Connect with us

News

Gamers in Africa are Aiming for Global Inclusion with Increased Awareness

Published

on

Kindly share this post

The growth trajectory of an average African child is usually linear.

Take Zuga, an ambitious young man who grew up in the interiors of East Africa with an adventurous mind and a love for gaming. His closest encounter with mobile games would be listening attentively to country folk discuss medieval adventures and combat series while highlighting their best characters.

Intriguing as that sounded, none of the gamers’ foreign-animated heroes came close to Zuga’s beloved Kwanso and Aburi, some local characters he’d invented on his hand-made African-themed gaming board.

Kwanso could stretch river beds across different countries (an adaptation he culled from studying the lengths of the river Nile) and Aburi could re-invent itself in 550 forms, each bearing a native African language, from Swahili to Xhosa and Yoruba. For years, his longing to see these indigenous characters and culture on the “big screen” — what he called the television — didn’t materialise.

But today, the story’s changing. Zuga is right to believe that the fastest way African culture can be exported is by embedding them into games and animated series. From all indications, the time is right, and the market is ripe for disruption.

A 2021 GSMA mobile economy report indicates that 303 million people, almost 28% of the population in sub-Saharan Africa have a mobile internet connection and by 2025, there will be nearly 100 million additional mobile subscribers in Sub-Saharan Africa, where Nigeria and Ethiopia will account for almost a third of these.

The report also reveals that Sub-Saharan Africa has doubled its number of gamers to 186 million people in the last five years. “… This development is a result of African gamers playing on tablets or preferably smartphones rather than consoles.

“South Africa has the highest number of gamers at 24 million people, indicating a 40% of its population, followed by Ghana (27%), Nigeria (23%), Kenya (22%) and Ethiopia (13%)…”

These facts prove that the African gaming industry is rapidly expanding and ready to take on the global gaming economy. Home-grown gaming companies like Qene Games are playing key roles in making this happen.

Based in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, the venture-backed startup was founded by Dawit Abraham to develop mobile games that represent Africa’s beautiful culture in the global gaming and entertainment industry, where it is currently highly under-represented.

Kukulu and Gebeta, two award-winning mobile games, are some of Qene Games’ brainchildren. They both have their concepts derived from an African storyline. For instance, Kukulu is the name of a chicken in Ethiopia which, according to the creators, originated from a traditional sport in Ethiopia called Akukulu Alnegam.

“This is one of the many mobile games based on an African storyline, and it presents opportunities for more creativity by mobile game developers,” says Dawit, “Ethiopia alone has more than one cultural heritage, you can imagine what Nigeria, South Africa, Morocco, and the whole of Africa would present in contributing to its mobile gaming industry”

Earlier in 2022, as one of the viable reasons to drive the gamification of African culture, 10 African gaming development studios converged under one umbrella, the Pan Africa Gaming Group (PAGG) to unite the continent’s gaming industry and help to grow the talent of young African developers.

Qene Games as a member of PAGG aims to unlock the potential within the continent’s gaming industry through its enriching pan-African cultural heritage embedded in mobile games development and creating opportunities for more university graduates who are pursuing careers in mobile game development.

In an interview with Forbes Africa, Dawit said, “Ethiopia, as a country with more than 3,000 years of history and culture, has a large pool for creative inspiration. From the artistic and unique music styles that have been around for millennia, to many fascinating legends and folklore, our game developers have an endless source to feed their creativity and imagination.”

The founder believes that Africa is a hub of inspiration to seek ideas for authentic and local-themed mobile games, which will in turn attract stakeholders globally into the African market.

“I also suspect there would be fierce competition among telcos (telecommunication operators) who have been trying to get into the gaming business to try to fill the gap in distribution and sales,” he added.

While the gaming industry in Africa is fast-growing, challenges such as distribution and monetisation persist, but Dawit says “these challenges wouldn’t stop Africa’s gaming industry from reaching its potential because like it or not, the time is ripe and Africa is game.”

 


Kindly share this post

Dear Reader, Your support matters. But we believe that technology makes life more exciting and helps improve the lives of people around Nigeria and indeed the world. That is why, we have devoted our energy to independent reportage of technology and finance and how they affect lives. Our incisive and analytical view of how technology news affects the daily life help individuals and organizations make up their minds. Quality journalism costs money. Today, we're asking that you support us to do more. Kindly support our effort to deliver technology and finance journalism to everyone in the world. Donate as little as N1,000. Bank transfers can be made to: UBA Plc 1017156876 Communication Week Media Ltd

Continue Reading
Advertisement
Comments

News

PalmPay, Jumia Reward Users in Festive Campaign

Published

on

Kindly share this post

This holiday season just got a whole lot more exciting! PalmPay, one of Africa’s leading fintech platforms, operates Nigeria’s most used mobile wallet and has teamed up with Jumia, the continent’s e-commerce giant, to launch a festive campaign that’s all about convenience, rewards, and enhancing your shopping experience.

Running from December 11th to 28th, 2024, this holiday campaign is set to reward shoppers who use the new “Pay with PalmPay” feature on Jumia with cash prizes. Every purchase made using the direct payment method automatically enters participants into a draw, giving them a chance to win exciting cash rewards while enjoying the seamless shopping and payment process.

A Strategic Partnership To Enhance Digital Payments

The integration of the “Pay with PalmPay Wallet” feature on Jumia marks a major milestone in the partnership between the two industry leaders.

Speaking at the media announcement, Mr. Chika Nwosu, Managing Director of PalmPay, highlighted the broader mission driving this collaboration: “We are thrilled to join forces with Jumia to redefine convenience for shoppers. At PalmPay, our mission has always been to drive economic empowerment through accessible and user-friendly financial services. This partnership is a natural step forward in achieving that goal.”

Beyond the holidays, this partnership with Jumia m,k is a signal of bigger things to come. Mr. Chika added: “This is more than just about payments—it’s about creating value for our customers. We are excited about the opportunities this partnership will unlock in 2025, including campaigns and innovative initiatives that will further transform the online shopping landscape.”

Sunil Natraj, CEO of Jumia Nigeria, highlighted the shared vision between both companies, stating: “At Jumia, we are dedicated to creating value for our customers by ensuring a convenient, reliable, and secure shopping experience. This partnership with PalmPay strengthens our commitment to enhancing the digital payments within our platform. By integrating PalmPay, we are providing more options for customers to access affordable and quality goods with the convenience of cashless transactions.”

How to Join the Holiday Fun

Participating in the campaign is simple. When shopping on Jumia, select the “Pay with PalmPay” option at checkout, and your entry into the draw is automatic. It’s that easy!

Bonus Entry: Share a screenshot of your purchase on X (formerly Twitter) using the hashtag #PalmPayXJumia to increase your chances of winning. Additional winners will be selected from participants engaging with the campaign on Twitter.

Whether you are shopping for gifts, or gadgets this festive season, PalmPay and Jumia are making sure your experience is not only seamless but also rewarding.

To learn more about the campaign, stay tuned to the official  X accounts (formerly Twitter) of @palmpay_ng and @JumiaNigeria. for updates, announcements, and more chances to win.


Kindly share this post
Continue Reading

News

Corruption: ICPC Threatens Sanctions as 330 MDAs Fail Financial, Governance Tests

Published

on

Kindly share this post

Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offenses Commission (ICPC), has revealed that none of the Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs), in the country complied fully with ethical standards, policies, and anti-corruption measures in the passing year.

Corruption: ICPC Threatens Sanctions as 330 MDAs Fail Financial, Governance Tests

This was following the findings from the Commission’s Ethics and Integrity Compliance Scorecard (EICS) for the MDAs.

The Commission warned that henceforth, non-compliant MDAs will face necessary actions, including enforcement, to ensure adherence to government directives.

According to the EICS scorecard released on Thursday in Abuja by Demola Bakare, ICPC spokesperson, no MDA out of 330 MDAs that were assessed through physical deployment by ICPC teams achieved full compliance.

The EICS serves as a preventive tool used to assess and enhance the compliance of MDAs with ethical standards, policies, and anti-corruption measures.

Findings from the report indicated that no MDA achieved full compliance, while 29.55 per cent of MDAs captured attained substantial compliance, and 51.62 per cent had partial compliance.

The report also observed that 15.91 per cent showed poor compliance, while 292 per cent were non-compliant.

According to the report, common gaps included a lack of whistle-blower policies, strategic plans, and effective stock verification units, adding that many MDAs failed to conduct any forms of system studies or render financial and audit reports.

Commenting on the report, Bakare noted: “This year, 2024, the tool covered 323 responsive MDAs, with 15 MDAs non-responsive and categorised as high corruption risk.

“It is imperative to inform you that this initiative has yielded some positive and value-driven impacts, and these are, but not limited to, increased awareness and compliance with anti-corruption measures, enhanced competition among MDAs to meet criteria, and improved procurement processes and data reliability.

“The Commission recognises the MDAs with substantial compliance and will continue deploying these tools to promote integrity and accountability.

“Non-compliant MDAs will face necessary actions, including enforcement, to ensure adherence to government directives. We are certain that these efforts will continue to underline ICPC’s dedication to enhancing good governance and preventing corruption.”


Kindly share this post
Continue Reading

News

Dangote Refinery Denies Liquidity Challenges, Dismisses NNPCL’s $1Bn Loan Claim

Published

on

Kindly share this post

Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals (DPRP) has dismissed claims that the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) used a $1 billion loan secured through a crude forward sale agreement to support the refinery during a liquidity crisis.

Dangote Refinery Denies Liquidity Challenges, Dismisses NNPCL’s $1Bn Loan Claim

In a statement on Wednesday, Anthony Chiejina, company’s chief branding and communications officer, said the NNPCL’s stance was a distortion of the facts.

“We would like to clarify that this is a misrepresentation of the situation as $1bn is just about 5% of the investment that went into building the Dangote Refinery,” Chiejina said.

Chiejina stated that the refinery’s decision to enter into a partnership with the NNPCL was based on the recognition of “their strategic position in the industry as the largest offtaker of Nigerian crude” and at the time, the sole supplier of petrol into Nigeria.

“We agreed on the sale of a 20% stake at a value of $2.76 billion. Of this, we agreed that they will only pay $1 billion while the balance will be recovered over a period of 5 years through deductions on crude oil that they supply to us and from dividends due to them,” Chiejina said.

“If we were struggling with liquidity challenges we wouldn’t have given them such generous payment terms. As at 2021 when the agreement was signed, the refinery was at the pre-commission stage.”

According to the statement, the agreement would have been cash-based rather than credit-driven if the refinery struggled with liquidity issues.

The refinery’s spokesman said the NNPCL was subsequently unable to supply the agreed 300,000 barrels a day of crude (bpd).

He stated that the shortfall was because the NNPPC “had committed a greater part of their crude cargoes to financiers with the expectation of higher production which they were unable to achieve”.

“We subsequently gave them a 12-month period for them to pay cash for the balance of their equity given their inability to supply the agreed crude oil volume,” he said.

“NNPCL failed to meet this deadline which expired on June 30th 2024. As a result, their equity share was revised down to 7.24%. These events have been widely reported by both parties,” he said.


Kindly share this post
Continue Reading

Trending