By Aduragbemi Omiyale
African content creators who need funding support now have an opportunity to receive up to $30,000, courtesy a partnership between Africa No Filter and Meta, formerly known as Facebook.
The two organisations joined forces to launch an initiative called Future Africa: Telling Stories, Building Worlds, which is aimed at boosting the use of Virtual Reality in Africa’s storytelling.
Business Post reports that applications for the programme have opened and will close on January 7, 2022, at 6pm GMT and the scheme will from February 13 to August 13, 2022. Participants must be available on these dates. The proposed project must also be completed within six months.
Those who should apply, according to the organisers, are extended reality creators who must be of African descent and living in the continent, aged over 18 years, have a track record of XR content creation and have a portfolio of work showing their creativity and innovation.
They also need to show how the proposed project will tell an exciting African story that changes stereotypical narratives about the continent. Projects can use 360 Video, Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality and Mixed Reality.
Delivered in collaboration with Electric South and Imisi 3D, participants will also get ongoing mentorship, production support, and opportunities to launch their projects in a virtual or in-person showcase, including the Electric South’s Creators Lab held in February 2022 in Cape Town, South Africa.
“We are excited to be partnering with ANF to launch a fund that brings together the best of the African tech ecosystem to showcase innovations for the future and tell positive stories about Africa.
“Meta sits at the intersection of innovation, technology, entrepreneurship and social connection, and this investment is a vote of confidence in the strength of the African tech industry and its ongoing potential.
“I am certainly proud that Africa will be helping to shape the metaverse experience from the start,” Meta’s Public Policy Programs Director, Africa, Middle East, and Turkey, Sherry Dzinoreva, stated.
Also commenting, the Executive Director at Africa No Filter, Moky Makura, said, “Virtual Reality has the potential to take storytelling to another level.
“In this new metaverse, audiences don’t just get to watch a story unfold, they get to live in it. This is an opportunity for African content creators to push the boundaries of their creativity and innovation.’
