GatherVerse Africa Summit 2022: Extended Reality (XR) Shaping Africa’s Digital Future.

I had the incredible opportunity to deliver a captivating keynote session at the highly esteemed GatherVerse Africa Summit 2022. The session centred around the transformative power of Extended Reality (XR) in shaping Africa's digital future.

During the keynote, I delved into the vast potential of XR technologies and how they are revolutionizing various industries across the continent. I explored how XR drives innovation, enhances user experiences, and opens new avenues for creativity and collaboration.

From highlighting the immersive nature of virtual reality to showcasing the augmented reality applications reshaping industries, I emphasized XR's significant role in unlocking limitless possibilities for Africa's digital landscape.

I discussed XR's positive impact on sectors such as education, healthcare, entertainment, and enterprise and how it empowers individuals and organizations to achieve their goals more effectively.

Moreover, I shared inspiring success stories and case studies demonstrating how XR is leveraged to address real-world challenges and create meaningful social impact.

I emphasized the importance of fostering collaboration and knowledge sharing within the XR community to further accelerate its growth and adoption in Africa.

Transcript

1. Extended Reality (XR) Shaping Africa’s Digital Future. How XR will transform Business, Education, and Social Impact in Africa.
2. Arome Ibrahim XR & Immersive Technologies Strategist | Business Analyst | Digital Transformation | Convener - XR Innovation Summit 🌍 XR Innovation Launchpad🥽 Experis Immersive is a provider of Metaverse services and strategy, immersive solutions, and design-led experiences in Nigeria.
3. BUILDING AN INCLUSIVE XR ECOSYSTEM I'm passionate about the immense potential and possibilities of Extended Reality (XR) and the Metaverse in Africa. Alongside a great team, we are mentoring and inspiring the next generation of XR Innovators out of Africa.
4. Business & Enterprise Experience Education & Social Impact
5. WHAT IS EXTENDED REALITY? Extended Reality (XR)—an umbrella term for all immersive technologies including AR, VR, and MR that extend the reality we experience by either merging the virtual and “real” worlds or by creating a fully immersive experience. The Metaverse is an integrated reality that houses interconnected spaces online where users can interact, play, work and meet. It is a parallel world to the physical world, virtually. The Metaverse became popular with some of the top tech companies such as Meta, Microsoft, and Nvidia.
6. BUSINESS & ENTERPRISE EXPERIENCE The Metaverse is an integra houses interconnected spac users can interact, play, wo parallel world to the physica The Metaverse became pop the top tech companies suc Microsoft, and Nvidia, makin with immersive technologie 25% By 2026, 25% of people will spend at least one hour a day in the metaverse for work, shopping, education, social, and/or entertainment, according to Gartner, Inc. Extended Reality (XR) will create deep levels of personalization in customer experience for brands and businesses in Africa. Businesses are often challenged by customers’ ever-shifting expectations and a rapidly changing marketplace. Customers are willing to engage and buy from brands where their experience is immersive and hyper-personalized. The retail industry for example has already started adopting AR-VR for enhanced customer engagement experience.
7. Nike will let people design and sell sneakers for the Metaverse. Nedbank is to become the first African bank to enter the Metaverse. MTN buys 144 Plots of Land in the Metaverse to Launch Music and Gaming Experiences.
8. In traditional or online learning modes, students often do not get the chance to interact with what they are taught in the classroom or have realistic visualization of subject models, especially in STEM education. Educators in Africa can use Extended Reality to create exciting learning environments that allow students to learn by doing. For example, students can visit ancient Rome or experience life as an astronaut on the International Space Station. They can also interact with their curriculum in new ways never imagined. EDUCATION & SOCIAL IMPACT
9. USE CASES OF XR FOR EDUCATION IN AFRICA SISANDA APP UNIVERSE Sisanda App Universe is a virtual science lab app that uses the power of Augmented Reality to provide users with the opportunity to experiment with science-based curriculums anywhere and anytime.
10. STANLAB 3D LABORATORY StanLab provides students with unrestricted access to curriculum- aligned, set-required standard practicals and more customized 3D labs for virtual practice. They have designed gamification for education, making it fun for students to learn science via VR storytelling.
11. Organizations striving to increase engagement for social causes can leverage VR/AR to affect audiences more deeply than is possible with traditional media. XR FOR SOCIAL IMPACT Augmented Reality (AR) is now leading the charge due to its accessibility on any recent smartphone. In 2019, UNEP partnered with MeshMinds – a leading creative technology studio based in Singapore to super-charge for the first time its climate communications for youth and online communities. ZAMSOC INTRODUCES VIRTUAL REALITY TO TEACH KIDS ABOUT CONSERVATION
12. VR THERAPY FOR SENIORS IN AFRICA The use of immersive technology has been of tremendous importance in the physical and mental well-being of seniors globally. The Arts in Medicine project by Kunle Adewale from Nigeria is currently leveraging XR technology for its social impact projects. Engaging the elderly in VR therapy helps to stimulate their brain, radiate joy and help them to create meaningful memories with their peers in the community. Kunle and his team have hosted VR therapy sessions across care homes and community centers in Lagos, Nigeria, with over 100 elderly across 7 centers.
13. VR THERAPY FOR SENIORS TO RELIVE THE PAST Arts in Medicine Project by Kunle Adewale
14. XR provides a medium for creativity to be expressed in an immersive and engaging way. We're just getting started with the immense possibilities XR has to offer in Africa. Arome Ibrahim aromeibrahim_