Dubai Metaverse Strategy Targets 40,000 Virtual Jobs in Five Years

• Blockchain Council
• October 25, 2023

The Chairman of Dubai Executive Council and Crown Prince of Dubai, Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, announced the official launch of Dubai’s Metaverse Strategy, stating clearly the city’s aim to make a big leap in turning it into one of the top 10 global metaverse economies.

The strategy also pointed out the key pillars, benefits, and implementation challenges it will face during the process of transforming the Sheikh’s dream into reality.

The UAE Ministry of Economy also announced plans to open a headquarter in the metaverse. The announcement was made earlier this week by UAE Economy Minister Abdulla bin Touq Al Marri while addressing the Dubai Metaverse Assembly.

Marri gave a live tour of the Ministry of Economy’s virtual office, having lavish lobbies & interiors and a virtual auditorium ready to host events and conferences.

The city has unveiled its new strategy for investing in virtual reality and is looking to create a world-class metaverse ecosystem. Let’s have a deep insight into the strategy.

What is Dubai’s Metaverse Strategy?

Simply put, it is a plan to use virtual reality to better manage and integrate city services. And it is no small undertaking, the strategy calls for the creation of an entire virtual city, which will act as a test bed for new technologies and services.

The goal is to create a digital replica of Dubai that can be used for training, simulation, and data analysis. Officials believe that this will help them streamline operations and make the city and its tech adoption more efficient in the future.

There are a lot of challenges involved in this project, but Dubai is no stranger to ambitious projects. So far, they have shown that they are up to the task, and we are excited to see how their metaverse strategy develops over time.

What is Dubai planning to do with its Metaverse strategy?

The Dubai Metaverse strategy seeks to:

• Develop Dubai’s technology landscape for efficiently attracting 1000 and more companies in the significant field of blockchain and metaverse.
• Promote ambitions for Dubai to effectively support more than 40,000 virtual jobs by the end of 2030.
• Foster innovation that will enhance the economic contribution of Metaverse through the help of R&D collaborations. And to promote an advanced ecosystem with the utilization of accelerators as well as incubators that significantly attract projects and companies to the region of Dubai.
• Attract and retain adequate talent and invest in future capabilities by providing vital support relative to Metaverse education aimed at content creators, developers, and the utilizers of digital platforms in the community of Metaverse.
• Develop relevant Web 3.0 technologies and related applications to establish new government work models and development in the crucial sectors, which include education, retail, tourism, healthcare, remote work, and legal domains.

The strategy also focuses to establish global standards in developing safe and secure platforms for the users and establish Metaverse infrastructure, along with regulations to generate the adoption of significant and relevant future-centric technology.

The strategy’s key pillars closely consider:

• The enlarged reality, effectively blending the virtual and the physical worlds.
• Augmented reality
• Virtual reality
• Mixed reality
• Digital twins which is a digital representations of a system or object.

The strategy focuses on escalating the real-time data utilizing IoT and machine learning and implementing blocks as a simulation to enhance the processes of human thinking.

Technology in relation to Metaverse strategy is cloud, network data as well as new-age computing that effectively focuses on real-world data acquired, stored, validated, managed, and processed. The remaining pillars comprise promoting the full deployment of the networks that are 5G to activate edge computing and deliver on-demand computer system resources. Edge computing significantly allows data to be an adequate local list collected process through the help of smart devices and local networks instead of utilizing cloud services.

Boosting the National Economy of Dubai

VR and AR are the two main enablers of Metaverse, are held responsible for 6700 jobs, and contribute nearly 500 million USD to the economy of UAE, which is expected to significantly increase in the coming future. In particular, Metaverse provided a specific set of economic advantages or opportunities. Across the globe, the value of venture capital along with the private equity financing in the segment of Metaverse reached 13 million USD in the year 2021. Meanwhile, sales in real estate in the segment of Metaverse surpassed 500 million USD last year.

Analysts estimate that the metaverse will adequately contribute nearly 5 trillion USD toward the global economy by the year 2030. The market value of NFTs, in particular, is expected to efficiently reach 80 billion USD. Meanwhile, tech enthusiasts and new generations as a consumer spending on games are estimated to account for nearly 75 billion USD by the end of 2025. The daily active players on Roblox, which is contemplated to be one of the leading global Metaverse communities, have increased to 55 million by January 2022 from 45.5 million last year. 

UAE and Digital Assets

The Dubai Metaverse Strategy significantly follows the creation of the Dubai virtual assets regulatory authority, which is also known as VARA, and the certain publication of the virtual asset law earlier this year, along with the launching of the new digital economic courts within the DIFC to effectively deal with the international and national disputes in relation to the current and emerging technology including cloud services, AI and blockchain. Each and every step is considered to be positively accelerating in consolidating the position of Dubai as a specific global pioneer in the digital world.

It is speculated that an increase in the transactions connected with digital currencies, including other digital innovations and NFTs, is deemed to increase nationally. Enthusiasts, businesses, and industries will be adequately following this update closely and are predicted to assist in embracing these new technologies in relation to the new legislation.

What are the benefits of the Metaverse?

• One can create and customize his/her own virtual world and be in complete control of who has access to it.
• The metaverse is a great place to do business. People can meet with international clients, hold negotiations, and close deals without ever leaving their offices.
• If one is looking for a new way to market their products or services, the metaverse is the perfect platform. The Metaverse facilitates the creation of next-gen revolutionary immersive ads that are interactive, engaging, and can help target specific audiences.

The possibilities are endless, and Dubai is poised to capitalize on all of them. 

How will Dubai benefit from the Metaverse?

Dubai is at the forefront of the metaverse race with its new strategy for entering this exciting virtual world.

Now, what does this mean for you? Well, we will take a look at some of the ways Dubai plans on using the metaverse to its advantage.

• For starters, there will be more opportunities for businesses in Dubai to expand their reach and connect with customers in new and innovative ways.
• Second, the government plans on using the metaverse to deliver better services to its citizens. This could include anything from education to healthcare to transportation.
• Lastly, Dubai is looking to use the metaverse as a way to attract new tourists and businesses to the city. If you are a tech geek and a travel fanatic, you’ll love it in Dubai.

So what does all this mean for you? It means that Dubai is gearing up for a big entrance into the metaverse, and we can just imagine what amazing things will happen in the near future!

What Are the Challenges of the Metaverse?

The challenges of the metaverse are vast and complex. But Dubai has a plan.

Some of the challenges include the following:

• How will virtual reality be used to improve people’s lives?
• How will businesses use virtual reality?
• How can virtual reality be used to make people more productive?
• How can virtual reality be used to improve communication?
• What are the security risks associated with the metaverse?

How Is Dubai Planning to Overcome These Challenges?

Now let’s take a closer look at how Dubai is expecting to overcome these challenges:

• One of the biggest challenges is security. With so much data moving back and forth, it is important to make sure that information is safe and secure. That is why Dubai is planning to create a virtual protected area, or VPA, that will be used to store sensitive data.
• Another challenge is governance. How does anyone make sure that everyone who participates in the Metaverse follows the same rules? Dubai is planning to use a combination of traditional law and virtual law to address this challenge.
• Finally, there is the challenge of scaling. How can one ensure that the Metaverse can handle all the traffic it will receive? Dubai is planning to use a mix of public and private clouds to address this issue.

How Can Other Cities Learn From Dubai’s Example?

Innovation and change are the only things permanent. There are three major things that Dubai is doing that other cities need to follow:

• First, Dubai is planning for the future and taking the necessary steps to ensure that it is ready for the Metaverse.
• Second, they are embracing new technology and are willing to experiment with different solutions.
• And finally, they are open to collaborating with other cities and countries to learn from their experiences and share their own knowledge.

If you are a city planner or an administrator in charge of technology for your city, you can learn a lot from Dubai’s example. Keep an open mind, be willing to experiment, and do not be afraid to collaborate with others. These are essential ingredients for success in the Metaverse era.

Final Thoughts

The Dubai government has announced its official metaverse strategy, and it is evident that they intend to make a significant impression in the virtual world. Dubai is well-positioned to be a key participant in the metaverse, with a population of over 2 million people and a thriving economy.

The strategy outlines a plan for establishing Dubai’s virtual infrastructure, attracting businesses and inhabitants, and encouraging innovation. Dubai already has some of the world’s most advanced virtual reality gears and innovations, and it appears they are only getting started.

We strongly believe that Dubai is going to be at the forefront of this emerging tech innovation, and to strive toward future goals, Blockchain Council is all set to participate in some of the popular events in Dubai this month, such as:

• World Metaverse Show, Dubai, on 5th & 6th of October 2022
• GITEX GLOBAL, Dubai, from 10th to 14th of October 2022
• World Blockchain Summit, Dubai, on 17th & 19th of October 2022

Connect with our team, Pradeep Aswal, CEO Blockchain Council, Rohan Kulshreshtha, AVP Events & Partnerships, and Nitish Srivastava, AVP Sales & Strategic Alliances. Our team will be happy to meet you at these events to explore the collaboration possibilities.