Philippines: Globe offers masterclass in the metaverse for thousands of customers

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Globe Telecom, a telecommunications provider in the Philippines, says it will offer masterclasses in the metaverse to stimulate the adoption of virtual worlds.

The firm notes that the masterclass will cut across music, e-sports, fashion, and entrepreneurship in the metaverse. Classes are scheduled to be held in Globe Telecom’s platform in the metaverse—Virtual Hangouts (VH) Metaverse. 

The platform comprises GoJAM and GoWATCH, GoKOREAN, and GoSPORTS, divisions catering to music, film, fashion, and gaming. Globe Telecom’s head of Prepaid Portfolio, Anna Baldos, added that the divisions indicate the firm’s competence in the emerging metaverse industry.

“In streaming, we’re limited to reactions and comments. In the metaverse, we can chat with mentors and celebrities,” said Baldos. “There are different activities that will allow you to earn points—which you can use to win bigger ticket items.”

As part of the efforts to improve metaverse adoption in the Philippines, Globe Telecom pledged to offer scholarships for Google Career Certificates, which are predicted to provide nearly 40,000 IT courses for citizens. Filipinos have filled the scholarship slots, but the firm’s head of integrated marketing stated that “allocations will open up in the near future.”

Apart from metaverse and distributed ledger technology (DLT) adoption efforts, the telecommunications giant provides funding for children’s books in Cebuano, Bicolano, and Maranao languages. 

The Philippines have garnered a reputation for being one of the fastest adopters of the metaverse, with residents of the country turning to the technology in droves during the height of the pandemic. In that period, Axie Infinity and several metaverse games gained prominence in the country as a means for citizens to augment their incomes.

Recent research by Ciena says nearly 90% of the Filipino workforce indicated a readiness to pivot to the metaverse fuelled by the absence of long commutes and the efficiency that it provides.

“Filipino business professionals are clearly comfortable with virtual meetings and for the early adopters, ready to move to the metaverse,” said Dion Leung, Ciena’s regional managing director.

Metaverse race heats up

While the wider digital asset industry has been writhing under the burden of a fall in prices, nearly $2 billion has been spent to acquire plots in the metaverse in 2022 alone. Platforms like Decentraland and Sandbox have attracted both retail and institutional investors, each spending fortunes to get a headstart.

The UAE’s Ministry of Economy has opened an office in the metaverse as part of efforts for the country to explore virtual worlds. Dubai notes that its metaverse strategy will open up to 40,000 virtual jobs before 2030, while Japan and South Korea are nursing similar ambitions.

Watch: The BSV Global Blockchain Convention presentation, Enabling the Real World Metaverse