Source: AmazONamazônia
Publication Date: April 24, 2023
octaEra has just been launched on the market, a startup that bets on the metaverse to bring knowledge about the native peoples of Brazil and present real places that are difficult to access to the whole world, through immersive 360º itineraries.
The experiences connect the user to different biomes and villages of various indigenous peoples and aim to teach and bring together topics such as ancestral life, history, biology, geography and languages, in addition to democratizing the metaverse environment.
The business model is through subscriptions (see below). Half of the net income will be donated to the participating native peoples with the objective of contributing to the protection of cultures and preservation of nature and the planet.
At the end of 2022, even before its official launch, octaEra won the 4th edition of the QQSU award (Who wants to be a unicorn?), in the Innovation category.
QQSU is a startup acceleration program that, in its 4th year of existence, had the participation of 50 projects competing in three categories.
The startup was conceived by Octavio Tristan Morato Leite, CEO and founder of octaEra, who after years of experience in the corporate world outside Brazil decided to dedicate his time and life to socio-environmental projects, in search of a greater purpose.
The development of octaEra was due to another personal venture: Like Old Times (LOT), in which he organizes trips to less commercially explored destinations, developing sustainable tourism, living closely with nature and connecting tourists with native communities in places like the interior of Africa or the Amazon.
In early 2022, on one of the expeditions, Octavio realized that he could expand the scope of his mission and his life purpose, sharing his experiences and learnings from the trips in an innovative way, reaching more people and connecting them in a way immersive and unique.
“octaEra was born as an opportunity for people from all over the world to discover hard-to-reach places. From traditional reserves in Mato Grosso to newly created indigenous villages in Acre, the visitor has a complete experience of the fauna, flora and music of the native peoples and the sounds of nature. Thus, the objective is to allow more people to interact with these landscapes and knowledge on their computer, cell phone or even through Virtual Reality (VR) glasses”, says the creator.
octaEra bases its mission on eight pillars: Technology, Ancestry, Accessibility, Digital Tourism, Education, Nature, Sustainability and Social Impact and works with social and environmental projects, in partnership with the villages present on the digital platform.
“We had the opportunity to build the project together with Octavio. octaEra gives us the opportunity to present our ancestral values to the world. It is a project that has everything to do with the needs and values of our village”, says Naynawa, Shanenawa indigenous leader.
For Yawa Kumã, chief of the Shanekaya village, in Acre, the initiative brings together people who do not have access to this reality.
“I am very happy because people who are unable to go to the village, and who may never have that opportunity, can see what our routine is like and the lives of people who live in the middle of the forest”, he says.
According to Bruce Kuikuro, indigenous leader of the Kaluani village, in Xingu, octaEra strengthens indigenous culture. “Many young people are no longer interested in their ancestral culture, so the project paved the way for us to show this in a different way that draws attention. We used this within schools and the community found the idea interesting,” he says.
Immersive education
The project has a great front for the areas of education in schools, universities and institutes that use knowledge of geography, history, biology and traditional languages of the peoples involved with the octaEra. The contents covered by the platform almost cover the integrity of the National Common Curricular Base (BNCC) required in Basic and Elementary Education (1st to 9th grades). In this way, the startup presents itself as an excellent tool for students from all over Brazil to experience immersive content, in the classroom, at home and on the cell phones they carry in their pockets.
Events & Partnerships
Another front of action for Startup is the development of exhibitions and immersive projects, both in the business and corporate spheres as well as in academia, aimed at educational institutions, museums, exhibitions and places to project the contents of octaEra. Partnerships include:
White label
The company has the technology to prepare different 360º immersive experiences and create contexts and presentations in the Metaverse.
Social Sponsorship
Companies that seek to expand their social participation and support a transformation project.
How to sign and contribute to indigenous peoples:
Access the site through your browser (including Oculus Quest)
Make your LOGIN/REGISTER (free) in the upper right corner.
In the section (tab) TICKET OFFICE, select a “Social” plan of access or directly buy the ticket for an experience.
By purchasing direct entry to an experience, you will be contributing directly to the development of the selected village through our “social profit” model.
If you subscribe to one of the plans, the “social profit” will be shared among all our partners.
With your ticket in hand, choose the virtual experience you want to visit and it will open in a new window.
Check out the instructions on the virtual tour during your Metaverse experience.
Social Profit
Like any startup, octaEra seeks to grow and become a reference in the international market, but never giving up sustainability and its social values.
The company works with a Social Profit model, in which it undertakes to revert half of net profits to socio-environmental development projects. In addition, the company's proposal is always linked to ESG practices, acting directly or indirectly in 15 of the 17 SDGs and seeking ever-increasing organic and sustainable growth.
Among its social projects, octaEra is developing different activities, such as: empowerment for sustainable tourism with traditional communities; sanitation and water projects for indigenous villages; and the planting of agroforestry.
Payment methods
Currently, the user will pay online, via PIX or Credit Card, and will have three ways to acquire access: through the monthly social contribution (R＄ 99), and eventually using the promotional modality that is available.
For those who just want to try it out, there is also a 30-day plan, which allows access to the entire platform (R＄ 125). There is also the possibility of buying tickets for a single program (such as the Ni Shuvini village, in the Amazon, or the Kaluani village, for example).
This access will direct your support directly to the selected village and lifetime access to the experience (R＄99).
OctaEra
octaEra was born from the idea of a Brazilian executive, Octavio Tristan Morato Leite, after a sabbatical period marked by a trip to Africa. In 2018, he crossed by land (and a few flights) 10 countries on the continent, covering more than 11 thousand kilometers. Prior to that, Octavio worked in Germany as a commercial manager for a multinational in the hospital sector.
On his trip to Africa, he realized that he could turn his adventures into a business, always supporting a social cause: that of contributing to the native peoples of the places he visited. Thus was born Like Old Times, a company through which small groups were formed for a true immersion in the world of different peoples and villages. He also later brought the project to the Amazon and the Xingu.
The pandemic came and early on travel ceased. So, Octavio began to envisage scenarios to offer the same experiences and learning through virtual reality, the metaverse. In this way, partnerships with the original peoples were strengthened and, starting with the Amazon, a place he had already visited a few times, the octaEra arrived on the market.
The company, still in its pre-launch, won at the end of 2022 the 4th edition of the QQSU award (Who wants to be a unicorn?), startup acceleration program, in the Innovation category. Relevant factors that characterize the mission, purpose and potential of the company weighed in the award: to be a metaverse platform of knowledge and content, with a broad database, which includes ancestral legacies of peoples from various parts of the world, diverse cultures and different biomes.
To access the content, visit the website. You can access a free trial, and if you like it, subscribe to a plan and get unlimited access to the octaEra platform.
To view the content on the original site, click on www.amazonamazonia.com.br
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