Inspiration
Financial inclusion is not just about having a bank account; it is about having the ability to access and use financial services independently, securely, and confidently.
Millions of people in developing economies, particularly women, rural communities, and individuals with limited literacy, remain excluded from financial opportunities. Traditional banking often requires extensive documentation, established credit histories, and familiarity with complicated financial systems. Even modern digital banking applications assume users own personal smartphones, can read complex instructions, and understand financial terminology.
For underserved women, these challenges can be even greater. Limited access to personal devices, financial documentation, conventional collateral, and private banking services can restrict their financial independence.
We began with a simple question:
What if financial technology adapted to people instead of expecting people to adapt to technology?
That question inspired Plus, a voice-first financial platform designed to make saving, borrowing, and building financial independence accessible to everyone.
We chose Nigeria as our initial target market because currency volatility, limited access to affordable credit, and financial exclusion create a significant opportunity for meaningful innovation.
What it does
Plus is a voice-first gateway into the digital financial economy, designed to make financial services accessible regardless of literacy, technological experience, or smartphone ownership.
Unlike traditional financial applications that rely on complex menus, written instructions, and lengthy forms, Plus allows users to navigate financial services through natural voice conversations in their preferred language.
Our platform brings together several financial services:
- Voice-first banking: Users can navigate financial services by speaking naturally, reducing barriers associated with literacy and technological experience.
- Multilingual accessibility: Support for multiple languages makes financial services more approachable for diverse communities.
- Biometric authentication: Secure biometric sign-in options are designed to simplify account access while protecting individual financial information.
- Shared-device accessibility: Multiple individuals can use the same smartphone or community kiosk while maintaining separate, independently authenticated accounts.
- Stable-value savings: Proposed savings options designed to help users manage currency volatility and preserve purchasing power.
- Alternative financial profiles: Consent-based transaction histories and verified productive assets can help individuals establish financial credibility.
- Microloan access: Plus aims to connect underserved individuals and small businesses with affordable financing through regulated lending partners.
- Asset registration: Users can document productive assets such as farming equipment, livestock, sewing machines, and business inventory.
- Kiosk and assisted access: Shared-access kiosks and assisted onboarding could allow individuals without personal smartphones to participate in digital financial services.
Empowering underserved women
One of Plus's central goals is addressing financial barriers that disproportionately affect women, particularly in rural and low-income communities.
Rather than creating a separate financial product for women, we are designing Plus to remove the barriers that prevent many women from participating independently in the financial system.
Voice-first accessibility reduces dependence on literacy and technological experience. Instead of navigating complicated menus or completing lengthy forms, users can interact with Plus through natural conversations in their preferred language.
Biometric authentication and shared-device access address another major barrier: personal smartphone ownership.
Traditional digital banking often assumes every customer has their own device. However, in communities where smartphones are shared among family members, this assumption can exclude individuals from digital financial services.
Plus aims to allow multiple users to securely access their own accounts from a single device using supported biometric authentication methods and individual account credentials.
For example, a woman sharing a smartphone with her family could securely sign into her own Plus account, manage her savings, and review financial opportunities without requiring a separate device or sharing her account credentials.
Each user's financial information remains associated with their individual account, with authentication required before accessing sensitive information. Shared sessions are designed to end securely, preventing subsequent users from viewing another person's financial activity.
For community kiosks, Plus envisions secure authentication through compatible biometric hardware or alternative verification methods, allowing individuals without personal smartphones to access the same financial services.
Biometric information would be handled through appropriate secure authentication systems rather than stored publicly on the blockchain. Alternative authentication methods would remain available for users unable or unwilling to use biometrics.
Productive-asset verification also creates opportunities for women who may lack traditional collateral.
For example, a woman operating a tailoring business could register her sewing machine, business inventory, and transaction history to establish a more complete financial profile. Similarly, a smallholder farmer could document agricultural equipment, livestock, and income activity.
Through independent verification and consent-based financial records, Plus aims to help women demonstrate economic activity without unnecessarily relying on approval from family members or traditional credit histories.
Our goal is to make financial independence more accessible by giving users greater control over their savings, financial identities, and economic opportunities.
How we built it
We approached Plus with accessibility as our primary design principle rather than treating it as an additional feature.
Our prototype brings together a simplified financial dashboard, voice-enabled interactions, and workflows for savings, borrowing, financial profiles, and asset registration.
We focused on redesigning traditional financial interactions around natural conversations. Instead of expecting users to navigate multiple menus or understand complex terminology, our goal was to create an experience where users could communicate their needs directly.
We also explored biometric authentication and shared-device experiences to address the needs of individuals who may not own personal smartphones.
Our shared-access design separates individual financial accounts from the devices used to access them. This allows us to explore a model where multiple people can use one smartphone or kiosk while maintaining independent financial identities and private account information.
We considered secure session management, authentication, and alternative verification methods to ensure that accessibility does not come at the expense of privacy.
Stellar forms the foundation of our blockchain-based financial vision. Its fast settlement and low transaction costs make it particularly relevant for small-value financial transactions, where traditional processing fees can become disproportionately expensive.
Our longer-term vision includes using Stellar-based digital assets, verifiable financial records, and programmable financial workflows to support accessible savings and lending services.
Challenges we ran into
One of our biggest challenges was balancing financial functionality, accessibility, and security.
Traditional financial applications depend heavily on written instructions, complex forms, and multiple navigation steps. Designing a voice-first experience required us to rethink how users would understand financial information, authorize transactions, and complete important tasks.
Another major challenge was addressing access for individuals without personal smartphones.
Allowing multiple people to use the same device introduces important privacy and security considerations. We needed to consider how each individual could maintain a separate account, authenticate securely, and prevent other users from accessing their financial information.
Exploring biometric authentication also raised questions about device compatibility, user consent, secure credential management, and accessibility for individuals who cannot use biometric verification.
We recognized that biometric authentication alone cannot guarantee privacy on a shared device, making secure sessions, independent account credentials, and alternative authentication methods essential.
We also considered how alternative financial profiles could recognize productive assets without compromising verification standards or responsible lending practices.
Finally, connecting blockchain infrastructure with real-world financial services introduces regulatory challenges, particularly around digital assets, identity verification, savings products, and lending in Nigeria.
These challenges reinforced the importance of developing technology that is not only innovative but also practical, secure, and accessible.
Accomplishments that we're proud of
Our greatest accomplishment is developing Plus around a different approach to financial inclusion.
Instead of simply creating another digital wallet, we designed a platform where accessibility shapes the entire financial experience.
We are particularly proud of:
- Making voice-first interaction central to the Plus experience.
- Designing multilingual financial workflows that reduce barriers for individuals with limited literacy.
- Exploring biometric authentication to simplify secure account access.
- Designing shared-device experiences that allow multiple individuals to maintain independent financial accounts.
- Exploring kiosk-based access for individuals without personal smartphones.
- Bringing savings, alternative financial profiles, asset registration, and microloan applications into one integrated product concept.
- Developing an approach to financial identity that recognizes productive assets and informal economic activity.
- Prioritizing financial independence, privacy, and accessibility for underserved women.
- Exploring how Stellar can support affordable, small-value financial transactions.
- Establishing a Nigeria-first strategy with the potential for expansion into other underserved markets.
What we learned
Building Plus taught us that financial inclusion is not simply about making financial services available; it is about making them usable.
Someone may technically have access to digital banking but still be excluded because they cannot comfortably read the interface, do not own a smartphone, lack traditional financial documentation, or cannot access affordable credit.
We also learned that access to digital finance should not depend on personal device ownership.
By exploring biometric authentication, secure shared-device sessions, and community kiosks, we recognized the potential to separate financial identity from smartphone ownership.
A person should not need to own a smartphone to own and independently manage a financial account.
For underserved women, improving access requires more than providing a digital account. It also means considering privacy, independent account ownership, alternative forms of collateral, and accessible onboarding.
Another important lesson was that blockchain creates the most value when it solves a practical economic problem. Stellar's potential lies in making small-value financial transactions more efficient and helping financial services remain economically sustainable.
Meaningful financial innovation begins with understanding the people existing systems leave behind.
What's next for Plus
Our next step is to move beyond the prototype and validate Plus with the communities we aim to serve.
We plan to begin in Nigeria, focusing on underserved women, smallholder farmers, rural entrepreneurs, and individuals with limited access to traditional financial services.
Our priorities include:
- User testing: Evaluate voice-first interactions with users across different literacy levels, languages, and digital experiences.
- Multilingual expansion: Improve support for Nigerian English, Yoruba, Nigerian Pidgin, and other relevant local languages.
- Biometric authentication: Further develop and evaluate secure biometric sign-in methods, alongside accessible alternatives.
- Shared-device accessibility: Test how multiple individuals can securely access independent financial accounts through a single smartphone.
- Kiosk accessibility: Develop and evaluate shared-access kiosks and assisted onboarding for individuals without personal smartphones.
- Women's financial inclusion: Work with local communities to understand the specific barriers women face and validate how Plus can address them.
- Financial partnerships: Explore relationships with licensed Nigerian financial institutions to support compliant savings and lending services.
- Stellar integration: Continue developing blockchain-based financial workflows for low-cost transactions and eligible digital asset services.
- Sustainable growth: Validate a business model that makes serving underserved communities economically viable without relying on ongoing subsidies.
Our long-term vision is to expand Plus beyond Nigeria into other emerging markets facing similar financial barriers.
We believe the future of finance should not depend on someone's gender, literacy level, smartphone ownership, or familiarity with traditional banking systems.
With Plus, financial opportunity can begin with something as simple as a conversation.
