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Gamers in Africa are Aiming for Global Inclusion with Increased Awareness

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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.”

 


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FG to Toll Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, Second Niger Bridge, Others

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Federal government will toll all major roads in the country upon completion of construction and renovation because Nigerians are ready to pay for good roads once their safety and convenience are guaranteed, according to Dave Umahi, minister of Works.

FG to Toll Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, Second Niger Bridge, Others

Dave Umahi, minister of Works

“We have the Lagos-Ibadan (Expressway), we are completing it and we are tolling it,” Umahi said on Thursday in Abuja at an Inter-Ministerial Press Briefing, part of activities to mark Nigeria’s 64th independence anniversary.

He listed some of the roads as Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, Second Niger Bridge, Abuja-Kano Road, and Makurdi-9th Mile, among others.

The former Ebonyi State governor said the tolling of federal roads “is going to bring a lot of money to the Federal Government”.

Umahi said private sector members have been engaged “to bring in funds, construct these roads, work with the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission and the Ministry of Works to toll these roads”.

The minister said the government would start with the Keffi-Makurdi Road that has been completed, stating that his ministry has been engaging with the Ministry of Finance for a paperless mode of payment.

He said, “For example, we are completing the Lagos-Ibadan, we are working on Makurdi to 9th Mile in Enugu State, we are working from Abuja to Lagos. These roads are going to be tolled. But we are not just tolling them, we are bringing confidence in the use of these roads.

“If people can travel at night because we are bringing security, where the response time will be 10 minutes on the entire corridor, where you have solar light permanently there and then reduce travel time, and through the tolling, the roads are maintained, then, there will be confidence because Nigerians will pay if the roads are good.”

He said before now, road developments have not been handled as investments but the administration of President Bola Tinubu has been handling road developments more professionally.

He said the present administration inherited a total of 300 damaged roads and bridges, adding that more road constructions would commence from October 1, 2024, across the six geopolitical zones of the country.


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Afrinvest Pioneers Remittance for Investment in Nigeria Through Integration with Western Union

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Afrinvest (West Africa) Limited (“Afrinvest”), a leading investment management holding company acting through its wholly owned subsidiary, Afrinvest Asset Management Limited, a fund manager licensed by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), has announced a strategic integration with Western Union, a global leader in money transfer services.

The integration, according to a statement, enables Nigerians in the diaspora to remit funds directly for financial investments through the Optimus by Afrinvest investment platform.

This integration, a first for Western Union with a partner company in Africa, enables Nigerians to remit funds from nearly every country worldwide for financial market investments in Nigeria without relying on family, friends or other intermediaries.

“We are thrilled to integrate with Western Union to bring this groundbreaking service to Nigerians in the diaspora. This integration aligns perfectly with our mission of simplifying investment, improving access to investment opportunities, and guiding people on how to create wealth.

“By providing a direct channel to remit funds for investment, we are making it easier for Nigerians in the U.S., U.K., Cameroon, Ghana, Canada or wherever Western Union operates worldwide to create wealth while participating in the growth of the Nigerian economy,” said Chief Executive of Afrinvest Group, Dr. Ike Chioke.

Ayodeji Ebo, Chief Business Officer of Optimus by Afrinvest, said, “We are excited to offer a robust, convenient, and secure platform for Nigerians to access a wide range of investment options that suit various risk appetites and nancial goals. Optilock, our high- yield investment plan returns as high as 20% and 7% per annum for the Naira and Dollar options, respectively.”

He said, “the Nigeria International Debt Fund offers investors with low to medium risk appetite access to longer term fixed-income securities like FGN Bonds, Corporate Bonds and selected money market instruments. Investors who opt for the Afrinvest Dollar Fund get access to Eurobonds and other dollar-denominated securities.”


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PayU GPO Strengthens Nigerian Presence with New Country Manager Appointment

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PayU GPO has announced the appointment of Eze Ugochukwu as Country Manager in Nigeria. As part of PayU’s strategic investment and expansion in Nigeria, Ugochukwu’s appointment underscores our commitment to growth and innovation in the market.

Ugochukwu – who has extensive fintech experience spanning 17 years – has served as PayU’s Director/Product Manager in Nigeria for nearly a decade, leading in the conceptualization and development of customer centric solutions critical to the market.

PayU Africa CEO Karen Nadasen stated, “Nigeria is a pivotal and rapidly growing economy for the African region, offering immense opportunities for digital payments and e-commerce expansion.”

“Ugochukwu’s appointment is testament to our investment in this market, as his experience and leadership will mark an exciting era of digital technology driving wider financial inclusion.”

As Africa’s biggest e-commerce market, Nigeria is primed for greater growth, as consumer spending and revenue is set to continue in its rise, and along with it will be the growth of the payments industry in enabling convenient and seamless payments processing.

Beyond appointing a new Country Manager, PayU plans to hire 10 developers in Nigeria to boost local tech capabilities within the country and drive growth and innovation.

Further, the online payment service provider plans to enhance local infrastructure to reduce data costs, and boost technology and talent as part of its long-term investment in the country.

“At PayU, we are dedicated to broadening our local services and capabilities and strengthening our foothold in Africa. We remain steadfast in our mission to offer the best in efficient alternative payment methods that cater to the needs of consumers in each market,” Nadasen added.

PayU prides itself in having local expertise with a global reach, offering seamless online payments services in over 50 emerging markets.

 


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