Last week, Meta (www.Facebook.com) invited top Nigerian content creators to a first-of-its-kind mixed reality event showcasing creativity and imagination as keys to the Metaverse, the next evolution of the internet, and as part of its “#FlexNaija” campaign.

In a first for Meta in Africa, the company unveiled a 360 degree campaign focused on the metaverse and entry points for creators in Nigeria, and across the region, including Meta Spark Augmented Reality (AR) (https://bit.ly/3OJWHuS), Digital Collectibles (NFTs) (https://bit.ly/3UhUx6K), and Avatars (https://bit.ly/3VBNbMm). First rolled out over the summer, “#FlexNaija” , included an incubation program which brought together leading content creators across comedy, tech, lifestyle, fashion, and art, including the likes of Mark Angel comedy (https://bit.ly/3Uf0GR2), Josh2funny (https://bit.ly/3AT4xN4), Ayomidate (https://bit.ly/3u8tCzE), Miss Techy (https://bit.ly/2QjQ9EM), Tolu Bally (https://bit.ly/3AQDPVc) and Santi (https://bit.ly/3OHDz0m). Through these partnerships, the aim was to showcase the power of collaboration in the metaverse, and how communities can push the boundaries of creativity and social connection physically and online. 

By October, “#FlexNaija” had snowballed into a series of star-studded animated and traditional ads taking over airwaves, billboards and digital displays, across Nigeria.

The “#Flex Naija” campaign culminated with an exclusive event in Lagos, Nigeria, bringing together over 300 creators and influencers, in the first-of-its-kind mixed reality event, which saw guests step into a multi-sensory experience, and utilize technologies aimed at inspiring a new wave of creation, including:

• An NFT gallery featuring artwork from local Nigerian artists Mayowa Alabi (https://bit.ly/3OHPknz), Anthony Azekwoh (https://bit.ly/3APBlX2), Odion Tobi (https://bit.ly/3VlM2sY), moyicii (https://bit.ly/3F8GQCZ), HADEEART (https://bit.ly/3ilE4kP) and TSE STUDIO (https://bit.ly/3UhXrZc), inspiring creators to share their own creations as digital collectibles on Instagram
• An Avatar creation station teaching guests to create and display digital versions of their most authentic selves
• A Meta Spark AR space allowing users to explore and create AR filters and displays
• Quest 2 experience where guests experienced the latest virtual reality headset

Guests were also treated to immersive performances, using augmented technologies from some of Nigeria’s hottest stars including Teni (https://bit.ly/2YYHvCP), Santi (https://bit.ly/3OHDz0m), and Ayra Starr (https://bit.ly/3GS9Wrm).

Commenting, Derya Matras, Meta’s VP for the Middle East, Africa and Turkey, said: “Africa is important to us at Meta, we continue to invest across the region and are committed to co-creating and building technologies that help people connect with friends and family, and grow businesses. We see technology giving people new opportunities every day to become entrepreneurs and content creators, and believe the metaverse has a big role to play here. ‘#FlexNaija’ is an important step in that journey, which celebrates how communities can, and are pushing the boundaries of creativity and social connection physically and online.”