Parent company to MTN Nigeria, MTN Group has announced today that it has bought 144 plots of digital land in South African originated Ubuntuland metaverse for an undisclosed sum.
The land called Africarare gives MTN the claim of being the first African company to sit foot into the metaverse. The metaverse land Ubuntuland which is developed by Africarare and Mann Made Media will be available to public land sales alter in the year as it will serve as a showcase to some of the best of African art, fashion, entertainment, sport, tech and creativity and will provide a platform for artists from across the continent to showcase their work.
Africarare – is South Africa’s first metaverse digital housing land with deep roots in the African continent. In 2021, its debut Non-fungible token (NFT) art collection were sold at $50,000.
Last year in an interview, Mic Mann, co-founder of Africarare said, “We’ve seen an immense amount of growth in the NFT space marketplace and Metaverses across the US, Europe, Asia, there hasn’t been much coming out of Africa. We feel there’s a great opportunity for Africa to take part in this new world.”
Adding MTN, the investment portrays the group’s commitment to supporting African technology and innovation. Furthermore, the purchase of the plots of land in the metaverse is coming after MTN’s rebranding from a telecommunications company to a technological company.
Speaking on the purchase, Bernice Samuels, chief marketing officer at MTN group stated, “Through its presence in the metaverse, MTN intends to increase its customer attractiveness through a series of experiences merged with consumer passion points, like gaming and music”.
MTN joined South African advertising agency M&C Saatchi Abel which also purchased its own plot of land in the newly created Ubuntuland. Outside Africa, companies like Samsung, Adida and PricewaterhouseCoopers have hopped on the trend too, buying plots of digital land.
