NFT Growth in Africa; Prospects, Challenges & Wakanda Inu NFT Marketplace
Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) have exploded recently. And Africa is joining the other parts of the crypto world in the hype and buzz. From art and music to games and videos, these digital assets are selling really high, some for millions of dollars.
As much as there are traders and observers that believe NFT is just a hype and has nothing substantial to offer, others still believe NFTs are here to stay, and that they will change investment forever.
What is an NFT?
An NFT is a digital asset that represents real-world objects like art, music, in-game items and videos. They are bought and sold online, frequently with cryptocurrencies, and they are generally encoded with the same underlying software as many cryptos.
NFT stands for non-fungible token. It is generally built using the same kind of programming as cryptocurrency, like Bitcoin or Ethereum, but that’s where the similarity ends.
Although they’ve been around since 2014, NFTs are gaining popularity and influence now because they are becoming an increasingly popular way to buy and sell digital artwork. According to a report by The Guardian, In 2021, collectors and traders spent $22 billion on NFTs, up from $100 million in 2020.
NFT in Africa
NFTs, the latest digital trend is fast gaining attention in Africa. Don Jazzy became the pacesetter in the Nigerian music industry in 2021 when he made up to $300,000 in ten minutes on an NFT after collaborating with a digital artist who created three artworks and had him add a background sound to them.
During the 2018 Ethereal blockchain summit, Jacon Osinachi Igwe was the first Nigerian to present his work, and he became a finalist for the Bridgeman Studio Award in 2019. Pre-pandemic knowledge of NFT minting enabled him to sell his artwork in the crypto-sphere amid COVID-19 where most physical galleries were closing their doors. As a result of the success of his works in the crypto art market, he is regarded as the first African artist to exhibit a series of NFTs at Christie’s, a renowned auction house in London.
Africans are now becoming more interested in NFTs. A survey by Finder ranks Nigeria as the 6th largest adopter of NFTs and South Africa as 12th. The survey also hints that NFT adoption will more than double in these countries due to the high interest among respondents.
Prospects
Decentralization
NFTs provide a decentralized marketplace for Africans to sell their content and get adequately rewarded. And since the market runs on blockchain and cryptocurrencies, they no longer have to bother about payment methods.
Credible Elections
NFTs could help prevent irregularities from happening in African elections since it provides unique digital identity for each person on the blockchain, thereby reducing the risk of voter fraud and ensuring the use of blockchain technology.
Art
NFTs make it possible to track the originality of a specific piece and reduce or completely eradicate counterfeit artwork in circulation. This also assures NFT owners that their property is indeed authentic, especially if they bought it from an auction house.
Medicine
NFTs generally make it easier to apply blockchain technology to medicine. NFTs can give medical personnel unique digital identities that the public can see. Hospitals can also issue birth certificates as NFTs to ensure that every record is accurate and secure from malicious attempts at manipulation.
Challenges
Regulatory uncertainties
Several other African countries have restricted the use of cryptocurrencies. Artists from these countries have to cross this hurdle to get involved in NFTs.
Creator Economy
Globally, the creator economy is estimated to be worth over $100 billion. However, African creators have not received as much recognition as their global counterparts. As a result, they don’t generate as much revenue.
Shortage of Creators
African artists still have a market problem, there are not enough African collectors in the NFT space. According to Daliso Ngoma, a South African NFTs collector, supply is outweighing demand by a high margin. “This is a decentralized market, but a lot of artists market to me directly. If that tells you anything, it’s that there aren’t enough African collectors buying arts.”
Internet Access
For Africans, low internet penetration and high data costs might be a problem. Internet penetration in Africa is significantly lower than the global average of 30 per cent, and only one in 10 households are connected to the net.
Mint Cost
It is not so cheap to mint NFTs. Most NFTs are minted on the Ethereum blockchain, which requires ‘gas fees’ to complete transactions. These gas fees vary based on market activity and congestion. Data shows that the average minting gas fee stands at $68.52. Meanwhile, almost every second person living in the states of sub-Saharan Africa lives below the poverty line. Many Africans don’t earn up to $100 monthly as 36 per cent of its population lives in extreme poverty.
While the market is large, the African NFT space is still young and the world has not yet fully understood its content.
Introducing the Wakanda Inu NFT Marketplace
While the African NFT space is young, the local market and industry is growing at such phenomenal pace, and with promises towering above cloud, there is great potential for just about anyone to achieve the unimaginable.
Wakanda Inu introduces the Non Fungible Token (NFT) Marketplace which will enable creators, artists, dreamers, to bring to life the hidden riches of their subconscious, the creation of their imagination, show to the world and benefits financially, and otherwise from.
The Wakanda Inu NFT Marketplace is a next-generation type of asset-backed non-fungible assets marketplace.
The Wakanda Inu NFT Marketplace will enable both the minting and trading
of digital properties in the form of NFTs. Art lovers will be able to display their creative ingenuity and earn from it. The Marketplace will also feature digital properties or NFTs representing real world assets.
Art curators across the world through the Wakanda Inu Marketplace will be able to source for and secure rare art pieces and have them delivered to them if they so desire.
NFTs are digital incorruptible properties that can be used to reflect or identify real world objects. The world has become a global community with no walls thanks to the internet. But while no walls, there are marked boundaries, however, Web 3 comes to usher humanity into a world of prosperity, and global connectivity. NFTs become a tool to drive global financial and social inclusion, this is why the Wakanda Inu NFT Marketplace is setting up to become a go-to platform for both Africans and non-Africans to imagine, create, explore and trade creatives or Art or just about anything as we know it.
The Wakanda Inu NFT Marketplace is coming soon. Anticipate!!
Website: https://wakandainu.com
