A few years ago, people barely knew what NFTs were. However, at the beginning of this year, it was one of the most searched words on Google worldwide. You might know NFTs now because of the famous Bored Ape collection that shocked thousands of people due to its value or the Nyan cat NFT, which sold for 690,000 dollars.

In Africa, the creative economy is an essential part of any country’s economy and creativity and it can be found in many forms such as arts and crafts, performing arts, design and architecture, literature, music, and movies. 

Although most of the creatives in the industries mentioned above are yet to be displaced by blockchain technology, with Africa experiencing tremendous growth in terms of mobile internet users and penetration rates, it comes as no surprise that many of them are turning their attention to this growing market of NFTs.

After all, there is no better way to stand out than capitalizing on a digital niche that is slowly being explored by many.

Recently Skill Haven Africa, a Ugandan crypto learning center hosted a Twitter conversation with Leriq also known as Eric Isaac Utere, a Nigerian music producer and CEO of African Valuables Collective (AVC), and Kweku Essien, co-founder of AVC. The conversation’s topic was “NFTs: The Future of Creatives.”

According to Kweku, NFTs are about creating your tribe and understanding who you are as a creative and your audience. 

He said, “Once you have an audience you can quickly grow financially, your influence can easily grow as well. Your audience provides a myriad of opportunities.“

He also pointed out that studying the aspect of your tribe as a creative in the NFT industry is important as these are the customers that understand your work and want to interact with it, therefore, you can leverage that to monetize your work. He further mentioned that teaching customers that NFTs are something they will be utilizing in the near future given the growing technologies, is crucial.

Leriq also highlighted that NFTs are unique digital marks on products and services. He also believes NFTs are a good way to expose creative works in Africa.

He said, “In today’s world where any artist can create art and put it out in the blockchain, that has given so many artists the international exposure they needed and a global audience to appreciate their work.”

Leriq also talked more about his recent work, Rough Diamonds, an AVC project, which includes digital art and a music EP, that will publicly be on sale on 26th August.

Summarily, the growing popularity of NFTs has given acceptance to digital art and creativity in general globally. Although there are obstacles and downsides, many still believe that this might not only be a lucrative source of income for creatives but is also the future of creatives.