups in 2018.
[9]In total, African startups raised a record $725.6 million across 458 deals,
as shown in the 2018 venture investment report by WeeTracker. Over the
last 12–18 months, Sub-Saharan Africa has emerged as one of the fastest
growing fintech hubs in the world in terms of investments, albeit from a low
base.
The following graph shows the growth of phone based mobile technology.
Mobile-enabled platforms are increasingly disrupting traditional value chains in different verticals across the
Mobile-enabled platforms are increasingly disrupting traditional value chains
region. These platforms – mostly developed by a rapidly expanding local tech start-up ecosystem – aim to
in different verticals across the region. These platforms – mostly developed
eliminate inefficiencies in conventional business models, as well as extend the reach of services and provide
by a rapidly expanding local tech start-up ecosystem – aim to eliminate
greater choice to customers. [7]
inefficiencies in conventional business models, as well as extend the reach
of services and provide greater choice to customers. [7]
5.2. Mobile Phone Access
Africa might be behind the curve when it comes to technological penetration. The region has however seen
consistent take up in mobile phone usage. According to the Pew Research Center, cell phone ownership in
Africa has surged exponentially. For example, in 2002, 10% of the population owned phones in Kenya,
Tanzania, Uganda, and Ghana. today mobile phones are owned by 82%, 73%, 65%, and 83% of the population
respectively. The total global mobile phone growth rate is approximately 107% since 2007. [12]
At the same time, Africa has recorded a mobile usage growth rate of 344 %. By 2020, the mobile penetration
is projected to have reached 79% with more than half of these expected to be smartphones. The increase in
mobile phone ownership continues to dramatically contribute to economic and social development across
the region. The Pew Research Center, further goes on to report that only 30% make or receive payments via
mobile devices, a gap/opportunity for fintech companies – both in Africa and globally – to build out dynamic
mobile payments solutions in the region.
In 2017, mobile technologies and services generated 7.1% of GDP across Sub-Saharan Africa, a contribution
that amounted to $110 billion of economic value added. By 2022, the mobile economy in the Africa region
will generate more than $150 billion (or 7.9% of GDP) of economic value added as countries continue to
8
5.2 Mobile Phone Access
At the same time, Africa has recorded a mobile usage growth rate of 344
%. By 2020, the mobile penetration is projected to have reached 79% with
more than half of these expected to be smartphones. The increase in mobile
phone ownership continues to dramatically contribute to economic and social
development across the region. The Pew Research Center, further goes on to
report that only 30% make or receive payments via mobile devices, a gap/
opportunity for fintech companies – both in Africa and globally – to build out
dynamic mobile payments solutions in the region.
In 2017, mobile technologies and services generated 7.1% of GDP across Sub-
Saharan Africa, a contribution that amounted to $110 billion of economic
value added. By 2022, the mobile economy in the Africa region will generate
more than $150 billion (or 7.9% of GDP) of economic value added as countries
continue to benefit from improvements in productivity and efficiency brought
about by increased take-up of mobile internet in particular.
The mobile ecosystem supported almost 3 million jobs in 2017. [7] For many
consumers across the region, mobiles are not just a communication device
but also the primary channel for getting online and a vital tool to access life-
enhancing services.
9
6 Kesholabs Startup studio
With the above statistics in mind, it made perfect sense to build an organization
that is open to take advantage of this growth in technology and mobile. This
led to the formation of Kesholabs, a startup studio and development house.
10
Business Name: Bithela – Africa’s Easiest way to trade, buy and
1.
sell crypto-currencies.
Product/Service We provide Africans with a cheap and convenient way to trade, buy
Product/Service
Description We sell
and provide Africans with a cheap and convenient way to trade, buy
crypto-currencies.
Description and sell crypto-currencies.
Customer Problem Gaining access to crypto-currencies in Africa is difficult and time-
Customer Problem Gaining access
consuming. to crypto-currencies
Trading is even worse, since in itAfrica
takesisseveral
difficult andtotime-
steps get
consuming.
into TradingThese
the ecosystem. is even worse,
steps since
include it takes
buying several
bitcoin fromsteps to get
strangers
into the
with cashecosystem.
and moving These steps
it into includeexchange
a global buying bitcoin from strangers
like Binance after a
with cash and moving it into a global exchange
lengthy KYC process and vice versa to get cash back. like Binance after a
lengthy KYC process and vice versa to get cash back.
Solution Building a platform; plugged into global crypto-currency liquidity
Solution Building
pools thataallow
platform;
users inplugged into global
each country crypto-currency
to deposit their money;liquidity
trade
pools
any that token
digital allow and
userseasily
in each country
withdraw to deposit
their cash. their money; trade
any digital token and easily withdraw their cash.
Unique Value Offering clients easy access to lots of token not available in the East
Unique Value
Proposition Offeringmarket.
African clients Efficient
easy access to lots
deposit of withdrawal
and token not available
of cash in the our
from East
Proposition African market. Efficient deposit
exchange compared to other platforms. and withdrawal of cash from our
exchange compared to other platforms.
Unfair Advantage A well-established network of bitcoin brokers in the Kenyan and
Unfair Advantage A well-established
Uganda market that network
gives us an ofin-depth
bitcoin brokers
knowledge in of
thewhoKenyan and
to trade
Uganda
with andmarket
how to that
growgives us an in-depth knowledge of who to trade
our business.
with and how to grow our business.
Token Usage Wavu token will be used for paying fees, all trading and any other
Token Usage Wavu
fees token
that willplans
Bithela be used for paying fees, all trading and any other
to charge.
fees that Bithela plans to charge.
11
4. Business Name : Pesabase - Financially connecting Africa
Product/Service We provide Africans with a cheap and social option to remit and pay for goods
Description and services.
Customer Africa, a continent of 1.2 Billion people is financially fragmented with over 54
Problem different countries and currencies. Currently, it has the distinction of being the
most expensive place to send and receive money worldwide at 9.4%. Added to
that, it has ten of the top twenty most inflationary currencies in the world.
Token Usage Buymate is a marketplace, users can use the token in various ways i.e. for
discount, payments or to gain visibility and marketing preferential
treatment within the platform.
Business Name: Vitasphere - an E-sports tournament platform
3.
for the African market.
3. Business Name: Vitasphere - an E-sports tournament platform for the African market.
Product/Service We offer our customers a social platform in which they can brave their skills
Description playing against others from the comfort of their homes. Our aim is to let
gamers play their favorite games in free or cash prize competitions.
Customer Africa has a fast growing video gaming community and not enough easy to
Problem access platforms for competitive e-sport gaming. Avenues for physical sports
have also become far and few due to poor infrastructure planning by African
governments. Users need a different solution for competitive entertainment.
Solution Vitasphere is a web and mobile based platform that matches gamers with
other gamers for competitive and social gaming. With it, users can now use
their online gaming skills to earn money comfortably from their living rooms.
Unique Value Vitasphere allows African video game players to connect online and compete
Proposition for cash prizes in tournaments.
Token Usage Users can use it to pay for competitions, choose the token as winnings payout
or to get discounts on all fees.
Product/Service We provide Africans with a cheap and social option to remit and pay for goods
Description and services.
Customer Africa, a continent of 1.2 Billion people is financially fragmented with over 54
Problem different countries and currencies. Currently, it has the distinction of being the
most expensive place to send and receive money worldwide at 9.4%. Added to
12 that, it has ten of the top twenty most inflationary currencies in the world.
Token Usage Users can use it to pay for competitions, choose the token as winnings payout
or to get discounts on all fees.
Product/Service We provide Africans with a cheap and social option to remit and pay for goods
Description and services.
Customer Africa, a continent of 1.2 Billion people is financially fragmented with over 54
Problem different countries and currencies. Currently, it has the distinction of being the
most expensive place to send and receive money worldwide at 9.4%. Added to
that, it has ten of the top twenty most inflationary currencies in the world.
Solution Building a platform that combines Stablecoin and mobile money will have the
advantage of ensuring almost instantaneous remittance and payments at the
cheapest cost possible. Pesabase allows our users to transfer funds and make
payments conveniently and cheaply via a web and mobile app.
Unique Value A niche market at launch in South Sudan and targeting the South Sudanese
Proposition community regionally and in the diaspora. The use of Stablecoin and crypto is a
feature that startups in the African continent have not substantially embraced.
Unfair Advantage A detailed cultural and market knowledge of the South Sudanese community
locally, regionally and in the diaspora with a product that is 10x better than the
competition.
Token Usage Used as a membership token by Agents, will be used to pay for fees with favorable
discounts.
13
7 Wavu Token
Wavu at launch will be a standard erc20 token, however when the AION AVM
ATS standard become available, our plan is to migrate this token to the AION
7.ecosystem
Wavuwhere Token it will benefit from the cheaper cost the AVM offers. That
aside, majority of Kesholabs Blockchain solutions will leverage the AVM; the
fact that it is using Java, a standard global language will make things easier
Wavu at launch will be a standard erc20 token, however when the AION AVM ATS standard become avai
from theis to
our plan engineering side.toThe
migrate this token totalecosystem
the AION fixed supply
where itof
willWAVU
benefit tokens will be cost the
from the cheaper
created at the
offers. That beginning
aside, majority of with no mechanism
Kesholabs to alter
Blockchain solutions willitleverage
at any the
time in future.
AVM; the fact that it is
Java, a standard global language will make things easier from the engineering side. The total fixed sup
7.1
WAVU tokens will be created at the beginning with no mechanism to alter it at any time in future.
Token Allocation
7.1. Token Allocation
WAVU
WAVU token allocation
token allocation during
during the raise
the fund fundprocess
raise process
will be up will
to 3 be uptokens.
Billion to 600This Million
will be releas
exchangeThis
tokens. for raising
will beUSD 3.5 Million
released equivalent infor
in exchange cash, ethersUSD
raising and/or
3.5Bitcoin.
Million The first USD 1 Million r
equivalent
inwill also give
cash, the investors
ethers a right to Kesholabs
and/or Bitcoin. The firstequity
USD 1 at Million
a Valuation indicated
raised will in the give
also business
theplan and
deck. Details
investors will beto
a right clarified furtherequity
Kesholabs as we engage our growingindicated
at a Valuation community.inThe thefollowing
businesstable provid
overview of expected allocation.
plan and pitch deck. Details will be clarified further as we engage our growing
community. The following table provides an overview of expected allocation.
2% of Tokens – Community Build Out Encourage people to Join the Wavu Telegram
and follow us on social media
14
7.2 Token Usage/Benefits
WAVU token is an integral part of the Kesholabs Startup Studio. That means
that every company we build will support it by using it in either of the following
forms.
Pay Fees: As Usage growth across our product lines scale, we will give users
preferential treatment, should they choose to pay fees using Wavu.
In addition to the above, some of the products that we will build in future
have the added element of a natural agency like relationship. An example is
Pesabase, which will combine existing rails e.g. mobile money with its own
network of agents. These agents could also perform the functionality of being
entry and exit points for users that want to top up fiat balances to use in
trading on our Bithela exchange.
15
Wavu Repurchasing Plan: Our projections are that Kesholabs will break even
in about 6 months given current plans. That means we will then be growing
rapidly after that, added to that our products are expected to bring in added
revenue that can be used to fund any repurchasing plan. The benefit of this is
that, every quarter from 2021 onwards, we will use 15% of profits to buy back
the Wavu token, initiate permanent burn until only 50% are left.
Future Use: The future is inherently unknown, but as with any technology,
Blockchain will continue to evolve. Currently there are many layer 2 solutions
and tokens for existing Blockchains. As AION evolves, there is a high likelihood
that we will find a layer 2 use case for Wavu token itself. This will present
an opportunity for us to contribute to the AION ecosystem and gain further
adoption and use case for Wavu.
16
8 Funds Usage
WAVU token aims to raise a total of USD 3 million while the seed round of
Kesholabs is expected to close a USD $500,000 round. As per the Kesholabs
business plan, we expect to reach a breakeven point within 6 months and
thereafter grow rapidly both with our products and software outsourcing
business. The funds raised will be used in the following way:
Team and HR Expenses: 30% - (USD 900,000) goes towards all team and
HR expenses over a 2-year period. Development, research and roll out of
products will take up a large part of our cost base. While we will look at
existing solutions and open source products, it may be easier to build simple
solution and test product market fit.
Sales and Marketing: 30% - (USD 900,000) Sales and Marketing for us is a
way of bringing in users to the Wavu and Kesholabs ecosystem. User growth
for all of our products and business lines is a cornerstone to our overall
success. This means we will likely be involved in standard marketing practices
as discussed in our business strategy and sponsoring community related
events where it makes sense.
Exchange Listing: 10% ($350,000) this will be used to cover the cost of listing
on exchanges. This is important for liquidity of the Wavu token and growth
of the ecosystem in the future.
17
Contingencies: 20% ($700,000) will put aside for the first one year to help
protect the business from any unknown shocks, e.g. a recession.
In the event that we are unable to raise the full amount, we will adjust our
plans accordingly and update the existing investors of the outcome.
18
9 ROADMAP
Here
Here isis
anan outline
outline of ourof our roadmap:
roadmap:
October 2019 Zazu · Release the whitepaper with the Kesholabs business plan
and pitch deck
October 2019 Shenzi · Build the Wavu website with all the necessary features and
launch it.
October 2019 Pumbaa · Launch the Pesabase app with its various integration
options.
· Launch the Bithela Exchange and allow for trading.
November 2019 Nala · Initiate community building via a combination of referrals
using AION & Wavu.
· Incentivize local ambassadors to help build an online
telegram community.
November 2019 Rafiki · Do an initial Seed/Angel Round for Wavu/Kesholabs
· Perform an Initial Exchange offering giving a wider
worldwide audience a chance to participate.
Nov to Dec 2019 Mufasa · Fund the launched products, focusing on marketing,
growth.
· Launch Buymate and Vitasphere, with the needed
leadership and growths strategy.
January 2020 Simba · Build a sustainable pipeline of jobs for Kesholabs; expand
the team to meet ongoing needs.
· Focus on product marketing and ecosystem growth.
19
10 FOUNDING TEAM
20
William Otiso | CFO & COO
21
Roselyne Wanjiru | CMO
22
10.2 Technical Team
23
payment platform M-PESA, SAGE ERP &SMS platforms for HostPoa. His best
languages and tools of trade are Java, Oracle, Postgres and C#. He enjoys
keeping up with developments and trends in automation and aviation. He
lives in Kenya with his family.
“Changing the world one line of code at a time.” is his motto. Steve has led
various software engineering teams over the last two years. He worked at
different capacities in the course of his career covering UI/UX, backend and
frontend work and a few others, taking approach as a problem solver, not
just a programmer. He enjoys providing robust software solutions by offering
practical solutions to everyday real world problems, through critical thinking
and creative, agile design.
24
Kimani Mbugua – Full Stack Developer
25
11 ADVISORS
Matthew Spoke
Matt is the Co- founder of the Aion Foundation. Prior to his current role, Matt
founded Deloitte’s first Blockchain team, Rubix and co-founded Nuco Inc. Matt
is an active and founding board member of the Enterprise Ethereum Alliance
and a founding director of the Blockchain Technology Coalition of Canada.
Matt also serves as a Faculty Member at Singularity University.
Since the earliest days of Blockchain, Matt has been a leading advocate for the
potential social benefits of decentralized technologies and is working actively
to establish fair and responsible rules and principles for the future governance
of this important new industry. Matt believes Blockchain is a revolutionary
technology that has the potential to solve some of the world’s greatest online
challenges.
Eddy Travia
Eddy is a well-known figure in the global Bitcoin and Crypto community since
the launch of Seedcoin, the world’s first bitcoin-centric startup incubator that
funded several pioneers now offering well-known products and services in
this space. Nominated among the top 3 ‘Most Influential Investors of the
Year’ at Blockchain Awards 2014 with Marc Andreessen & Roger Ver. CEO &
Co-founder of London-listed Coinsilium Group Limited (NEX:COIN), venture
builder, investor and accelerator of Blockchain startups. Co-founder at Block
Chain Space (first batch of startups accelerated in Barcelona in 2016).
Eddy has been living and working in China/Hong Kong for the past ten years
where he has managed private equity investment funds focusing on Greater
China. Previously, he was the Director of Admissions of a technology MBA
(Theseus MBA) in Sophia Antipolis (France) now part of EDHEC business school.
Eddy completed the Stanford Financial Engineering program for finance
26
executives in Hong Kong. He has extensive experience in private equity, deal
structuring, due diligence supervision and advising foreign funds and angel
investors investing in emerging markets.
27
12 CONCLUSION
Peter Thiel encapsulates our thinking and strategy concisely; he says in his
book, Zero to one, “EVERY MOMENT IN BUSINESS happens only once. The next
Bill Gates will not build an operating system. The next Larry Page or Sergey
Brin will not make a search engine. The next Mark Zuckerberg will not create a
social network. If you are copying these guys, you aren’t learning from them.”
In our research there has never been a startup studio that started by
building a customer centric community using a token that is then linked to
an established business. Wavu is such a token that help create a symbiotic
relationship between our community, who in most cases will also become our
customers for our products as well as Kesholabs overall business.
We are confident that the successful execution of both a token strategy and
the Kesholabs business will result in one of Africa’s most successful business
endeavors.
28
13 Appendices
1. Build faster: a well-structured team with the right sort of skill balance
will more often than not result in a quicker products, faster iteration and
business growth.
2. Build Better: Kesholabs studio network with the help of a token will be
the largest community in Africa with the ability to recruit top talent in coding,
design and marketing.
29
14
References
14. References
[1] A. M. ESSOUNGOU, "www.un.org," United Nations, April 2011. [Online]. Available:
https://www.un.org/africarenewal/magazine/april-2011/africas-rising-information-economy . [Accessed 24
September 2019].
[2] GSMA, "The Mobile Economy, Africa 2016," GSMA, Africa, 2016.
[7] GSMA, "The Mobile Economy Sub Saharan Africa," GSMA, Africa, 2019.
[12] P. R. Center, "https://www.pewresearch.org," Pew Research Center, 15 April 2015. [Online]. Available:
https://www.pewresearch.org/global/2015/04/15/cell-phones-in-africa-communication-lifeline/. [Accessed 24
September 2019].