Zimbabwean crypto entrepreneurs are making their voice heard on the world stage. The country has already seen its fair share of new crypto projects aiming to better pioneering digital currencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum.
Not to be left out of this rush is one young man with a real passion to create a standout project that will change lives.
Stanley Makhaze is a 26 year old Zimbabwean coder with a burning desire to create a standalone cryptocurrency. Makazhe intends build a new blockchain network to support his proposed cryptocurrency known as Pecunia.
AfricaBlockchainMedia.com recently reached out to Makazhe to establish the Pecunia project’s prospects and challenges he expects to encounter.
Below are the questions and answers between Terence Zimwara of AfricaBlockchainMedia.com and chief executive officer, Stanley Makazhe.
Terence Zimwara (TZ); What motivated you to start this project?
Stanely Makhaze (SM); The reason for the Pecunia project is to allow Phykraun (the parent company to Pecunia) get into this revolutionary blockchain industry by releasing this kind of product before the end of the year.
TZ: What is the status of the project at the moment and when do you expect to start rolling out the crypto tokens to the general public?
SM: It is half complete and the token is going to be rolled out before the end of the year. This is most likely in November or December.
TZ: How do you intend to fund this project, are you going the ICO or IEO route or perhaps you have an investor already?
SM: No, I intend to keep the equity to myself for some time until we run out of money or I find an interesting investor.
TZ: When you say you are going to fund this yourself that’s fine but at least you can appreciate that readers need to know the amounts involved?
SM: By funding it myself I mean I’m using money I saved up. (Prepaid mobile phone) airtime and money for charging up my laptop.
TZ: So what if there is someone interested in investing in the project? They obviously would want to know more (on the money spent), what happens then because from the way I see it you are going to need funding, your proposed project requires a lot more than just airtime and your laptop?
SM: For the meantime all I need is available. If there are any investors, they are free to join the team and that would actually move up the launch date. But I have to say after launch, Pecunia will definitely need more money in order to scale.
TZ: What is the size of the team or personnel behind Pecunia?
SM: Pecunia has one employee, a Zimbabwean.
TZ: How many developers are contributing to the code?
SM: I’m the only one contributing to the code.
TZ: So you believe you can pull this off on your own?
SM: Yes, I’m the founder of two Android apps that I developed in-house. This is an easy task.
TZ: Perhaps for the benefit of the reader, can you tell us more about these apps you developed?
SM: Zim Waves, a radio streaming app and Code Dialer, a USSD code management tool.
TZ: What makes the proposed Pecunia cryptocurrency different from others?
SM: Pecunia will have one of the youngest founders, the code will not be open source and it will be a competitor to Bitcoin and Ethereum.
TZ: Many cryptocurrencies run on the Ethereum blockchain, is that the case with Pecunia or you have different approach?
SM: Pecunia will be an entirely new cryptocurrency, a competitor to the likes of Bitcoin, Litecoin and Ethereum. It also has closed source codebase.
TZ: Some say it’s not ideal to have your code in a private repository. Why have you chosen this and what is the alternative approach?
SM: I’ve chosen the Microsoft way of software development because it’s more professional and there is a code we don’t want to share with the world.
TZ: So what are the flaws with the Bitcoin and Ethereum that you want to or you think you can improve on?
SM: We want to make cryptocurrencies more than just about internet money and hodling.
TZ: What do you mean by more?
SM: Those other projects seem so distant to the average person and we want to change that.
TZ: Some might argue that Bitcoin and Ethereum are already achieving what you are proposing, therefore there is no need for anything else that imitates these. How would you respond?
SM: There are about 1600 cryptocurrencies as at the end of 2018. There’s still room for innovation and the race is not over yet.
TZ: Is the Pecunia cryptocurrency targeted at Zimbabweans only or this is a borderless project since digital currencies are generally borderless?
SM: Pecunia is a border-less project since everyone can mine the currency from any country, even from space. Anywhere where there is an internet connection.
TZ: What about regulation? Zimbabwe’s crypto space has been held back by regulatory uncertainty. How have you prepared yourself for this?
SM: We at Phykraun don’t mind if Zimbabweans fail to benefit from this technology. We have to comply with the regulations and thus we will only provide services in countries that allow cryptocurrencies.
TZ: Zimbabwe is often touted as one country that needs an alternative to fiat currency. However, that makes it a target of fraudulent crypto projects and already there are some that have been exposed as scams. Now mindful of this, what will/are you doing to assure potential users that this is not another one of those crypto scams?
SM: Phykraun already has released two Android apps to date, I’m a moderator for the Facebook Developer Circle Harare Facebook Group, I can play Guitar, ha-ha, I am quite entertained and excited about the technology, so we think our track record speaks of promise. We will not fail Pecunia’s potential users.
TZ: Do you think Zimbabweans understand cryptocurrencies?
SM: Yes, we at Phykraun think it’s a pity that only a few (organizations) provide crypto related services in the country.
TZ: How many Pecunia coins or tokens do you intend to issue?
SM: The total coins that can be mined will be 21 million coins like Bitcoin but the amount may change, watch the space.
