Africa’s MTN Dives Into the Metaverse

MTN, Africa’s largest mobile telecommunications company, has bought 144 plots of land in Africarare, Ubuntuland, making it the continent’s first company to enter the Metaverse.

The story was first broken by top African technology magazine TechCabal, which revealed that the telecommunications behemoth, which controls nearly 80% of Nigeria’s mobile market share, had made metaverse acquisitions to boost its rebranding efforts and position itself as a futuristic technology-inclined company. MTN believes that its participation in indigenous metaverse projects is part of the company’s commitment to fostering African innovation.

The purchase is only a small part of Ubuntuland, a vast expanse of metaverse real estate developed by Mann Made Media, a South African Web3 company (MMM).

MMM’s entire property is a digital ode to the scale and resemblance of Africa’s actual political geography. Mic Mann and his team of creators made their first foray into alternate reality as the first indigenous Metaverse project from and for Africans. Already, Africarare is preparing to host a public real estate sale by the end of 2022.

MMM’s massive expanse of digital real estate, like most metaverse projects, should feature some of Africa’s best creativity, spanning all forms of entertainment, sports, creativity, and others. Ubuntuland will also provide established and emerging African artists with the opportunity to showcase their talents and establish themselves as a global reckoning force in the metaverse.

MTN has not slowed down since rebranding as a technology company. It won the official licensing bid for the establishment of a 5G network in Nigeria, Africa’s largest economy, earlier this month. The victory would solidify its position as a top contender in the African market, supplying next-generation high-speed internet service to meet the needs of a growing technologically savvy population that relies on faster internet service for local and international tasks. Companies with a strong presence on the continent, such as Meta, are taking Africa’s access and connectivity to the Metaverse seriously.

Samsung, Apple, Microsoft, Roblox, Unity Software, PriceWaterCooper House, JPMorgan, and top US microchip company Nvidia, which recently reported a cyberattack linked to Russia, are among the other top communication and finance companies that have confirmed their interest in the Metaverse.

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