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Asharq Al-Awsat
Asharq Al-Awsat
Technology
Asharq Al-Awsat

Startups Eye Metaverse, NFTs, to Solve Africa’s Economic Woes

Africa metaverse Inequality Internet Nigeria
A concert in Ubuntuland, Africa’s first metaverse marketplace. (Thomson Reuters Foundation/Handout courtesy of Bianca Chan)

It might sound like science fiction, but a Nigerian-born tech entrepreneur thinks he has found a way for Africans to escape problems like inequality and bad governance - a virtual nation born online.

His is among a number of African-led virtual projects that aim to help the world's poorest continent capitalize on digital growth and tackle real-world problems, though some tech experts said such online spaces risk replicating offline inequalities.

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