In this exciting episode, we invite Jibran Tahir, the visionary founder of NFT KHI, to delve into the captivating world of non-fungible tokens

Discover how Jibran's passion for blockchain technology and art has motivated him to create an event that connects visionaries, creators, and enthusiasts in the ever-evolving NFT ecosystem.

Gain valuable insights as he shares his experiences working closely with artists, helping them navigate the world of tokenization and digital asset ownership.

Tune in to this captivating episode as we embark on a journey of discovery alongside Jibran Tahir, uncovering the true potential of NFTs to unite visionaries, creators, and enthusiasts in the digital world.

NFT.KHI - NFTs: Uniting Visionaries, Creators, and Enthusiasts in the Digital World

Participants:

• Nadja Bester (CEO & Co-founder of AdLunam)

• Jibran Tahir (Founder of NFTKHI)

Nadja

Hey, web3 world. This is Nadja Bester from AdLunam, and you are listening to the Future of NFTs, the show where we look beyond the current use cases for Non Fungible Token technology, and at what it is evolving into, all as always with absolutely fascinating minds that are building in the space. And as for Adlunam, we are a web3 investment ecosystem supporting projects from seed funding all the way up to the public sale. I'm very happy to have on the show with me today, Jibran Tahir. So Jibran is an ad film producer turned web3 entrepreneur, so definitely bound to be an interesting conversation today. With extensive experience in marketing and brand branding, He founded Manifest Studios, a web3 agency, helping brands transition from web2 to web3, which as we can all agree is definitely the 1st step, to getting web3 adoption. And he is also the founder of NFTKHI, Pakistan's biggest NFT festival, which in just a few days, I believe, will be hosting more than a 100 veteran speakers, including solve. So very much looking forward to being there in in Karachi and to connect with, Jibran and the rest of the team and all of the other minds in Pakistan as well as more than 200 world class artists.

Nadja

So NFTKHI coming right up. It is an annual gathering of the most innovative minds, forward thinking creators, and avid NFT enthusiasts who are passionate about the exploring the limitless possibilities of digital ownership as I'm sure are all of us on the show, which is why we are gathered here every each and every single week to talk about the future of NFTs. So, Jibran, yeah, so happy to have you on the show with us today. Very excited for this conversation that we'll be having, maybe to get us started.

Jibran

So happy. I hope you've been incredible to be here.

Nadja

Very lovely to have you. So let's get started. Tell me more about NFT KHI, and what is the mission? What is the mission driving you? What is the mission driving this this event?

Jibran

Okay. So, just to begin with, Hi, everyone, and thank you so much for having me here. It's so glad to be accompanied by such amazing minds, and I cannot wait to host you in Karachi in a few days. It's gonna be super amazing. And as for NFT Karachi, NFT Karachi, I would say, like, it's the way like I do put it. It's my 1st love letter to Karachi to my city. And for more stuff, you know, that there's so much more to come. And, at this event, we are really trying to make it super extraordinary and seamless for all our attendees and make sure, like, you know, they have They have that rejoice and that hope when they get back home because the market is both bearish.

Jibran

And, you know, even though even a lot of different things that are happening in when it comes to inflation, when it comes to the economy, everything is, like, you know, making sure people are losing their hope. But we, with NFT Karachi, wanna make sure that people This is a celebratory day for every single one who's gonna be out there attending the event, speaking at the event, exhibiting at the event, every single person. And, that's the way we wanna make sure that this event is absolutely phenomenal. We wanna turn this into an, an event that happens annually every single year, and we wanna explore different locations for that as well. Like, right now we're doing this in NFT, we're doing this in Karachi, we wanna explore Slama, we wanna Lahore, you wanna explore the remote areas of Hunza as well because we know there's so much more talent. It's like, you know, the treasure of talent is set in every single part of the country. So that's the whole idea. And with NFT Karachi, we wanted to make sure that we're not just creating a tech conference, which is, like, you know, all about discussions, conversations, networking, but we're also giving the stage to our artists who can exhibit the work.

Jibran

So we are exhibiting the works of 200 different artists from 81 different countries, which is phenomenal. And I love most of them, and they're just truly amazing. One of the creators is just beautiful. And I'm super stoked to actually talk about this event because I've been talking this for a while now. It's been 6 months since we've been building this. So many ups and downs, so many regulations, Policies, Nos and Yeses, so many MOUs that are intense, so many connections, conversations. And finally, we are here, like, you know, it's happening this weekend and it's it just sounds surreal. It sounds like a dream, you

Nadja

Okay, guys. Hopefully, this is better. I did lost sound there and, if you're able to hear me, just give me one of your favorite emojis, and then, Jibran, like, we can get back to the conversation. Awesome. Yeah, So I did hear up until the end, I'm not sure if you added anything subsequent to that, but I did hear until you finished speaking. Yeah. I mean, thank you for sharing that.

Nadja

I think what really stood out for me was your line about, you know, this being a love letter to your city. Because, I mean, from all of us who are from different parts of the world, we know that, you know, awareness of web3 technologies, a foundation, and then, b, the adoption of these technologies From 1 country to the next, the situation looks very different. I mean, if you go to Dubai, everyone in Dubai knows about web3 or at least The large majority of people that you meet are probably in web3. And then there are other countries where, you know, you might see, Signs or ATMs or, you know, maybe 1 or 2 people you might meet knows about these technologies. And then there are other countries where almost absolutely no mention is being made. So as much as Online, we are an international community. As soon as you get offline, the situation looks very different depending on the country that you're in. So how is the situation in Pakistan at the moment and and in South Asia for that matter?

Jibran

I would say, like, you know, the technology ecosystem and the landscape is pretty huge. There's so much opportunity here. People are building some incredible startups, some incredible products, some incredible businesses, and I'm so glad that I got to know all of these people over course of last 6 months. And it's just phenomenal that you know the kind of talent that we have. On the governmental level, I would say, like, there are so many, so many major steps that are to be taken yet, but this has not stopped anyone from, you know, like, really building. We have been building since, you know, like, since the very inception. I remember the 1st day I got in love with web3 is when I read about that, you know, this is where when I when I was going through, you know, how it works, the blockchain and everything, and NFTs to begin with, and I realized that this is the this is literally the outlet where I could My art and tech. And for me, that was just beautiful.

Jibran

Because as a filmmaker interested in technology, that was just the best escape ever. You know, I could do whatever I want now. I could really turn my ideas into reality. And this is this is where I think, like, most of us Sound of building as well. They know what they're aiming for. They know, they're unstoppable, and they're not they're not gonna be stopped. You know? Then, obviously, there are so many, obstacles, but I don't think that's just happening in Pakistan. There are you know, obstacles happening all around the world, you know.

Jibran

So that just doesn't stop us. I think, like, we have earned ourselves, you know, a seat on the table, and we would like to be there. You we really wanna make sure that this is the most representative event of, you know, what Pakistanis can do, of how we can really turn the wheel, and, you know, how we can really make it happen for the web3, for the community, for the tech, you know, ecosystem in general. And, Yeah. There's so much happening in Pakistan, which if you read about it in the headlines, you'd be like, Oh, this is not good. But, like, that's not stopping us. You know? We are still building. We're still striving.

Jibran

We know this is this is how we how we get it, but we have to leave it in a way. You know?

Nadja

Fantastic. I mean, I think this idea that there are people, in this industry or engaging with these technologies, you know, because They're only in here to get rich quick or, you know, make a big amount of money and and scam people. I mean, that's certainly one narrative, but then there's also The opposite of that is that there are so many people in this industry or involved with these technologies because they truly believe in it, and those are the ones that don't give up. Those are the ones that are there during the bear market. And as you said earlier, even just having this this event at a time like this, You are already very aware of the fact that, yes, the market is down. And because of the market being in the situation that it is, psychologically, we are all really affected by this. I mean, this is something that we believe in. This is something that we stand for.

Nadja

But then when you look at the charts, when you look the markets, when you look at the media, there's not a lot of positive news, coming out of, of this industry at the moment. So I'm curious. You know, I attend a lot of events, around the world. And just to give you a compliment Right off the bat, I've been saying this to my team, and my team have been saying this to me. Just in dealing with you guys, in preparation for me going to Karachi, I've had an amazing experience. Just the level of professionalism from your team and really the dedication and you bring something to the table just in terms of organizing this conference that is it makes you stand out. So I suggest yeah. Definitely, thank you for that.

Nadja

But so I attend a lot of events around the world, and, you know, these events might range, from Sort of one outcome that the org conference organizer hoping for, you know, to a different outcome. Sometimes it's for networking. Sometimes, you know, it's whatever the case may be, sometimes it's very important conversations being had, combination of these, of course. But in your opinion, events like NFTKHI, how do they contribute to this industry, especially in terms of the possibilities that they are within the industry.

Jibran

I think I think that's a great question because we've been asking these questions to ourselves as well in order to how we can differentiate, how we can, you know, be different, how we can differentiate in a way that, you know, we do not operate as a conventional tech conference. You know? And for us, I think it's so amazing to be, you know, associated with such incredible people because I feel like, you know, If there's someone in Pakistan who's losing hope and they show up to this event, and they hear you or they hear Zeeshan Ahmed, The country manager from RAIN on the here, the community manager of Binance on the here, Tobias Bauer from the Blockchain Founders Fund talk about the future, talk about how magnificent and how envision it from day 1, and that's exactly how make sure that, you know, this is an inspirational sort of an event where people can come and just get inspired because I feel like we are putting together Justice League of the of the web security of the tech community. You know? We have the Wonder Woman. We have the Superman. We have the Spider Mans. And we have everyone Sitting on same table.

Jibran

So, like, you know, when people look at this table, they obviously feel inspired to build more and more, and that's the very journey you wanna start off With NFT, Karachi.

Nadja

I love that. I'm just really curious, which superhero I'm gonna be, and I hope that I'm gonna get the cape or at least so I don't know. Not a cape, then at least an NFT to prove that I'm said superhero. So, Jibran, tell me, you know, you talk about people showing up and about Really not loo I mean, at the moment, there's so much to be losing hope over. If you are invested in this industry purely from a financial perspective, yes, it's not looking good. If you are invested in this industry Because you believe in this being the future and in all of these solutions being built, what we see in terms of adoption, then again, it doesn't look good. So when we talk about people being inspired, you know, the attendees at the conference being inspired by, all of the thought leaders coming together to talk about the future, why do you think, or not why rather, but what do you think is the most inspiring thing that people would be able to take away in terms of what the future is like? Yes. We know that things are bleak right now.

Nadja

However, those of us that look, you know, 1, 2, 5, 10, 20 years into the future know that these are temporary blips. But for the average person, let's say, the average attendee of most conferences who don't necessarily work in the industry, What do you think is that piece of hope that people need and need to kind of cling on to, and what do you think they'll be able to take away from this conference Knowing, okay. You know what? This is something that will give me hope to push through what's happening right now.

Jibran

Awesome. So I personally feel like, this is a very interesting, conversation to have. And why we should spend a little time on this because it's important to understand that I personally feel that, you know, we cannot talk about web3 if you could, if you do not talk about blockchain. And I most importantly want people to understand the importance and the magic of blockchain. You know, because it really we belong to a country where there's so much that can be developed, that there's so much that can be improved, there's so much that can be, You know, like, made better. And when it comes to bureaucracy, when it comes to the hospitals, when it comes to the health tech, health care. There's so much that needs to be improved. There's so much that needs, you know, like revisions.

Jibran

And I just want to understand And want people to know and really learn about, you know, how magical this blockchain technology is and how it can really turn things into some amazing products, and that's one thing that I would really want, to happen through this, You know, in the subsequent years as well, that you wanna make sure that we keep hosting, like, workshops about blockchain, about, you know, the different use cases of blockchain, and how we can do, like, hack and things like that, you know. But I personally feel like at this event, this is this is our 1st milestone to Karachi into organizing something that is truly about a web3, that is truly about blockchain, that is truly about NFTs, that is truly about the community. And I feel like this this event in itself is such, you know, like a breath of fresh air for the community around because I know people are working in silos, and they crave for such ones. They really wanna be there. They wanna make sure that there's a community attendance. They wanna make sure that, you know, there are people that they really look up to. They can network with them. They really wanna do, like, a lot of, like, you know, like, cross fertilization of ideas with these incredible But because there are no, you know, like, venues or there are no, like, such events happening, you know, like, mostly because I have understood this in the past 6 want to let you know, it's really like, crazy to, you know, like, get sponsorships for the web3 event, to be very honest, especially in Pakistan.

Jibran

So I know why these events are not happening, but we made this, you know, like, commitment to our self and to the community that we're gonna make this happen. And that is exactly why we wanna do this because This is gonna be the 1st milestone for the many to come, and if people should come and, you know, be in you know, like, instilled with this thought that, you know, this is not stopping. This is gonna happen every single year, and it's gonna get bigger and better from here, you know. So maybe we would wanna be the speaker next year. You know? So maybe you would wanna be on the panel next year. You know? So there's so much that that, you know, motivation that needs to be added. And I I just believe that, you know, this is this is the 1st event in Karachi, and we wanna make sure that it's an extraordinary one. Not just for us, for every single person out there.

Nadja

Wonderful. So now that got me curious, and I love asking this question. Tell us about your journey. You used to work in the film industry, in the ad film industry. How did you get into web3, and Are you in web3 full time? Why did you get into web3 full time? What is the personal mission that made you go, hey, this is something that I've come across, and I'm running with it.

Jibran

I think that's a very Beautiful question. And maybe I can give, like, a very that, you know, it was literally coincidental. It was not something that I planned. It was not something that I, you know, thought I'd be doing. It was not something that, you know, I sort of ran into It was very random. So in my university, like, back in 2018, I guess, so my friend, who’s my cofounder now, wanted to write like a paper on Blockchain. And, you know, he was like, I'm not gonna write it. It's so weird.

Jibran

I'm not getting anything about it, so why don't you do it for me? And me being a good friend, I was like, okay. So we just, you know, like, hopped on a call. We started reading about it and the more and more I read about blockchain and the more and more I read about how this works, you know, that was like that one moment I fell in love with it. I was like, this is something that I can relate with. I feel like I'll never get bored of it, you know. Maybe about reading it, about, you know, watching videos about it, about Making it about building products related or incorporating this, but I love this, you know. That was for me the first time that I, you know, sort of fell in love with block It was my 1st encounter itself. So I think this is this is this is the kind of industry that I Personally feel that I belong to for the longest time, and I'm not saying that I hated my advertisement agency.

Jibran

I love it equally as much because I personally feel like with Web3, I can bring those 2 together, you know, like, this is the magic of this vertical, and that's exactly why I never get bored of it. I never get bored of talking about it, never get bored of reading about it, watching about it, and, yeah, this this is my lifestyle right now.

Nadja

I mean, I can only mimic what you are saying, because for me, the details might have been different, but very much the same, as soon as I got into it, having not understood it before, that was it. And, you know, I've been here ever since. So I'm curious with your engagement with the community in Pakistan, in Karachi. Can you give us an idea of the average person may be in terms of age group or, you know, profession even. What are some of those demographic details, of people that currently are already aware of web3, whether that's blockchain, whether that's crypto, whether it's NFTs, etcetera. Is there a pattern that you're able to see? Maybe it's the younger generation. Maybe it's people in a specific industry.

Nadja

Have you been able to pick up some of these patterns?

Jibran

Absolutely. And it's bizarre. Absolutely. Like, even in an Uber that I'm riding someday, you know, I hear people were talking about, hey. I should buy this coin or I should buy that coin. You know? It's literally happening. And amongst the peers, I can really see, like, you know, like, university students are really interested because we have been getting so much sign ups and so many registrations from universities, colleges. People are super interested there.

Jibran

Really, like, on the verge to attend this next day. You know? They really wanna be, you know, part of such, an initiative. You know, they really wanna volunteer. They really wanna be there. They really wanna explore, like, you know, how this works. So if you like, in in my understanding, I would say, like, From colleges to students, and I've also seen like, you know, like, older people, like, I don't know, like it's so hard to understand the very target, you know the very bull's eye market because it's happening everywhere. It's like this beautiful effect that's taking over Pakistan that people are really getting involved in that web3 technology in general. You know?

Nadja

Yeah. I mean, that has certainly been my experience as well. I was laughing when you said about the taxi driver because I feel like it I might not always, as I travel, understand, the language that the person is speaking, but I very often, well, it maybe not be in this market right now, but especially when it was more of a Bull market. I very often had the experience of overhearing the taxi driver speak in their local language and then just hearing the word Bitcoin. Okay. Okay. Now I'm paying attention. So I'm curious then because, yes, there is this, growing awareness of technology in general and especially then web3 technologies.

Nadja

But over the past, you know, almost a year now, Ever since, I think it was, what, November, 2022, when ChatGPT, you know, was released and generative AI became the next big thing, Are you seeing that the interest in these 2 technologies are both growing very fast, or is it that, You know, AI is kind of more at the forefront now and web3 is taking a back seat. Or was it the other way around? Have you noticed any of those patterns? Because for a lot of people that I speak to, they would kind of say, yeah. I mean, people used to care about web3, but now it's all AI. And, you know, people don't care about the web3 stuff anymore, Which arguably is because of the market, not performing at the way that people wanted to. But I also think it might be that depending on the country that you're in, you know, for some people, AI has a more immediate effect, or more immediate need than what web3 does. And in other countries, it might be the opposite. What has your experience been or your observation been?

Jibran

I feel like I love how expansive AI is. I understand the very seriousness and the importance of AI. And I am one of those I really feel like this it should be improved and it should be every single way because why do we have to really think about writing the 1st paragraph in an email when it can be done automatically? But I also feel like the blockchain and AI are super impressive, but they're meant to be. They're like lovers. You know? Their marriage is inevitable. It's gonna happen someday. I personally feel so. And it's gonna be super revolutionary.

Jibran

And, We do have 1, keynote session by Sajal Rahman, who's the VP of revenue at Immunefi, you know, at NFT Karachi, Who's gonna be talking about, you know, the advancement of blockchain and AI and the marriage? So I really look forward to it as well because I know, like, I've been new to, understanding or, like, really wrapping my head around AI. I truly believe in the technology, but I feel like It's so much more that needs to be uncovered. There's so much more context, so much more discourse, so much more, you know, like, learning that needs to be done in order to, like, fully grasp. Because it's almost like, you know, once you open the floodgates, you cannot take that back in. You know? So you really need I also like even with blockchain or web3, like, I really want to understand the whole picture before I, You know, like, give it an endorsement or before I, you know, tell someone about it or before I onboard someone onto it. So that's what's happening with me with AI. I'm really trying to, like, learn and, you know, explore and research as much as possible so that I can really understand what I'm talking about, and I can really understand where this technology can lead us. You know?

Nadja

Yeah. I mean, that leads me to a question because I think this is something that, everyone has to experience at some point or another. There's the pre-web3 , where you didn't know about these technologies. You didn't understand them. And then there's the post, you know, new worlds, new doors being opened to You where suddenly now you do understand them, perhaps not Fully or perhaps not all of it. I mean, there's varying levels of understanding for all of us in this industry, and, certainly, there's no person that is able to understand every single aspect of the technology in the industry. But what about that middle period? You know, now you've decided that you want to start learning about these things, but only to find, oh my goodness. There is So much happening.

Nadja

I don't know where to start. And this is the kind of, you know, like a valley of confusion, that a lot of people that find themselves in. I mean, I have personally experienced this even with friends who have known me for years, know which industry I work in and yet don't understand the first thing about it. So when they ask me to explain, okay, what do you actually do? What is all this actually about it's always a case of, you know, I really need to learn about this at some point, but not right now because it's very overwhelming. So what is your advice for people who are new to all of these things? How do they get a foot in the door? Where do you actually get started where there's an almost infinite number of things that you can research, that you can look into.

Jibran

I think I think that's so amazing that you that you actually talked about this because we've been discussing this yesterday as well. I would say, like, This is this is your chance. This is you know, the world is literally shrinking into this small village where you can access, where you can you can talk to anyone you want, you know. LinkedIn is your playground. You know? Just do not be shy to show up. Do not think that, you know, any question can be a stupid question because every question important, you know. Do not feel like maybe I should ask this or maybe I should stop. Go on.

Jibran

Just go ahead and ask, you know, like, whatever you wanna ask. Talk about whatever you I would say, like, just understand, you know, like, this is this is your chance to really Network, this is your chance to really talk to people and be careless and fearless about it. You do not have to think about how they're gonna judge you or, you know, what they're gonna say. It's obviously instrumental that, you know, you're new to this, and you really wanna understand. And I don't think there's anything more beautiful than that, just being vulnerable and just being able to understand, you know, and just Being able just being open to, you know, to new things and to new ideas and to, you know, like, new concepts.

Yeah. I mean, that is very good general life advice, but certainly even more so when it comes to, to wrapping your head around things that initially might seem extremely complicated. I always say that, you know, there's a place for everyone. Everyone doesn't have to be a technologist. Everyone doesn't have to be a developer. Everyone doesn't have to understand the nuances of the code in order to be involved with this technology, to be part of this industry. So there truly is a space for everyone. The question is more, who are you? What are you interested in? What would you like to do? And then really carve out a space for yourself, within all of this because there is it's still so early that there's a lot of seats at the table that are left that can be filled.

So, Jibran, let's pivot a little bit to the broader idea and understanding of NFTs. So different people have different definitions. I think I've heard as many, definitions as I've spoken to different people. What is your personal definition of NFTs? Maybe this is different depending on who you speak to. If you speak to your grandmother, You're certainly not going to explain NFTs in the same way that you would explain it, you know, to a friend who's an artist or a friend who once to get into the industry, maybe as a collector or an investor or a builder, but sort of broad scale, what is your definition of NFTs that you like to use.

Jibran

I would say NFTs are these Amazing package of liberation. You know, you really need to understand the technology that, you know, that this has unlimited potential. It has unlimited use cases. Maybe those use cases are not so clear or undiscovered or, you know, like Some, you know, surfaces that we haven't scratched, but, you know, with so much more that is happening, there's so many years that are being explored when it comes to blockchain and NFTs in general. I mean, I remember the NFTs started off by, you know, just these, Amazing apes being sold out and, you know, there was this huge hype around it and everything, and this is where I Realize that, okay. So this is this is a PFP, and that is the whole use case about NFTs. But then I realized that, you know, you can use NFTs In in, you know, like, in maintaining your hospital records, you can use NFTs to mint your own passports. You can use NFTs to Secure bureaucratic signatures.

Jibran

You can use NFTs to sell your songs. You can use NFTs to pre-register your customers at a library. You can so much with NFTs that, you know I mean, with this technology in general that, you know, this, you know, like this very concept of Access in this very concept of, you know, like, that very door that you need to, be a part of in order to, you know, sort of explore certain things and, you know, have certain parts is just amazing because it also tricks you. It also, like, keeps you accountable. I'll just give you an example. So, like, you know, there's so many people who are, like, you know, teaching people how to trade, how to day trade, how to spot trade, and thing and, you know, all of those classes are free and no one takes it, you know, like, serious because they take it for granted because it's free, you know? But when you cap it, when you gate it, when you, like, you know, tell people that you have to take it because it's gonna expire in Like a certain hours or, you know, it just becomes so much more important. People start realizing that, you know, okay. So this is the importance of this.

Jibran

And this is this is just to say that, you know, we're just right now scratching the surface with NFTs. This is not even the beginning. I would say, like, there's so much more that needs to be discovered. There's so much uncharted territory when it comes to NFTs and blockchain in general that will be appalled, and it's gonna be miraculous in a couple of years. You know?

Nadja

Yeah. I mean, I really couldn't have Said it better myself. I completely share your sentiment about NFTs just being the doorway to really So many possibilities, many of which we haven't even begin to think of yet. And I always bring it back to the point that we are talking about a technology here. We are not talking about individual use cases. The media has been running with PFPs and with NFT art as the de facto definition of this technology, when in reality, it's but 2 different use cases Out of, really, as you said, almost an unlimited amount. Many, many thanks to Gibran, from NFTKHI for joining us, and thanks to all of you, especially if you Stuck out with us until the end despite all of the tech and audio issues on Twitter spaces. And I look forward to catching up with you again next week on the Future of NFTs brought to you by AdLunam.

Nadja

Cheers, guys. Have a lovely day and a lovely week. Goodbye.