Kuva is a startup with strong African roots, specialising in blockchain technology. Kuvacash, its consumer wallet, runs on the Kuva Network (kNET), a digital currency platform built around convenience and everyday ease of use.
The work ran from brand identity through to the shipped iOS and Android product.
Branding / Product Design / UI-UX
Brand identity
Mobile product design
iOS & Android app
Funded by the Dash treasury and licensed by the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe.
Wallet of the future, Kuva brand visual
Video: Kuva logo reveal
Video: Kuva app splash: a butterfly turns into the Kuva logo
Video: Kuvacash logo being drawn on its construction grid
Kuvacash: Making Money Better, in the four brand blues
In Zimbabwe, cash was scarce and the local currency couldn't be trusted. People queued for hours at banks to reach their own money, paid heavy fees on every transaction, and clean US dollar bills sold at a 10–20% markup.
Crypto could fix the speed and cost. But existing wallets were built for people who already understood crypto.
The largest project the Dash treasury had funded at the time, built to make Kuvacoin work as everyday money, under the motto "Instant, liquid, yours": move pennies or billions in an instant, and every person on Earth gets their own private 'bank', for free.
Watch a flow
Video: Sending money with the Kuvacash web app
The transfer web app: from choosing a country to the deposit instructions
Moving money had to feel as easy as handing over cash. Every important action lives in one floating panel on the home screen, always in reach. No menus to learn and no crypto jargon.
Crypto addresses are long strings that are easy to mistype and meaningless to most people. Sending and paying ran on QR codes: scan, check the amount, confirm. No addresses to copy or read out.
Nearly 200 people pre-registered within days, before any campaign ran. The pre-launch app then passed the 500 users needed for a full pilot in Harare, and launch grew that to over 5,000 users. Over 1,000 people emailed offering to help, and the launch video passed a million views.
Kuva later expanded to Kenya, Ethiopia, Namibia and South Africa.
Kuva landing page: Instant, liquid, yours: pay and get paid anywhere on the planet
Kuva landing page: The money in your pocket is a superpower: the Kuvacash app
Kuva landing page: Kuva Card: spend from your Kuva wallet at merchants and ATMs
Kuva landing page: KNET, the multi-coin blockchain behind Kuva
Kuvacash 2024 screens: home, activity, request with QR code, passcode, markets
Angelo Wellens, Product Designer
Builds from first idea to launched product
