Quick take:
- Africa’s largest telecommunications company MTN has bought 144 plots of land in the metaverse.
- The South African multinational corporation says it wants to offer its customers musical and gaming experiences in the virtual world.
- The company bought the digital land from Africa’s first metaverse organisation, Africarare.
Africa’s largest telecommunications company MTN Group has become the first major African corporation to buy digital land in the metaverse. The South African multinational corporation announced on Monday that it had purchased 144 plots of land on Africarare, a metaverse organisation based in South Africa.
According to the announcement, MTN plans to offer virtual experiences like music and gaming to build more connections with its customers. Although the company did not disclose pricing details of the plots, it said the total space bought measures 12 meters by 12 meters, which translates to a plot sizes of 1 meter Sq.
Commenting on the new leap into the immersive 3D world, Bernice Samuels, MTN’s Group Executive for Marketing said it was an exciting moment for the company as it leads businesses from the rest of the continent on the journey to the metaverse.
“This is exactly what our Ambition 2025 strategy is premised on – leveraging trends that amplify consumer’s digital experiences and engagement,” she said adding that MTN has always been at the forefront in embracing technological and digital trends. “We remain alive to the exciting opportunities the metaverse presents for us and our customers,” Samuels concluded.
Writing on a blog post posted on the company website, MTN said that the investment demonstrated its commitment to supporting African innovation, highlighting the fact that it is the first African country to support this type of initiative.
MTN also chose to buy its metaverse plots from a local metaverse organisation rather than opting for the more industry-recognised giants like Decentraland and The Sandbox.
Africarare this week launched a metaverse world called Ubuntuland, which is a 3D virtual hub that will host various projects covering African art, fashion, entertainment, sport, tech and creativity.
It has since signed up its first customer, MTN for the digital real estate segment of the business. Leading South African advertising agency M&C Saatchi Abel has also reportedly bought a plot of land on Ubuntuland.
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