The government of Spain has announced it will issue a series of grants and aid for metaverse-related developments. The individuals and companies interested in receiving these grants will have to be based in the European Union or Spain and present a plan, and meet a series of requirements, to be considered. The first batch of grants will be dedicated to the gaming and entertainment sector.
Spain Acknowledges Relevance of the Metaverse
Countries from all over the world are now considering the metaverse and its related technologies as important developmental pillars for the future. Spain has announced it will dedicate more than $4 million in grants for metaverse-related projects. The grants program, which will be managed by the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Digital Transformation of the country, will be directed to companies and individuals working on the metaverse projects in the European Union or in Spain directly.
Those interested in applying for these grants will have to present a plan to the ministry, explaining the reach and goals of each project. For companies or teams, women will have to represent 25% of the organization in order to apply for these grants.
The ministry expects this program will entice companies from all over Europe to include the metaverse as a part of their plans for the future.
Countries Interested in the Metaverse
While the concept of the metaverse is still very broad, companies are already working towards establishing some kind of dominance in the field. This first batch of grants will be directed to gaming and video entertainment companies, as the metaverse is related closely to these industries, currently. At the same time, the ministry has opened a process to include experimental projects using virtual, augmented, and extended reality-related companies.
The estimation of the Spanish ministry is that the metaverse will have a value of over a billion dollars by 2026. Other countries are also taking the metaverse very seriously. One of these is Dubai, which is reportedly in talks with third parties to make some of its government offices and services metaverse-ready. Also, the virtual assets regulator of the country was one of the first to establish an office in the metaverse.
In the same way, other countries are putting funds directly into metaverse investments. In May, South Korea revealed an investment of $177 million to kickstart national companies working in metaverse-related projects.
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