Listen up, US of A. The crypto industry is expanding globally, exponentially. Animoca Brands knows this, which is why it’s teamed up with Manga Productions for a Web3 push into the MENA (Middle East and North Africa) region.
The Hong Kong-headquartered Animoca Brands, as long-time Stockhead and Coinhead readers will very likely be aware, has become a behemoth investor and projects incubator in the Web3 space and is particularly focused on advancing digital property rights for blockchain gaming and the open metaverse.
Meanwhile, Manga Productions, which is based in Saudi Arabia, is the leading animations, comics and games production company in the Middle East.
Both have just signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for a strategic partnership to collaborate on a range of initiatives to promote and activate Manga Productions’ unique content within the Web3 space, grow the regional blockchain industry, and facilitate cross-access of intellectual properties.
Expanding into a burgeoning Web3 hotspot
Along with Hong Kong and other areas of Asia, the Middle East and North Africa is a potential boom area for blockchain adoption. Dubai, in particular, has been pushing forward licensing and regulatory clarity in the region with clear aims to become a global hub for crypto and blockchain activity.
And Animoca Brands, having already made massive inroads into Southeast Asian markets, is on a global expansion mission into further regions that have shown clear intentions of embracing blockchain and its associated tech.
The firms’ collaboration will initially focus on co-creating Web3 pilot projects across Animoca Brands’ extensive games-focused ecosystem, integrating Manga Productions’ content.
And the Web3 firm has plans to explore the possibility of a dedicated regional games-publishing platform with local partners in the MENA region, including Manga Productions.
Animoca Brands will also be putting its operating and industry resources to work in order to provide educational and vocational opportunities to local Middle Eastern talent in relevant fields.
For instance, Animoca Brands has begun discussions with universities in Saudi Arabia to develop introductory blockchain courses.
‘Expect to see more’ regional investment collabs
“We are incredibly excited to join forces with Manga Productions on this partnership to leverage our respective complementary strengths,” Yat Siu, co-founder and executive chairman of Animoca Brands, said.
“This partnership is one of our first significant steps in expanding into the Middle East, one of the fastest-growing Web3 ecosystems and a region rich in cultural heritage that can be adapted to various forms of virtual content.
“We look forward to bringing the various initiatives with Manga Productions into life, and we expect to see more activities in the region through investment and strategic collaboration.”
“We are delighted to announce our partnership with Animoca Brands and taking our IPs beyond content and into various applications and experiences,” added Dr. Essam Bukhary, CEO of Manga Productions.
“With this partnership, we believe that this will further develop the creative industry in the region through Web3 applications as well as expand our portfolio within online and offline activations of IPs.”
This article was developed in collaboration with Animoca Brands, a Stockhead advertiser at the time of publishing.
This article does not constitute financial product advice. You should consider obtaining independent advice before making any financial decisions.