Africa’s first metaverse targets a billion people
William Brederode - A first on the continent, an African metaverse platform has a hugely ambitious goal – to attract a billion people onto its mixed reality platform.This is according to Mic Mann, the CEO of Africarare, the builders of Ubuntuland.
Mann explained that metaverse platforms like Ubuntuland are designed to bring the internet into three dimensions.
“People can connect to this global digital economy through this next iteration of the internet. Through taking the flat internet and turning it into three dimensions,” said Mann.
He said that Ubuntuland users will be able to connect, socialise, engage, trade, and be entertained in 3D virtual reality.
Ubuntuland has attracted some big-name investors who have already purchased land on the platform.
Nedbank, MTN, and Primedia have staked their claim to villages in the Ubuntuland world.
Array of opportunities
Every plot of land in Ubuntuland is valued at 0.1499 Ethereum on the Opensea NFT marketplace. This is equal to around N$4 500 at today's prices per plot.
“Our entry into the metaverse is not merely about having a presence in this space, it's about meeting the needs of our clients on platforms that resonate with them, while offering an array of touchpoints that continue to demonstrate our commitment to lead in digital," Nedbank group executive for marketing and corporate affairs, Khensani Nobanda, told Business Insider.
“The metaverse holds a wide array of opportunities to further enhance and showcase African innovation and are excited to be pioneers of this journey on the continent,” said Bernice Samuels, a group marketing executive at the MTN Group.
Traffic
Mann said there are 34 business-to-business companies that currently have a stake in Ubuntuland.
He said that their website currently receives in the order of 1 500 to 2 000 page views per day, but not all of those people visit a digital space on the platform.
Metaverse technology is not widely understood, which is a barrier to adoption, said Mann.
“The education and the knowledge gap is quite massive,” he added.
Available tools and AI push
A number of features are already available on the platform.
In addition to entertainment experiences and art galleries, it is possible to host meetings with up to 15 participants in an Ubuntuland meeting room.
Mann said a marketplace was launched on the platform recently that allows people to trade both digital and physical products through the sale of non-fungible tokens (NFTs). Physical products are sold by being linked to an NFT.
Mann also said that the platform is pivoting to provide artificial intelligence (AI) tools on Ubuntuland.
“We have done a pivot recently because of the AI revolution that is going on.”
He said that an “all-knowing being”, that can answer questions is being introduced and virtual shop assistants who will be able to answer customers' questions in retail outlets “with personality", are being introduced.
He said that more features are going to be introduced to the platform soon.
"Our mission is to create a platform of global change makers who can find solutions to some of Africa and the world’s greatest challenges,” said Mann. – Fin24