The UNICCON Group of Companies in Nigeria has unveiled its blockchain technology SmartAfri Labs to drive the inclusion of Africa and the adoption of specialized technology in the continent.
The project seeks to increase stakes for Africans, encourage more developers to get into the niche, and overall, to drive massive inclusion.
The novel product, which is the first African blockchain technology, consists of SmartAfri Chain (blockchain node), NFT Marketplace (Create and sell NFTs), SmartAfri Verse (Metaverse), SmartAfri eMarket (fusion of 2.0 and 3.0) and UNICCON VR (locally made and subsidized headsets).
Speaking during the unveiling,in Abuja,Nigeria’s capital, the Chairman of UNICCON Group, Dr Chuks Ekwueme shared insight on the poor inclusion and adoption of the blockchain ecosystem in Africa.
“Africa has less than a 5 percent stake in the projected $1.1 trillion the industry promises.“
He however said;“We have created technology and platforms to drive inclusion by up to 25 percent by the year 2025.
“Our Virtual Reality, VR, headsets, for example, are more affordable, and will not exclude poor Africans from using the technology. This is inclusion. It is erroneous to view blockchain technology as being crypto. It is much more than that, and that notion should be vacated.”
Ekwueme explained that the company is leveraging the opportunities of the Fourth Industrial Revolution,4IR to drive Africa’s inclusion in Blockchain ecosystem.
“We have built this platform, which is a fusion of Web 2.0 and 3.0 and we are keen on being key participants in the 4IR. There is a huge market in our non-fungible tokens , NFT, marketplace as Nigerians and Africans from the creative and other industries can tap into it to generate wealth and add to the GDP.“
The General Manager, UNICCON, Kehinde Ake stated that SmartAfri Labs offers exceptional levels of security, transparency, and efficiency, granting users the ability to transfer assets, save data, and carry out smart contracts in a decentralized and fraud-proof network.
“We have created this technology to allow Africans to stand tall, raise their heads, spread their shoulders, and take giant strides in an ecosystem that was once alien to them,” he explained
The Keynote Speaker, John Paul Nwobodo, who is an industry investment analyst with Adaverse, spoke on the monumental impact of blockchain technology in a wide variety of industries.
“Using the banking industry as a point of reference, according to the 2021 World Bank report, 66 percent of Nigerians are unbanked, and the banked are being recycled by existing financial services providers. The cost of cross-border remittance is very high and using blockchain can help reduce these numbers, making cross-border remittances cheaper and defying geographical barriers.“ He said
The company’s Chief Technology Officer, Eval Esege, while presenting SmartAfri Labs took the audience on an experiential journey of what it does, how it works, and its many benefits.
He explained that “SmartAfri Labs was borne out of the need to create a blockchain ecosystem that represents African values and culture. We have set up a partnership opportunity available from today to allow those who resonate with our vision to join us on this journey.” He added.
The launch had in attendance, representatives from the National Information Technology and Development Agency (NITDA), the Nigerian Computing Society (NCS), Adverse, the blockchain community, the private sector and other audiences who joined virtually.
UNICCON Group has been at the forefront of creating innovative tech solutions to solve problems in Africa.
Recall that the company launched the first African humanoid in December 2023. It has also signed an MoU with NITDA and is currently supporting the Federal Government in deepening digital literacy in Nigeria.
According to the Unicorn Group, this move will see the realization of 95 percent literacy in the country by the year 2030.
Blockchain is a decentralized system of recording information in a way that makes it difficult or impossible to change, hack or cheat the system.
PIAK
