How to Solve Access to Capital through Emerging Technologies (Metaverse & Web 3.0)

Thank you Durecia Moorer, MS, MDiv of ABCD for inviting me to AEO: Association for Enterprise Opportunity’s 30th Anniversary Symposium and Gala. Here's a recap of the Emerging Technologies that Create Opportunities for All Segment at?AEO: Association for Enterprise Opportunity Symposium.

Building a successful business involves implementing a vision that solves a problem, appeals to a target audience, and can scale. However, the reality is every aspiring entrepreneur does not have equal access to capital. While we have seen progress, Joseph Heller of TechCrunch believes, "Equal access to capital and entrepreneurship is the final civil rights movement."

The obligation is on business leaders and policymakers to build a society that promotes diversity, equity, and inclusion principles while also opening doors for underrepresented founders. To assist, AEO: Association for Enterprise Opportunity and its members work towards bridging the financing gap between women and minority entrepreneurs.

What is the AEO (Association for Enterprise Opportunity) ?

The Association for Enterprise Opportunity is the most innovative voice in microfinance and microbusiness. Their objective is to provide economic opportunities to underprivileged businesses around the country. To create a vibrant and inclusive economy, the association designs revolutionary change via research, convening, incubation, and advocacy.

The AEO Symposium's segment opened with a welcome from Senator Ben Cardin, who spoke about access to capital for small business owners. His address made me think of the following question:

Can underrepresented founders leverage Web 3.0 to raise capital and make VCs obsolete?

We are now seeing a transition from Web 2.0 to Web 3.0. While most people do not understand what it entails, a handful of businesses are already taking advantage of the change.

Fearful of being left in the digital dust, many founders flock to crypto projects - blockchain-based apps and platforms powered by coins native to the metaverse and Web3. In simpler terms, alternative financial instruments to traditional capital.

Even in the tech community, some experienced IT experts believe Web3 is overrated. But it's almost as easy to discover others who think it's the real deal—humanity's best chance of fulfilling the internet's real promise.

Web 3.0 is the successor of Web 2.0, the age that was supposed to democratize the internet but was dominated instead by several massive platforms such as Google and Facebook. Web 3.0 is about re-decentralizing the internet where information is transparent and shared openly.

With a well-thought-out strategy, founders can raise capital through Web 3.0 without the assistance of VCs.

The Rise of Tokens and NFTs

NFTs took the world by storm in 2021, ushering in a digital creative revolution and becoming one of the year's fastest-rising asset classes (investment vehicles).

Non-fungible token technology has empowered artists to provide digital originals without depending on middlemen while receiving royalties on secondary sales of their work. In addition, NFTs give a comprehensive history and evidence of ownership for digital assets or any other asset. This capability allows for developing one-of-a-kind digital goods and objects that anybody may freely buy or sell on an open marketplace.

NFTs are laying the groundwork for economies, digital communities, and assets as we transition from web 2.0 to web 3.0.

With a certificate of ownership or authenticity proved on an independent database, NFTs allow virtual assets to be transported freely across metaverses owned by different firms. Of course, standard-setting and cross-industry collaboration are required for complete portability; nonetheless, NFT sales from metaverses are rapidly increasing and are currently the third most popular type of transaction, after only digital collectibles and artwork.

Baller Mixed Reality Recognized as a "Leading Start-up"

During the conference, Jonathan Herman of Baller Mixed Reality made opening remarks explaining and showcasing various examples of Metaverse technologies. In his own company, he takes an innovative approach to sports memorabilia.

Icon Sports, a bespoke sports memorabilia and trading card firm that deals with several professional athletes, has joined Baller Mixed Reality to turn artifacts into augmented Reality NFTs from Baller.?

Augmented Reality NFTs autographed by great sportsmen and entertainers pioneered the formation of metaverse collectibles. Baller was the first company to produce and release 3D-AR NFTs, which collectors engage through augmented and virtual reality. In addition, they are collaborating with sports and entertainment figures to create innovative NFT collections that will change how people collect, trade, and relish all kinds of memorabilia.

In contrast to other NFTs, these collectibles may be put in real-world settings and seen in 360 degrees in high-definition 3D, both within and without the metaverse - an entirely new approach to appreciating signed memorabilia.

Furthermore, Baller's system allows for the payment of royalties to athletes and celebrities forever; every time a limited percentage of collectibles are resold from one collector to another, partners are automatically compensated for sales.

Another advantage of Baller's innovative NFTs is that they use blockchains to address the long-standing issue of counterfeit objects in the collectibles market. Every Baller's authenticity and unique collectible is verified on the blockchain, removing the possibility of false ownership claims and fraud.

Hill Harper Launches the Black Wall Street Tech

Hill Harper launches The Black Wall Street, the first Black-owned DigitalWallet and financial-capacity-building platform.

As the keynote speaker, famous actor and author Hill Harper provided strong points about using Web 3.0 as a financial instrument. His comment, "Your avatar doesn't have generational trauma," received a favorable response from the audience. It was a comment that stopped me dead in my tracks and helped me reimagine my life and reactions without the presence of generational trauma. He goes on to discuss how he created an ed tech/fintech infrastructure, Black Wall Street, that can be reused ("white-labeled") by other entities.

Unlike traditional financial institutions, The Black Wall Street exists solely to enable Black and Brown communities to participate in the transfer of wealth through bitcoin and decentralized finance.

Hill Harper is driven by a vision of strengthening the financial future of underprivileged communities while bridging the racial wealth divide.

Significant Strategic & Investment Partnership Agreements Secured by FounderTribes & Black Innovation Alliance

The panel featuring Gary Stewart of FounderTribes, and Kelly Burton, PhD of Black Innovation Alliance moderated by Tanya Hughes , OLY of Guidehouse focused on ensuring small businesses maximize the output of the current technologies they use before jumping into emerging tech such as the Metaverse and Web 3. Steward and Burton made great points; one key issue was not falling into the hype of venture capital or the pressure of running a tech company. Instead, ensure you do your best to enable tech in your business.

Black Innovation Alliance is a leader of the recently formed Congressional Caucus on Black Innovation. The caucus functions to "…identify the policy needs of Black entrepreneurs, creatives, and innovators; address the educational and programmatic gaps pursuant to creating real pipelines toward viable innovative careers; and explore strategies to repair inequity in funding, resources, and accountability related to entrepreneurial growth and sustainability."

Black-led startup FounderTribes has partnered with AEO, Silicon Valley Bank, and Howard University School of Law to help level the playing field for underrepresented startups. One of the tailored deals is AEO's promise to make the FounderTribes app available to its network of more than two million microbusinesses. Connie Evans, president, and CEO of AEO, said, "People of color, women and working-class white folks make up 92 percent of the US population but get less than 10% of venture-capital funding. This partnership and our investment in FounderTribes confirm our commitment to pioneering a scalable, tech solution that facilitates social and financial capital to the underrepresented groups we were created to serve."

Verizon & Meta Collaborate to Research 5G Metaverse

The fireside chat with Rose Stuckey Kirk of Verizon was terrific. Verizon discussed how they support for-profit projects with 5G infrastructure needs to ensure small businesses can use emerging technologies effectively.?

How will the Metaverse be created, distributed, and used?

Verizon stated that it would partner with Meta to examine the use cases of the metaverse and the infrastructure that will support them, claiming that the metaverse will become the next evolution of the internet over the next decade. Rima Qureshi , EVP, and chief strategy officer at Verizon, said during Verizon's?Investor Day 2022?event, "Over the next decade, the metaverse will create virtual spaces that are more immersive and realistic than ever before, providing people with new ways to connect across work, home, and play."?

The 5G network's enhanced design and capabilities will enable operators to identify and respond to cyber-attacks quicker and more efficiently than ever before. Verizon's 5G network will include a virtualized, cloud-based design that will allow for highly tailored security measures for various network applications.

In addition to infrastructure development, Verizon and Meta are investigating various metaverse options, ranging from consumer experiences to the future of hybrid work and collaboration.?

Dreamspring's Mission of Equity

To end the segment, @Anne Haines of DreamSpring discussed the intersection of capitalism and compassion regarding technology.

Funding Circle, a small business lending platform, has partnered with DreamSpring, a non-profit community development financial institution (CDFI), to expand funding availability for small companies in underprivileged regions.

DreamSpring's mission is for all entrepreneurs to have fair access to affordable finance to establish or expand a business, attain financial stability for themselves and their families, and generate jobs in their communities, regardless of income, gender, or race/ ethnicity.

Leveraging Metaverse and Web3 technologies to Level the Playing Field

The spark that drives the Metaverse and the Web3 movement is recognizing the need for a more equitable society. Customers not only want to be heard regarding the evolution, impact, and aspirations of brands they care about, but they are also eager to roll up their sleeves and co-create anything from content to products in support of their companies' purpose and vision.

While small companies may lack the means to create entire virtual worlds, they may still use technology and components of Web 3.0 to remain relevant and flourish. AEO encouraged company owners to investigate gaming platforms and other technologies and collaborate with industry influencers and community partners.?

Aside from using the proper platforms and connecting with the right individuals, what counts most is how businesses engage in these areas.

One repeating trend we're seeing today is how firms and artists are using NFTs and cryptocurrencies to reward communities and engage audiences. Your audience will be considerably more involved in your success because they have bought into the concept that the worth of whatever they support will increase in value.?

So, where do we stand now?

We are offered a new platform to increase connectivity and foster our inner creativity. It is an entirely new era of accomplishing things that were never possible. Web3 is all about being inclusive and putting the user first. The Metaverse is new tech in which you have control over creation. With the broad acceptance of these concepts, you can start the future of your business now.

Let's Work Together?

If you would like me to speak or cover the Metaverse and Web3 at your event, feel free to leave me message here on LinkedIn.?

Register for the next Metaverse 101: Why It Matters for Your Business.

Feel free to stop by the Metaverse 102: How to Start Your Business in the Metaverse Now?(Training + Tour) .

Sources: GSMA , Accesswire , PRNewsWire, VentureBeat , Verizon , CharityNavigator , Forbes ,?