West Africa and the metaverse

Imagine the ‘new internet’! If you can comprehend the significant impact the internet has had on the economy, healthcare, education, jobs, science and society, then you are close to imagining what the ‘new internet’ will be, and why governments in West Africa and investors should invest in this emerging technology. This envisaged ‘new internet’, is how Meta, the parent company of Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram has described the ‘Metaverse’. Meta is leading other stakeholders in the development of the metaverse. While the estimated period for completion of development is ten years from now, some early versions of the metaverse are now in use. They include immersive 3D Virtual Reality (VR), 2D Augmented Reality (AR), Mixed Reality (MR) and Artificial Intelligence (AI).  

In West Africa, Nigeria, which for example constitutes 51.7 percent of the population and 62.49 percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the sub-region, has been significantly changed by the internet. Between 2001 when significant Information and Communications Technology (ICT) reforms began to 2022, the number of internet users has increased from 0.113 million to 154.8 million. The contribution of ICT to the economy of the country has also increased from 3.08 percent of GDP in 2001, to 16.22 percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) within the same period. A recent report by Deloitte on the estimated GDP impact of metaverse technologies indicates $9.2 – $17.3 billion for Nigeria, $2.3 – $4.2 billion for Cote d’Ivoire, $1.8 – $3.4 billion for Ghana and $0.9 – $1.7 billion for Senegal, as estimated impact on the economies of these West African countries.

As this provides some more context to what the metaverse could mean for Nigeria and the West African sub-region, it is therefore important to forecast and try to understand what some of the government and people’s concerns could be, as well as demonstrate why it is worthwhile for the governments and people of the subregion to invest in the emerging technology.

Regulation and some element of control of new and disruptive technologies, will always be a priority for governments. The restrictive action in recent years by some of the governments in the region are evidence of what will be the desire for some level or control and regulation. The recent clamour for more regulation of AI in advanced economies shows that these regulatory concerns are across board, and probably justified. And there will be a lot more interest by the governments in the subregion, if the technology can support in managing socioeconomic challenges.

For the people, economic opportunities, inclusion and interoperability with other existing platforms are key. The youthful demography in the subregion, and what it means for access to education and jobs will be very important.

By some estimates, the metaverse will contribute $3 trillion to global GDP and contribute $400 bn to the GDP of Africa, the Middle East and Turkey. While the estimated GDP contribution explains some of its projected economic opportunities, the fact that the metaverse is still being developed, provides ample opportunities for inclusion, equity, voice and expression.

For governments within the subregion that will be concerned with regulatory issues, the development stage of a new technology is a better time to be involved. Granted that there are parts of the metaverse such as VR, AR and MR already developed, and in use, the responsibility remains on the part of the governments and Meta to be more collaborative. With strategic collaboration, the concerns and challenges that can make governments sometimes resist, and not invest in new technologies, are proactively and collaboratively addressed.

And how can some of these policy collaborations be achieved within the West African subregion?

Abuja, the capital city of Nigeria, is host to the headquarters of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). ECOWAS is the African Union (AU) recognized Regional Economic Community (REC) for the West African subregion. The headquarters of the ECOWAS Commission which is the executive arm of the REC; the ECOWAS Parliament, its legislative arm; and the ECOWAS Court of Justice, the judicial arm; are all domiciled within the city. The city is also host to the West Africa Telecommunications Regulators Assembly (WATRA), which is the assembly of telecoms regulatory agencies in the subregion. WATRA is a multilateral platform that works towards expanding access to ICT within the subregion.

A collaboration strategy by Meta with ECOWAS and its institutions can help to ensure that the policy and legislatives preferences of West Africa and its governments, are taken into consideration in the development of the metaverse. Such subregional collaborative strategy can subsequently be cascaded with peer-reviewed frameworks to other AU RECs in Africa, such as the East African Community (EAC), the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC), the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), the Community of Sahel–Saharan States (CEN–SAD), the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS) and the Arab Maghreb Union (UMA).

Just as Metaverse Academies have been established in Paris and Riyadh, a similar academy can be established in Abuja, the capital city of Africa’s largest economy and most populous country. Establishing such an academy, preferably within a university in the city with proven continental linkages, will not only support effective and efficient collaborative efforts of Meta with West African policymakers and lawmakers, but also facilitate inclusive research from the continent’s academic community. That way, governments in the subregion and wider continent are better convinced on the need to invest in the metaverse, and are also more convinced on the returns on such investment. A Metaverse Academy in Abuja also enables more inclusion of West Africans in the development of the technology, as relevant trainings that include AR, VR, MR and AI are more readily provided, which effectively ensures that skilled techies and stakeholders from the subregion have the requisite training and capacity to be a part of the development of the metaverse. West African governments and the ECOWAS Commission will through this envisaged academy, be provided with a feasible opportunity to invest in the capacity development of the subregion’s techies and citizens.

Before concluding, it is important to stress some of what the metaverse can offer to West Africa, especially in the main development areas of healthcare, economic management, education and security.

The metaverse can support the training of medical professionals, in a part of the world with some of the worse healthcare system rankings according to the World Health Organisation. The ratio of doctors to population in West Africa is 1.74 to 10,000, compared to 35 per 10,000 in Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries. Many of the countries in the subregion have less than 1 doctor to 10,000 people, with over half of the countries actually having less than 10 doctors to 100,000 inhabitants, when social data is further assessed. Metaverse technology can play a cost-effective role in the training of medical professionals as well as in enabling some of the technology that supports the development of efficient and well-resourced healthcare systems in the ECOWAS region.

The metaverse can possibly support governments in their efforts towards digitizing tax collection, and raising tax-to-GDP rates from the average of 14.36 percent in the subregion, to about 33 percent in OECD countries. Digitizing tax collection and other public services not only shores up much needed revenue for public goods, but also increases the formal sector. And increasing the formal sector of the economy will reduce the cumbersome informal sector, which the World Economic Forum estimates to account for approximately 50 percent of national output, over 80 percent of employment, and 90 percent of new jobs in the subregion. This in turn enhances precision development planning, in a part of the world that requires better governance, as a means of meeting the sustainable development goals.

The immersive VR technology can significantly enable increased access to good education, in the only region of the world where the number of out-of-school children is increasing.  A United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) report in 2022 indicates that Sub-Saharan Africa is the region of the world with most out-of-school numbers at 98 million. West and Central Africa accounts for 57 million of this number, which constitutes 24.1 percent of all the 236 million out-of-school worldwide. For Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger and Chad, more than half of all children and adolescents lack access to education, due largely to insecurity. The interconnected nature of access to education with security potentially increases the return on any investment made by subregional governments in the metaverse, especially if the technology can enhance security.

The social and political crises in the Sahel coupled with a number of other factors have increased insecurity and state fragility in the subregion, and many governments are constrained by resources to effectively train their security agencies to combat the dynamic nature of terrorists and their activities. Many governments in the region are therefore dependent on training and equipment that are foreign funded, because of cost, equipment and technology factors. The metaverse with its immersive technology shows good prospects for simulated military trainings, and offers some possible options that can support security training in a cost-effective manner. The Immersive in Barracks Virtual Training (IBVT) used by the British Army, exemplifies the military prospects of the metaverse. Therefore, if West African governments invest in the technology, they will depend less on foreign military trainings, enhance their sovereignty, and effectively and efficiently perform their primary responsibility- which is the security of lives and property. Mention should also be made of the technology’s agritech prospects, which could enhance agricultural productivity and food security, in a part of the world with relatively high levels of food insecurity.

Many who feel that the region was not an inclusive part and beneficiary of the three previous industrial revolutions, have expressed a desire for the region to play a more significant and beneficial role in the fourth industrial revolution. The emerging metaverse provides a feasible option for that industrial engagement.

The metaverse is an emerging technology, conceptualized as the next iteration of the internet, with the prospects for addressing some of the pressing socioeconomic challenges in West Africa. It can possibly support governments in the subregion to improve their healthcare systems, expand access to education, attain fiscal policy milestones, enhance food security and boost their territorial security, among other prospects. Strategic collaboration helps in addressing some of the concerns that governments may have, while the establishment of a Metaverse Academy in Abuja, the host city for ECOWAS, will enable effective and efficient interactions with West African governments, institutions of the subregions multilateral organisations and those from the wider region. The proposed academy also provides effective means for inclusion and wider participation of the subregion in the development of the metaverse.  Together with the opportunity the technology offers the subregion to be a strategic part of the fourth industrial revolution, there are obvious returns that governments and stakeholders from the subregion can gain from investing in the metaverse.

For West Africa, the ‘new internet’ is indeed, a worthy investment.

Dr. Uwanaka writes from the African University of Science and Technology, Abuja. [email protected]