Metaverse leadership is Dubai’s goal

By Nilanjan Dey

The government of Dubai is upping its Metaverse game. His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of the Dubai Executive Council launched the ‘Dubai Metaverse Strategy’ on July 18.

Metaverse – what is it?

The term metaverse appeared quite a lot in the last six months in the US securities and exchange commission. The word showed around 1,100 times in regulatory filings. so what exactly is metaverse?

If explained in layman’s terms it’s a virtual world for users to do exactly what people do in the real world with the help of coming-age technology like blockchain, cryptocurrency, augmented reality, virtual reality etc.

When it comes to the metaverse, users have to imagine one singular, immersive, digital world on the internet. Users can buy or sell items, and create or destroy in this one decentralized zone of cyberspace. Until the recent adoption of web 3.0, the metaverse was what can be said is the next phase of the internet, but with web 3.0 being implemented even though in a nascent stage makes the metaverse major reality.

But why bet so heavily on Metaverse?

The goal is to make Dubai one of the top 10 cities for the metaverse sector, contribute about $4 billion to the UAE economy and help create around 40,000 virtual jobs.

UAE has been pushing for digital transformation and also investing heavily in new tech like Augmented reality, Virtual reality, metaverse etc for a long time. There are 1000 companies based and working in this sector. Currently, these companies combined to produce and give $500 million to the economy, according to Sheik Hamdan

Omar bin Sultan Al Olama, Minister of State for Artificial intelligence, Digital Economy and Remote Work Applications, and Deputy Managing Director of the Dubai Future Foundation emphasized using new digital strategies and adopting metaverse in crucial sectors. According to Olama, metaverse will accelerate the attempt to give innovative solutions, positively impact people’s lives, and transform Dubai into one of the smartest hubs worldwide offering new economic opportunities.

What led to the scheming of the Dubai Metaverse Strategy?

However, it’s not like the nation was sleeping on the metaverse sector before the Dubai metaverse strategy was announced.

The city of Dubai created a virtual business license in 2019. Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority declared that it had become the world’s first regulator to make its debut in the metaverse with the establishment of its Metaverse HQ.

“Metaverse Dubai”, the world’s first virtual megacity which is based on the real-world map of Dubai along with the geography and topology of the city was announced in 2021. In 2022, the UAE’s Ministry of Health launched a metaverse platform that allows individuals to access medical care virtually.

Dubai Ministry of Economics hosted Investopia, the world’s first economic summit done in the metaverse. In Dubai municipality in march 2022 unveiled its plan to make Dubai’s twin city in the metaverse – “One Human Reality”.

The Dubai Trade Centre stated the launching of the middle east’s first metaverse incubator “MetaIncubator”. Multibillion-dirham Dubai real estate agency also announced its plans to launch metaverse mansions and be part of the rising trend of virtual real estate.

What about other bets on Metaverse?

Big tech companies are already investing and putting their brightest on their own metaverse projects. For the world, it may have started by Facebook when they officially turned their name to Meta and has been making a lot of metaverse initiatives on which they are losing money. The company, on the other hand, is reorganizing internally, rewriting job descriptions, reconstructing product offers, and preparing multibillion-dollar new releases. For Microsoft, it was the acquisition of the gaming company Activision Blizzard.

According to McKinsey & Company, corporations, private equity companies, and venture capitalists made an estimated $120 billion in metaverse-related investments during the first five months of 2022 and it is expected to only rise.

So what is the goal of Dubai’s metaverse strategy work?

The Dubai Metaverse Strategy intends to nurture innovation, increase the economic benefits of the metaverse through R&D collaborations, and create advanced ecosystems through accelerators and incubators that bring firms and projects to Dubai.

It also focuses on creating talent and supporting crucial metaverse education targeted at content creators, developers and last but not least the users of the metaverse community. It will develop global standards in creating safe and secure platforms for metaverse users and  

There will also be the implementation of Web 3.0 technology and its applications to make new government models in sectors like tourism, education, retail, remote work, healthcare, legal etc.

VR and AR segments are expected to see a significant increase as they are key enablers of the metaverse and are already contributing &500 million along with 6,700 jobs to the UAE economy.

Studies show that 59% of global consumers are keen to transition at least one of their everyday activities to the metaverse. According to analysts, the metaverse will contribute up to US$5 trillion to the global economy by 2030. The market value of NFTs is expected to reach $80 billion, while consumer spending on in-game purchases is reckoned to reach US$75 billion by 2025.