January 30, 2024
Growing up in a household with just boys as siblings, I became a gamer without even realizing it. People usually became surprised when I beat them in some games, myself included. At this point I did not know what a big role this could play in my future.
Fast-forward many years later I received an invite to speak at the Africa Tech Festival, sharing my knowledge on the topic: Levelling Up: Exploring the thriving mobile gaming industry in Africa alongside an esteemed panel of leaders in the gaming industry. I applaud the Africa Tech Festival team for a well organized event that plays such a pivotal role in the growth of the tech industry.
The purpose of this article is to share tips to help level up and accelerate the African gaming industry in order to see increase in its economic growth. The mobile gaming has seen great growth patterns over the years with an increase of 8.7% in 2022, the growth markets continue to grow with projected exploding of 13,6 in revenue by 2025.
So how do we accelerate mobile gaming in Africa?
Local game development: There has been a growing interest in local gaming development in urban areas and semi-urban areas and the influence of education and awareness plays a big role in the development of gaming especially in semi-urban areas and in rural areas. It is important to teach the youth more about edutainment and various gaming opportunities available to them, this can be done by mobilizing more gaming events and workshops.
Mobile Penetration: Africa has seen a significant increase in mobile phone penetration with Nigeria leading in mobile penetration and also currently leading in revenue increase in the gaming industry, this could be due to the high rate of mobile penetration in the country. As more people gain access to smart phones, the potential user base to mobile gaming expands.
Cultural Relevance: Game developers across Africa need to increase and develop games that reflect African cultures and stories, to help boost the appeal of gaming.
Inclusion and diversity: Gaming for many years has had the perception that it was a boys sports or activity. More girls and women of races as well as people with disabilities have shown an interest in gaming and they need to start being considered and welcomed by the gaming industry and gaming developers for example, by having more games especially in sports with women and disabled avatars. It will be interesting to see what the gaming industry has in store for us in 2024 with the potential of it leading as the biggest entertainment model not only amongst the youth but also seeing more adults taking some time to game, because we all need some time to play.
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