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South Africa’s Nedbank group, one of the largest financial services groups in Africa, has partnered with Africarare, Africa’s first metaverse, and secured a 12x12 village in Ubuntuland on which to establish its presence as the first African financial services organisation to enter the metaverse.

According to Investopedia, metaverse is a shared virtual environment that people access via the internet, and it is being heralded as the future of ecommerce.

In a recent statement, Nedbank said its embrace of the new technology forms part of its strategy to lead in digital, go beyond banking, discover new marketing platforms, and leverage new technology to better serve its customers and stay at the forefront through forward-thinking solutions.

The Nedbank village with a focus on customer value and services, will contain numerous experiences ranging from virtual gaming, a sports lounge and more, according to the statement sent to Financial Nigeria.  

Nedbank joins global players such as DBS Bank, HSBC, Fidelity Investment and JP Morgan who have partnered with metaverses globally. The early settlers in Ubuntuland include MTN, World Data Lab, and M&C Saatchi Abel.

“Creating experiences that go beyond banking has always been a focus for Nedbank. Our entry into the metaverse is not merely about having a presence in this space, it’s about meeting the needs of our clients on platforms that resonate with them, while offering an array of touchpoints that continue to demonstrate our commitment to lead in digital,” says Khensani Nobanda, Group Executive for Marketing and Corporate Affairs at Nedbank Group.

“As Nedbank, we want to remain at the forefront of the technologies that will enable the next wave of digital business models, so we’re investing in web 3.0 and the newer open-source technologies on which the Metaverse is built,” said Fred Swanepoel, Nedbank’s Chief Information Officer. “It’s important for us as Nedbank to continue leading and advancing our digitisation journeys which have already yielded excellent results for the Group, and enable Nedbank to engage in the future digital marketplaces, where we believe we will need to meet and serve our clients.”

Mic Mann, Co-founder and CEO of Africarare, said that, by entering the metaverse, Nedbank will pave the way for new solutions for Africa and play a role in the future of banking.