Even though gaming has always been popular on the continent, the business of making games from Africa has struggled to catch on. There are several reasons for this paradox, but the dearth of funding and talent has always stood out. However, that narrative is slowly changing. Investors have started showing more confidence in the industry, and startups are raising more money than ever. For instance, Carry1st, a South African gaming startup, recently raised $27 million in a pre-Series B round. That was the single biggest funding for any African gaming startup. The same startup had previously raised Series A rounds of $20 million in January 2022 and $6 million in May 2021. The market for these businesses is also growing. Between 2015 and 2021, the number of mobile gamers in Sub-Saharan Africa more than doubled from 77 million to 186 million people, according to research by NewZoo. And 95 per cent of these gamers played on smartphones. So there’s no doubt that the rise in smartphone adoption across the continent is paving a path for its gaming industry.
SOURCE: VENTURES AFRICA