Imisi 3D

Judith Okonkwo is a Technology Evangelist and Business Psychologist.

In 2016 Judith set up Imisi 3D a creation lab in Lagos focused on bridging the digital divide by building the African ecosystem for extended reality technologies (AR/VR/MR), and connecting XR communities across the continent. The lab provides learning opportunities and access to XR resources for creators and enthusiasts, supports engagement and adoption by the wider community, and consults and creates content for clients. She also set up AR/VR Africa which holds XR creator events across the continent. Judith is passionate about the adaptation of immersive technologies to create African solutions, particularly low/mid cost virtual reality for education, healthcare, and storytelling. 

Judith is also the creator of the Oriki Coaching Model™ and a co-founder of We Will Lead Africa. She is a current member of the World Economic Forum’s Global Future Council for Augmented and Virtual Reality.

I am committed to bridging the digital divide in the emerging technologies which will define the world of the future. My particular focus area  - extended reality (XR) technologies, are widely regarded as the computing platforms of the future.

We are an Extended Reality (XR) creation lab focused on building the African XR ecosystem. We are dedicated to growing a community of African AR/VR creators, creating solutions using AR/VR, and providing educational and engagement experiences with AR/VR. We see huge potential for AR/VR as a tool for creating everyday solutions and intend to change the technology narrative so that here we become creators and not just consumers of technology.

We are future thinking and committed to being responsible ancestors, creating a better world for today and tomorrow.

Rapid development of exponential technologies in other parts of the world excluding Africa. My particular focus area  - extended reality (XR) technologies, which are widely regarded as the computing platforms of the future. Investment in the West and Asia in the billions (USD), and China is currently the world’s biggest market. However:

• Nigeria will be the 3rd most populous country by 2050, with the total African population estimated at 2.5 billion.

• Over half of Nigeria's 200 million population currently categorised as youth with rapidly rising unemployment and a lack of 21st century skills 

• Intransigent problems across multiple sectors including education, employment etc can only be solved by XR

• The tools and equipment for XR are out of reach of the general population

• The problems caused by a lack of diversity in exponential technology are rapidly becoming evident from face recognition AI that cannot distinguish between minority ethnic group faces, to algorithms for recruitment with a bias for men

• Africa is neither viewed as a market nor a talent source for XR

Imisi 3D’s solution is to develop the African XR ecosystem and connect  XR communities in three ways: 

1. Build a community of world class XR content creators: provide access to XR labs with equipment, learning opportunities and learning communities. We have seen the efficacy of this model in Lagos, and will deploy to major cities in Nigeria/Africa by setting up AR/VR labs. 

2. Create public/private sector XR solutions: solutions for African problems that can scale globally. One example is our signature VR 4 Schools programme, as part of UNICEF Innovation Fund’s XR cohort we created curriculum specific VR content for Nigerian schools. We set up the first VR lab in a Nigerian public school and run a project to assess the impact of VR for education there. 

3. Evangelise: build awareness of XR and its potential in the general population.

These will allow us to address the previously identified challenges in multiple ways - by democratising access to the technology, we are ensuring that skills in XR will not be limited to specific demographics. We will empower Africans to create the XR solutions they need, and will ensure they participate in shaping the technologies of the future.

There are two main recipients of our work - young people and students.

We are working to give young people access to XR technologies, developing XR capacity, empowering them to build XR solutions that solve our wicked problems, and participate in the digital economy. 

We take a community based approach to our work, and employ young people to help shape and execute the vision. For example where we provide resources, we make it the responsibility of the community to manage it and ensure access in line with our mission.

For our work with students in Nigerian schools, we have created locally relevant curriculum specific teaching content in virtual reality. Our development process is one of co-creation with students and teachers. It is also iterative and we repeatedly test, gather feedback and refine to develop the most effective content. This education work will be scaled across West Africa, and then the rest of the continent.

We are impacting lives by:

• Providing quality education (SDG 4)
• Enabling decent work and economic growth (SDG 8)
• Driving industry and innovation (SDG 9)
• Reducing inequality (SDG 10)

Although billions have been spent investing in extended reality technologies around the world, particularly in Asia, North America, and Europe, only a negligible amount has made it to the African continent which has resulted in the exclusion of all but the 1% and their network having access. We are disrupting this by increasing access and providing resources to upskill young people and develop local expertise.

Thus empowered they can tackle our trickiest problem, have a voice in shaping these emerging technologies, access economic prosperity, and participate in the digital economy.

In 2014, I moved to Lagos after more than a decade in the UK. One of the first things that struck me was the abundance of youthful raw potential I encountered, in daily interactions, during the year I spent helping set up Andela (now a leading technology talent startup) etc. I was also struck by the lack of engagement with, and access to, exponential technologies. So that became my goal - to build local African ecosystems for exponential technologies (in my case the extended reality technologies). To make sure that we have the know how and access to leverage these technologies for tackling grand challenges and building the solutions that will ensure our future.

So in 2016, I bought a VR ready computer on Amazon, got a Samsung Gear VR headset and some Google Cardboards, a 360 camera, and some books on VR. In July I set up in a corner of the leading co-creation hub in Lagos, a community space where I would be most likely to attract those who would engage with and benefit from the lab. From that beginning we have gone on to serve thousands through our various programmes and initiatives.

I believe a future created without African voices in XR (and other exponential technologies) will be catastrophic, particularly for people of African descent. We all know that exponential technologies will define the future. Augmented and virtual reality are widely regarded as the computing platforms of the future, but with all the investment that is being made in these technologies focused on the West/Asia, Africa is being redefined as the dark continent in a whole new way. To put this into context, we know that there are not enough resources that will allow us to overcome deficits in basic infrastructure like education, the only way this will be possible is to leverage a tool that can provide an exponential solution eg. VR, without access to it the seemingly wicked problems of low literacy levels, a dearth of 21st century skills, rising unemployment etc will continue in an unbreakable cycle. To stop this we must adopt and adapt exponential technologies to create the solutions we need

I am the founder of, and run, the only lab on the African continent wholly focused on the development of a thriving African extended reality ecosystem. I am considered a pioneer in my field, and have been relentlessly committed to this mission.

In 2016, I bought a VR ready computer on Amazon, got a Samsung Gear VR headset and some Google Cardboards, a 360 camera, and some books on VR. Then in July I set up in a corner of the leading co-creation hub in Lagos, a community space where I would most likely attract those who would engage with, and benefit from, the extended reality technologies and lab. From that beginning we have gone on to serve thousands, hold activities in 8 African countries, run groundbreaking hackathons, open AR/VR minilabs in 7 more cities, do pioneering work utilising virtual reality in the Nigerian public school system, produce or co-produce globally celebrated and awarded VR films, and nurture the AR/VR talent of hundreds of young people.

To accomplish the above, I have had to self-learn, build networks, develop partnerships, attract funding, and above all deliver successfully. I have an extensive network across the African continent. I am resolute in my dedication to this mission, and have given it everything. It is an honour to serve this cause.

We spent several months liaising with an organisation in Nigeria. They expressed interest in our work on education and honed in on our need to set up a VR lab in a public school, which they intended to fund. Their interest came at a critical time, as we were starting to develop educational VR content specific to the Nigerian curriculum, and intended to utilise a co-creation approach working with students and teachers. Unfortunately, this funding was never realised. 

I had to adjust resources and improvise to ensure we were still able to set up a suitable lab in the school. It meant everything from adjusting budgets, leveraging networks and social capital, even resorting to yard sales. In the end we succeeded. We set up the first virtual reality lab in a Nigerian public school, more importantly we were able to do the important work of co-creating educational content specifically for the Nigerian school system.

In 2009 the British government was trialling its successful UK Knowledge Transfer Partnership program (KTP an industry + academia initiative) in 4 African countries, I, along with 7 other young UK based Africans with KTP experience, were guests of the British Council at the first African KTP conference.

Over the 4 day trip, we attended workshops, met participants in the trial program, dialogued with industry, academia and government officials, and shared our experiences. At the end of it all, we met with the African KTP Associates to get feedback on their program and offer advice. When we got back to the UK, we began work on a report assessing the African program and providing recommendations, a process I led. I managed a geographically dispersed team virtually, with competing interests (work, family etc) to voluntarily deliver a report that went on to inform UK government policy in Africa.

We are the only sector agnostic creation lab solely focused on growing the African extended reality ecosystem. Broken down this means our work aims to provide the following pillars for the ecosystem:

• Active communities of AR/VR creators across the African continent
• Access to AR/VR learning, resources and equipment 
• Support and funding for AR/VR adoption, products and services across all sectors

We have served several thousand people at our first level of engagement - providing information about extended reality technologies, and giving people their first touch and feel of the technology.

We have served several hundred at our next level of engagement - providing community services, learning opportunities and access to AR/VR equipment and resources.

At our third level of engagement - we have executed and funded several projects either in whole or part, such as the VR Films Lagos at Large and Daughters of Chibok; Autism VR (wip); Mosquito VR; 3 VR modules tailored for the Nigerian educational curriculum; as well as work with clients.

Our projections are as follows:

1 year:

• We will have 11 AR/VR labs in 4 African countries creating a focal point for the growth of AR/VR communities and creating access to equipment and resources.
• Providing learning opportunities for 1000+ creators across the continent.
• Total service projection: 10,000 people

5 years:

• We will have AR/VR labs in at least 20 countries, and the ensuing communities.
• Learning opportunities now possible for more through diversified support, impact numbers = 50,000+.
• Incubation of 20+ XR startups.
• Total service projection: 100,000 people

Over the next two years we intend to grow in the following ways:

• Significantly grow the number of world class AR/VR content creators in Nigeria and countries in which we have AR/VR labs, including developers, artists, and 360 film creators.

• Scale our VR4Schools program across Nigeria and into 3 Anglophone West African countries: We are commencing a pilot in a local Nigerian school this year, and partnered with an international organisation to develop a VR product specifically for schools.

• Open Imisi 3D AR/VR Africa labs in 5 African countries: we will follow our current model, where we partner with existing hubs to set up AR/VR labs. This model allows us to integrate at the heart of existing tech communities, ensuring we are accessible by our target demographic (the young, technology and innovation inclined). This model also ensures we do not bear the overhead costs for infrastructure, or initial business responsibility in country. 

Financial: funding is a challenge for our work. While we have had varied success with getting funding for some of our projects, we have not yet acquired the unrestricted long term funding that will significantly drive  success for our mission.

Technical: technical expertise is limited on the continent. This is essential for adoption and adaptation of the technology to create relevant local solutions. We are working to develop local capacity but are hampered by funding.

Policy: current local policy does not encourage investment in immersive technology; neither are there initiatives across critical national sectors like education and research to drive local capacity and industry.

Infrastructure: there are challenges with electricity and internet access.

Financial: currently exploring funding opportunities from a number of organizations (eg. The Elevate Prize). Also exploring revenue pathways for the lab.

Technical: we are developing programs to develop capacity on the continent, we are extending our partnerships across multiple countries to facilitate this. We are also pursuing global partnerships we can leverage for technical expertise.

Policy: do advocacy work with government agencies and parastatals.

Infrastructure: we are exploring ways to adapt the technology for our environment. For example, a key project is the development of a constraint considered VR headset for our target communities.

Facebook: 

• Provide office space for our lab in Lagos
• Sponsoring our 2020 AR/VR Africa Hackathon
• Have sponsored previous Imisi 3D/AR VR Africa hackathons; and provided equipment for our AR/VR Africa minlabs

UNICEF Innovation Fund

• Grant to develop virtual reality content for Nigerian schools

We are seeking 2 million USD in grant funding. 

I am particularly excited about the potential of The Elevate Prize to significantly reduce the barriers currently impeding our work. The following are key areas for us: 

• Funding: this is critical for us, and The Elevate Prize will shore up our operational and programming capacity.
• Technical expertise: the MIT community is often at the bleeding edge of technology. We are keen to tap into this resource to enhance our operations, programming, and rapidly accelerate r&d and capacity development.
• Policy: access to networks that influence policy and spending globally. 

World Bank: funding and advocacy support

United Nations: advocacy support

Ford Foundation: funding and advocacy support

African Development Bank: funding and advocacy support