SCF Spotlight: Stéphanie Joseph of Kura
Author
Bri Wylde
Publishing date
The Stellar Community Fund (SCF) is an open-application awards program that provides the support, community, and funding for founders to launch their projects on the Stellar network. In this content series, we’re shining a light on some incredible builders and entrepreneurs who have received SCF awards, exploring their projects, and showcasing the real-world impact they’re creating with blockchain technology!
Stéphanie Joseph of Kura
Today, we’re taking the time to spotlight Stéphanie Joseph, founder of Kura, a digital payment solution built on Stellar that helps merchants in the emerging markets of Central America and the Caribbean accept instant cross-border payments instead of relying on traditional, clunky POS systems.
With over ten years’ experience in traditional finance and fintech startups, Stéphanie was well-equipped to launch Kura as a first-time founder. She chose to focus her product on Central America and the Caribbean because these regions have historically lacked access to digital payment solutions. In these regions, receiving money from abroad typically involves dealing with long wait times, trips to cash pickup locations, and high costs. Kura is changing that by leveraging blockchain to help people pay for what they need instantly, right at the point of sale.
Kura helps merchants in Central America and the Caribbean move from cash to digital payments.
Stéphanie Joseph
Here’s how it works: a sponsor (an individual or an organization) in the United States authorizes someone, such as a family member, friend, or program beneficiary in Central America or the Caribbean, to make a purchase at a merchant that supports Kura. The beneficiary receives a notification in their app with a QR code or one-time passcode (OTP) and simply shows it at checkout to pay for their goods.
It’s that simple: enabling secure, compliant, and seamless disbursements at scale.
Blockchain makes this all possible by providing the foundation needed to build financial infrastructure in regions underserved by traditional systems. Stéphanie chose Stellar because of its existing focus on emerging markets and its mission to make financial access more inclusive. With Kura, she’s using that infrastructure to unlock everyday opportunities for the communities that need them most.
When Stéphanie and her team began building Kura, they joined the Stellar Development Foundation’s (SDF) Kickstart program, which gave them a rousing introduction to the Stellar ecosystem. During the program, they were able to identify the right anchor partner and technical tools needed to support their growth. They were also offered valuable feedback from mentors with experience in similar markets and products. Just as meaningful was the sense of community. Building alongside other founders provided Stéphanie with the encouragement and support needed to develop her early-stage project. Later, the Kura team received funding through the Stellar Community Fund Round #31 to support their continued development.
While being the first to launch a product in a new region might sound exciting, Stéphanie admits it’s far from easy, as you have to build everything from the ground up.
Being one of the firsts to bring something new to a region or market sounds exciting — even glamorous. But the reality is, it’s hard work. You’re not just building a product or a service. You’re figuring things out as you go, facing resistance, educating the market, and dealing with regulatory challenges no one has solved before. It’s rewarding, but far from being a walk in the park.
Stéphanie Joseph
To avoid reinventing the wheel as much as possible, she studied other founders who had launched similar products in comparable markets, specifically in the Asia-Pacific and African regions, where tech adoption is more advanced than in the Caribbean. Seeing what worked in those areas accelerated development and generated a lot of excitement for what was possible.
Stéphanie’s biggest tip for anyone tackling a similar use case is to focus conversations on the end-user benefit rather than the underlying technology. In emerging markets, people care less about how blockchain works and more about how digital payment solutions can help them get paid or purchase what they need.
Merchants onboarding onto the platform don’t really care about how the tech works, but what it does for them, which I found mindblowing.
Stéphanie Joseph
So what’s Kura up to next? Stéphanie and her team are in the process of piloting with merchants in the Caribbean, Kura’s first market, and a region often overlooked by traditional financial systems. While emerging markets like Haiti have historically been left behind, blockchain presents an opportunity to connect these offline and underserved economies to the global financial system. Interact with the Kura platform here and stay up-to-date on exciting developments by following them on LinkedIn and X!
And be sure to check out some of the impressive press and media mentions for Kura!
- Boston startup building safer way to send money abroad | Axios Boston
- Small Startups Are Fueling Stablecoin’s Engine | Forbes
- Harvard Innovation Labs Selects 19 Ventures for Flagship Alumni
- Circle | 2024 Circle Impact Report
- How Merchants in Haiti Are Embracing Digital Payments with Kura | NAAHP
- Kura Technologies and NAAHP Announce Strategic Partnership to Empower the Haitian Diaspora and Foster Economic Development | National Alliance for the Advancement of Haitian Professionals
- Harvard President Innovation Challenge 2025 Winners + Finalists
Interested in being a part of the Stellar ecosystem? Check out SDF’s various grant programs by visiting the SCF website! And questions are always welcome in the Stellar Developer Discord. Happy building!