July 20, 2021, 2:31pm
Dumani Mandela, grandson of Nelson Mandela and a writer himself, is auctioning two of his own books as NFTs to raise money for My Minimalist, his mental heath care web app. I Dream of Kemet and Young and On The Run from Apartheid will be listed on the NFT trade platform OpenSea in mid-August.
According to a PR blast, Mandela has spent the last fourteen years working for his family’s investment company OSR Holdings. He’s partnering with BlockSmart NFT, an NFT-oriented creative agency, to launch his book NFTs.
“Given Dumani’s family background, we expect there to be considerable interest in his tokens,” said BlockSmart NFT CEO Richard Ossei, making the subtext text. “It is particularly pleasing that on this occasion the proceeds will be going to such a good cause.”
BlockSmart is just one of a cluster of new agencies created to assist creatives and brands looking to get into the NFT space—like ViciNFT, who recently worked with author Victor Villaseñor to mint his writing-related memorabilia as NFTs. For many unknown writers, the draw of minting their work as NFTs is the ability to make money directly, without gatekeepers like publishers or publicists—but for those with the resources, an infrastructure is quickly rising up to meet them.