In the aftermath of the Westgate terror attack in Nairobi, Brian Afande, the CEO of BlackRhino VR, found himself contemplating a profound change in his career path. Surviving such a harrowing experience compelled him to seek a more meaningful and impactful direction. It was during this introspective period that he stumbled upon Virtual Reality (VR). Brian recognised VR as the next frontier in technological advancement therefore set up BlackRhino VR to advance this interest in VR.
BlackRhino VR aims to be an agent of change for Extended Reality (XR) in Africa. One of their visionary products is MediAR, an augmented cloud platform editor that enables non-coders to develop VR products.
The realisation of BlackRhino VR’s MediAR product was made possible through the support of the ACP-EU Ignite Culture Fund. Managed by the British Council and implemented by HEVA Fund, this programme was instrumental in bringing MediAR to life.
Brian expresses his excitement about achieving this milestone and the impact it is set to have. “MediAR is Africa’s first augmented reality cloud editor and publishing platform editor, enabling content creators to build AR content with no need for coding experience. Our ethos at BlackRhino VR is to demystify, democratize, design, and deploy XR technology. Our platform MediAR not only allows content creators to build AR products but also provides access to a comprehensive curriculum on augmented reality, enabling them to learn and participate in this technology. So far, MediAR has over 200 users building AR content, and this number will continue to grow as we have just launched our marketing campaign. For this significant feat, we are grateful to the British Council.”
Shamina Rajab, the Managing Director of BlackRhino VR, adds that their long-standing relationship with the British Council has been instrumental in BlackRhino VR’s growth. “We have engaged with the British Council from the inception of BlackRhino VR through numerous collaborations and projects. Our most recent engagement was the invitation by the British Council to the SoCreative Summit in South Africa, where we had the opportunity to showcase our technology.”
The vision for BlackRhino VR is expansive and deeply rooted in creating opportunities for African talent and innovation. By democratizing access to VR and AR technologies, they hope to foster a new generation of tech-savvy creators who can contribute to the global tech ecosystem.