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The Uniccon Group of Companies has launched SmartAfri Labs – its blockchain technology to drive the inclusion of Africans and adoption of the specialized technology in the region.
“Africa has less than a five percent stake in the projected $1.1 trillion the industry promises. We have created technology and platforms to drive inclusion by up to 25 percent by the year 2025. Our VR headsets for example are more affordable, and will not exclude poor Africans from using the technology. This is inclusion,” said Chairman of Uniccon Group, Dr. Chuks Ekwueme, during the launch in Abuja.
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“It is erroneous to view blockchain technology as being crypto. It is much more than that, and that notion should be vacated. 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 NFT marketplace as Nigerians and Africans from the creative and other industries can tap into it to generate wealth and add to the GDP,” Ekwueme told the audience that included those that joined virtually via YouTube, Zoom, Instagram, Twitter, and Discord.
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). The project seeks to increase stakes for Africans, encourage more developers to get into the niche, and overall, to drive massive inclusion.
“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,” said General Manager, Uniccon, Kehinde Ake at the launch statin 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.”
Keynote speaker, John Paul Nwobodo, an industry investment analyst with Adaverse, spoke about the monumental impact of blockchain technology in a wide variety of industries. Using the banking industry as a point of reference, he said “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.”
Uniccon’s Chief Technology Officer (CTO), Eval Esege, presented SmartAfri Labs and took the audience on an experiential journey of what it does, and how its many bundled benefits work.
“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,” said Esege.
The launch had in attendance, representatives from the National Information Technology and Development Agency (NITDA), the Nigerian Computing Society (NCS), Adverse, the blockchain community, and the private sector.
Group General Manager at Uniccon, Chris Ebosie, said the company is firmly committed to advancing IT across Africa.
Uniccon Group has been at the forefront of creating innovative tech solutions to solve problems in Africa.
The 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. This move will see the realization of 95 percent literacy in the country by the year 2030.
