Ambia watu is a Swahili phrase that literally means tell people.

ambiawatu.com is a project that intends to introduce people in Kenya to the Steem blockchain by providing SBD to KES currency exchange.

SBD - STEEM Backed Dollar (Steem Blockchain Dollar)
KES - Kenya Shilling

Questions people ask

After introducing people to the social media platform that pays you to participate, one of the first questions asked is: how is the money converted to local currency that can be used locally?

This is usually a more pressing question than: where does the money come from?

People are generally more concerned about their access to the money than the origin of the money.

We found that it is easier to convince people to join the platform if they have a quick and convenient way of withdrawing their earnings. We also concluded that the large amount of content on the platform that is related to blockchain technology would eventually help new users understand the origin of the money. Therefore, our goal became to get people to join now and let them teach themselves about the platform while participating and earning.

SBD and not STEEM

We decided to first only exchange SBD and not STEEM so as to discourage our clients from powering down their STEEM Power into STEEM which they would first have to convert into SBD in order to exchange it for KES. The STEEM Power enables them to earn more in the long run and that is better for everybody.

Bootstrapping the exchange

It is difficult to assess the potential demand for this currency exchange service as the Steem platform is still a new concept and similar exchanges around the world are few and they also operate in very different environments.

We decided to simplify and hasten roll out as much as possible so that we could test the market and develop solutions according to the feedback we got. A simple and fast way to get to market is by using a Google form and processing transactions manually.

Google form

ambiawatu.com redirects to a Google form that collects the minimum required information for currency exchange to be undertaken. The user is unfortunately required to be signed into a Google account so that the information is editable. This Google account is however not revealed to us unless it is provided on the Google form as the email address.

Email address

This is a precautionary requirement for when private communication is necessary. This can be a different email address from the Google one the user is required to be signed into.

Steem username

Currency exchange transactions will be initiated by only sending the SBD to @ambiawatu from this Steem username. No other action will be required.

KES account provider

This indicates whether the KES account is a mobile money account (M-Pesa or Airtel Money) or a bank account registered for PesaLink with a mobile phone number.

KES account number

This is the mobile phone number for the mobile money account or the mobile phone number linked to a bank account registered for PesaLink.

KES account name

This is the name on the KES account; whether it is a mobile money account or a bank account. Unregistered mobile money numbers will not be served.

Codeword

If the above information is submitted for the first time or edited thereafter, the information will have to be confirmed by creating a random codeword that will later be used as the public transaction memo when sending SBD for exchange from the submitted Steem username. The same codeword cannot be used more than once. The random codeword can be generated using randomwordgenerator.com.

Comments

Compliments, complaints and suggestions can be shared here. This is the only field that is not required but very much welcomed.

Processing transactions manually

Users will experience slight delays as currency exchange transactions will be effected manually. We hope transaction volumes will increase rapidly in order to justify developing solutions to automate the process.

Fees

Since a substantial portion of our costs will be varying fees dictated by market forces, we will experiment with various exchange rates and fee structures in order to get optimal exchange rates that cover our costs and suit our clients. The prevailing exchange rate and fee structure will be posted in the public transaction memo for our last outgoing transaction. This is so that the changes are recorded and timestamped by the blockchain and our clients are guaranteed those rates.

Loyalty program

More than 50% of what we will charge as currency conversion fees will be converted into STEEM and powered up by @ambiawatu in order to upvote posts by our loyal clients. With time, we hope to grow @ambiawatu into a whale that can direct substantial monetary rewards to our clients with each upvote.

Social media platform that pays you to participate

Earn cryptocurrency by posting and curating high quality content on steemit.com and then exchange the cryptocurrency into Kenya Shillings at ambiawatu.com.