The introduction of virtual reality, the metaverse and Web3 has allowed the tech community to explode with ways to further innovate the space. Companies have made it possible to try-on clothes through augmented reality, receive therapeutic virtual care in the metaverse and much more. But beyond building virtual reality communities San Francisco-based Afropolitan is working to build a digital nation by Africans for members of the African diaspora.
On Monday, Afropolitan pulled in $2.1 million in seed funding from former Coinbase CTO Balaji Srinivasan, Hustle Fund co-founder Elizabeth Yin, Paystack CEO Shola Akinlade and others.
“We are building a network comprising the best that Africa and the diaspora offer across art, finance, tech and media,” Eche Emole, Afropolitan founder, said in a statement. “The Afropolitan Network is a curator of Black and African talent, culture, capital, information and experiences.”
Afropolitan’s root source of building its digital nation is to seek out and build abundance within the African diaspora community. To the company, abundance is worth pursuing in any society which hopes to be both healthy and wealthy.
“Instead of the Land of Opportunity, we propose the network of abundance — abundance of tools, abundance of opportunity, abundance of joy,” Emole said in a statement.
In order to build out and develop its digital nation, Afropolitan has outlined a four-phase plan. In its first phase, deemed for networking, the company intends to communicate a clear and energetic vision for the world it is building. In this phase, Afropolitan will release an NFT campaign that will also grant users a digital passport to the nation alongside access to events and future value-added services.
In phase two, it will launch the Afropolitan Super App to bring together all the utilities within the Afropolitan ecosystem. Registered users will be able to monitor their holdings, send money across borders and earn by contributing to the DAO alongside being able to buy goods and services.
Phase three will focus on furthering the legitimacy of the nation and its organization.
By phase four, Afropolitan plans to acquire land in negotiation with partner governments. According to the company, the land will look like a “Chinatown/Afropolitan town” where digital users can establish a physical presence and create economic opportunities.
