NEW YORK, Dec. 14, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — via InvestorWire — 2021 has been a ground-breaking year for the Cardano Blockchain as it releases its next phase of the decentralized infrastructure that will change the world forever. As followers of the Cardano project will be aware, CEO Charles Hoskinson has made it his personal goal to “bank the unbanked” and has a personalized mission to change the fortunes of the 1.2 billion people who live in Africa. Joining Cardano on this incredible mission are a number of high-profile projects, two of which heavyweights, Cornucopias and Tingo International Holdings – majority shareholder of Tingo Inc (OTC: IWBB), which recently acquired Tingo Mobile PLC in Nigeria – have joined forces to create an extremely powerful partnership focused on growing the economy of the West African country of Nigeria.
Tingo has already delivered significant social impact in Nigeria with its unique rural communities-based business model. Tingo has 10 million customers, primarily Nigerians working in the critically important agricultural sector, supplying them all with mobile phones.
Tingo is a mission-driven company that aims to be Africa’s leading agri-fintech player by transforming rural farming communities to connect through a unique device-as-a-service model, providing access to an extensive ecosystem that meets their complete needs, from inputs, agronomy, off-take, fintech and digital agri-marketplace, which delivers sustainable income for customers in an impactful way.
Dr. Chris Cleverly, Tingo President said:“Axie Infinity has grown 19,000% to a $7.5 billion market cap in under 12 months. Forty percent of Axie players live in the Philippines. Tingo has nearly 10 million smartphone subscribers in Nigeria, where there are estimated to be over 20 million active e-gamers. We believe ‘Play to Earn’ and ‘Learn to Earn’ will have huge traction in Nigeria to rival Axie’s in the Philippines.”
Sharing the same vision as Charles Hoskinson, Cornucopias is more than one of those average Metaverse projects that are popping up everywhere. Heavily researched, Cornucopias has positioned itself to combine technologies that will not only result in an amazing Play-to-Earn game but also combine Build-to-Earn and Learn-to-Earn functionality, making Cornucopias one of the first projects to truly understand and harness the power of the Metaverse. This will allow land, properties and other NFT assets to be truly owned by actual players in a decentralized world and not large corporate dinosaurs.
The strategic partnership between Cornucopias and Tingo aims to deliver on the vision of Charles Hoskinson by bringing the Cardano Blockchain-based Cornucopias “The Island” Play-to-Earn mobile phone mini-games to the 10 million customers of Tingo.
Global gaming revenue was $174 billion in 2020 and is expected to reach $314 billion by 2026.
Previously, Minister for Youth and Sports, Mr. Sunday Dare, has said: “We are working on a plan that would produce, for the first time, an industry-based sports policy that will turn sports into business. We are on the verge of launching e-gaming Sports in Nigeria. It is the most suitable for the post COVID-19 era. Globally, it is a $13 billion business.”
There are over 20 million gamers in Nigeria, and the gaming revenue for mobile phone games in 2023 is expected to be around $126 million.
This partnership will allow existing Tingo customers to install a growing set of mini-games that are being developed by the Cornucopias team.
The unique mini-games will be fully integrated into the main Cornucopias Metaverse and will be available to download and play by all mobile phone users in Nigeria and the rest of the world, creating a massive, diverse ecosystem on a global scale that has never been seen before. Players will be able to enjoy the Play-to-Earn rewards in a fun, safe and enjoyable environment.
The Cornucopias development team is working closely with Tingo, which upgrades the 10-million-and-growing mobile devices of its customers every three years, to ensure the mini-games will work on as many of the mobile phones in Nigeria as possible.
Commenting on the partnership, Cornucopias CEO Rob Greig states: “When we set out to build the free Play-to-Earn Cornucopias Metaverse, our vision was to allow players of all ages, backgrounds and abilities to benefit from our technology and to reimagine a world where gaming, education, community and personal growth can thrive in a safe, evolving, all-encompassing metaverse. Our partnership with Tingo is extremely exciting, as it allows us to take huge steps toward achieving our goals.”
The Play-to-Earn mobile phone mini-games are just the first of many initiatives in which Cornucopias will be partnering with Tingo, with more amazing announcements to come soon.
Josh Jones, CMO of Cornucopias, says: “Cornucopias will create a Learn-to-Earn programme aimed at Tingo customers with a focus on coding, blockchain, DeFi, IOT, UX/UI design, etc., but also including agri-tech, agri-business and agriculture. We see innovation in education as a crucial part of value creation in the metaverse and aim to utilize existing partnerships to add value to Tingo customers.”
The Metaverse won’t be built overnight, and both Cornucopias and Tingo are showing how partnerships with different technologies can combine together to change the lives of millions of people using blockchain technology.
About Cornucopias
Cornucopias’ “The Island” is a massive Play-to-Earn, Build-to-Earn, and Learn-to-Earn blockchain-based game in which players can be rewarded with and/or own land, properties and other NFT-based assets with real-world value, all by playing games in a fun and safe metaverse.
“The Island” combines gaming with real-world commerce and gives opportunities for traditional and e-commerce companies to sell and promote their real-world brands, goods and services to a hard-to-reach audience they have potentially never had access to before.
“The Island” is built on the Unreal 5 games engine, which is compatible with the PC, mobile phone, gaming consoles and smart TVs, and will be powered, governed and forever evolving thanks to a growing number of communities including blockchain, Unreal Game Developers, 3D artists and modellers, and general game enthusiasts.
About Tingo International Holdings
Tingo is a unique agri-fintech company using smartphones to deliver a marketplace that enables 10 million subscribers to manage their commercial activities of growing and selling their products to market participants. The ecosystem provides a one-stop-shop solution to enable subscribers to manage everything from airtime top-ups, bill pay services for utilities and other service providers, access to insurance services, and microfinance to support their value chain from seed to sale.
Tingo has two innovative platforms: Nwassa, Africa’s first digital agriculture ecosystem, and Tingo Pay, a mobile payment gateway. Tingo International Holdings is a majority shareholder in Tingo Inc (OTC Markets: IWBB), which owns 100% of Tingo Mobile PLC in Nigeria. The company has recently agreed to acquire Coinfield, a leading European crypto exchange that operates in 198 countries.
Safe Harbor and Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains certain forward-looking statements regarding possible future circumstances. These forward-looking statements are based upon the company’s current expectations and assumptions and are subject to various risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated in such forward-looking statements, including, in particular, any risks and uncertainties with respect to the company’s operations, as well as those contained in the company’s quarterly, annual and periodic filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Actual results, events and performance may differ. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof. The company undertakes no obligation to release publicly any revisions to these forward-looking statements that may be made to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events. The inclusion of any statement in this release does not constitute an admission by the company or any other person that the events or circumstances described in such statements are material.
Contacts
Corporate Contacts:
Tingo, Inc.
(646) 847-0144
Rory Bowen
Chief of Staff – Tingo Inc
Josh Jones
Chief Marketing Officer – Cornucopias Game LLC.
