Could the Metaverse become a €30 trillion El Dorado?

The so-called future of the internet is not here yet, but it is coming soon and is being developed in the Metaverse, with early adopters saying now is the time to join in.

But for most of us, the metaverse remains a mystery. In simple terms, it means a computer-generated extended reality, or XR, which includes all aspects of augmented reality, mixed reality and virtual reality. Right now it is mostly made up of spaces where humans and automated entities interact.

Estimates of the value of the market over the next 15 years vary globally between €10 trillion and €30 trillion underscoring the massive potential of the new platform and Dubai is planning on becoming a world leader.

The City’s Metaverse Strategy aims to increase the contribution of the sector to the emirate’s economy to €4 billion by 2030.

From creating jobs to enhancing technology trends and opening up business opportunities, the plan is to enhance the economy.

The strategy is seeking to implement metaverse technologies that can help improve the performance of resident surgeons by 230% and increase the productivity of engineers by 30%, in addition to helping 42,000 jobs become virtual.

MasterCard’s annual digital payments index report has illustrated consumers are on board with the changing times.

MENA East General Manager at Mastercard, J.K. Khalil, said they saw a 67% growth in digital payments, and adding the metaverse to that kind of matrix and ecosystem is going to create even more opportunities.

“Our partners are asking us a lot of questions about the metaverse, whether they're fintech, whether they're merchants, whether they're banks. They're all equally excited and curious about metaverse and having very constructive discussions about these partnerships going