• The African Metaverse will also provide a platform for industries to showcase and advertise
• Africare, the first African Metaverse, opened its doors to the world in August and has shown significant improvement since then
• Imisis3D is a creative lab for Extended Reality(XR) that aims to grow the XR ecosystem in Africa and beyond

Africa has made its mark on Web3 with the fastest adoption rate. This fourth technological wave has Africa on the front line, from crypto trading to blockchain technology adoption. There is a new aspect of Web3 that many tech enthusiasts have been buzzing about, the Metaverse.

The consistent progress of Web3 in Africa made this movie-like concept a reality, and many are asking how the new virtual reality will influence the continet. In more ways than one, Meta Africa or the African Metaverse is a rising trend that has consistently caught the hearts of many techs and gaming enthusiasts. Does this new technology spell a new age of African NFT artists and crypto traders?

How Meta Africa rose to fame

The constant shift to Web3 has brought numerous demands for new technology. Meta Africa was considered the next new phase from cryptocurrency and blockchain technology. 

Although Web3 released the concept behind the Metaverse decades ago, the recent Coronavirus epidemic caused its sudden rise in popularity.

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COVID-19 brought a lot of change that many weren’t expecting. Every individual was forced into a temporary ‘house arrest’, which caused a significant decline in the traditional work system. Hence the Metaverse was seen as the solution to the declining economy.

Although it is still relatively new, Meta Africa was embraced by several African countries such as South Africa and Kenya. Even after the COVID-19 pandemic, Meta Africa firmly placed its roots in Africa.

African Metaverse has the potential to boost the economy.

Currently, several African countries have embraced crypto at an extremely high rate. Governments are even considering adopting crypto into their economy to salvage their fiat currency and identify ways of benefiting from crypto as a country.

Meta Africa took a leaf from its sibling technology and has shown signs of accommodating the needs of a country instead of an individual.

Africare, the first African Metaverse, opened its doors to the world in August and has shown significant improvement since then.

Its main agenda is to not only aid African NFT artists but also open and connect a variety of professions to the global digital economy. This Meta African startup expressed its interest in commercializing the virtual world, providing a platform where creative users can make a living.

Africarare will be able to accommodate African NFT artists and crypto traders by offering an art gallery section and a crypto payment system. Ubuntutoken, the native cryptocurrency of Ubuntu land, will be accepted within Africarare. This was a collaboration to improve this African Metaverse further.

The gallery section has two categories; the Mila gallery and Inuka gallery. Both will enable African NFT artists to showcase their culture and NFT designs to the global market.

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The African Metaverse will also provide a platform for industries to showcase and advertise themselves. This will create a global reach for not only African NFT artists but also other companies; digital products are but a section of the entire scope.

As Africa’s population and educational sectors gradually improve, experts have estimated that shortly most innovations will come from this flourishing continent. To accommodate them would require a vast ecosystem that can not only house but also individually focus on these ideas entirely.

In addition, a report was released estimating that the impact of Meta Africa, ten years after adoption, will contribute to a 1.8% GDP growth to the Sub-Saharan economy, representing a $40 million growth rate. These figures are a rough estimate, and the actual numbers are far more significant.

African Companies assisting in building Facebook’s Metaverse

Building a Metaverse is no easy feat since it involves incorporating and integrating blockchain technology with other complex technology. Merely testing the framework of the African Metaverse, Africarare took several years of planning, investing and programming.

Facebook announced its desire to rebrand to Meta, leveraging virtual reality, augmented reality and artificial intelligence. The CEO of Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg, expressed willingness to incorporate Africa in its Metaverse creation.

He stated, “The Metaverse won’t be built overnight by a single company. We’ll collaborate with policymakers, experts and industry partners to bring this to life. We’re announcing a $50 million investment in global research and program partners to ensure the responsible development of these products.”

“We’re working with the Organization of American States on the job training and skills development for students, creators and small business owners. “

Three major companies in Africa are pushing the digital age’s boundaries and Meta Africa. Their key objective is to “Amplify African Voice” in this new digital wave and, in doing so, have aided n the creation of various projects relating to and aside from the African Metaverse.

Africa No Filter

Africa no filter is a digital tech organization that embraces creative minds in the world of technology. They are the pioneers of several innovations showcasing the prowess of African creativity, ingenuity and originality in the tech world.

In addition, they support storytellers, invest in media platforms and drive disruption campaigns to rid the world of the stereotypes surrounding Africa and technology.

Electric Youth

Electric South aims to empower Africa by embracing the originality of African minds. They have played a critical role in building the African Metaverse and have shown their interest in the new tech Age; blockchain technology.

The South-African based company believes new technology must make room for unique voices and false narratives.

The company has significantly added African NFT artists by providing the necessary laboratories, production services, financing, and exhibition opportunities.

This gives them the means to showcase and promote African culture worldwide. They have shifted their focus to Meta Africa, a global virtual platform with enough audience and stakeholders to further promote Africa’s various startups.

Imisi 3D

This Nigerian-based company is a creative lab for Extended Reality(XR) that aims to grow the XR ecosystem in Africa and beyond. With the new wave of Web3, collaboration and interoperability of different concepts are at an all-time high.

The African Metaverse lone combines blockchain technology, AI and Virtual Reality and Imisi3d desires to partake in this brilliant endeavour. They are committed to growing and expanding the African AR/VR experiences and creating original products for Africa by Africa. 

The tech company sees great potential in AR/VR as a tool for supporting daily solutions. People who want to transform the technology narrative so that Africa can be technology producers instead of consumers.

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Conclusion

Web3 has ushered in the fourth technological wave and resulted in the creation of Meta Africa, African cryptocurrency and a new outlook on blockchain applications.

Even though the African Metaverse is a concept barely a decade old, many are enthusiastic about its application.

African NFT Artists are the first beneficiaries of this new concept, but there is still room for many more. We have to witness how far Meta Africa will improve the continent in the coming years.