Sara-Jayne Makwala King is joined by one of Africa’s most respected futurists Mic Mann, the owner of Ubuntuland and Africarare to unpack Africa’s first Metaverse.
As we stand on the cusp of the fourth industrial revolution, one thing is increasingly clear: the future of entertainment is not limited to screens; it’s an interactive experience that blends the virtual and the real.
But just what is a Metaverse, how do you get there, what’s AR, VR and how are they redefining not just entertainment but the very fabric of daily human experience?
One of Africa’s most respected futurists, Mic Mann, the owner of Ubuntuland and Africarare, unpacks Africa’s first Metaverse.
The Metaverse takes that 2D flat experience and enhances it into three dimensions so you have physicality and a sense of space and immersion. It’s really the next evolution of the internet as we move from a 2D to 3D internet. You can now interact with retail, education, entertainment in a much more engaging way, as you have a sense of space and are walking through these virtual worlds.
Mic Mann, Ubuntuland and Africarare owner
Because of blockchain, you can now have a de-centralised metaverse and there’s ownership of these digital platforms. This means you can own something and you can prove it, which you couldn’t do before.
Mic Mann, Ubuntuland and Africarare owner
Through Africarare, Mann focused on educating and empowering Africans to engage with these new technologies.
They are on the cusp of taking off and really being adopted on a massive global scale. And that allows for Africans to create digital assets and experiences they can monetise. You can have guests, ticketed events, sell artworks and create virtual clothing…there’s quite a wide variety. Anything you can do on the 2D internet will be transformed into the 3d metaverse. The opportunities are endless.
Mic Mann, Ubuntuland and Africarare owner
The metaverse has been developing over the last 30 years and continues to make massive technological advances, which will disrupt many industries.
We’re seeing hardware devices with Apple Vision PRO coming next year, which will explode the type of user adoption and types of experiences we can engage with. When you put on a head set, it really takes you to another level of immersion. We see Africa as a mobile first opportunity, it’s a lot easier for our continent to access the metaverse through their mobile device. If you think of how many mobile devices are out there, these numbers will be dwarfed when we reach 2030.
Mic Mann, Ubuntuland and Africarare owner
Scroll up for the full conversation.
This article first appeared on CapeTalk : How Africa’s first Metaverse can change our human experience
More from Local
