Ten game development studios in Africa have come together under one umbrella, the Pan Africa Gaming Group (PAGG), in an effort to unify the continent’s gaming sector, which is currently fragmented.
According to the PAGG, it aims to grow the industry by two times annually, and to put Africa “on the map of the global game industry”. The association is further envisioned to drive the uptake of gaming in the continent and grow developer talents.
The announcement was made today, February 23, 2022 at the Africa Games Week 2022, which is taking place in Cape Town, South Africa, from 23rd -25th February.
The gaming studios in the new lobby are South Africa’s Sea Monster, Senegal’s Kayfo Games, Cameroon’s Kiro’o Games, Ghana’s Leti Arts, Tunisia’s Digital Mania, Ethiopia’s Qene Games, and Kenya’s Usiku Games. Other are Tanzania’s Khanga Rue, DopeApps from Rwanda and Messeka Games, with more expected to join soon. Collectively, the current members have developed more than 50 games.
“One of our core values is not just to build a collection of games, but to incubate Africa’s gaming industry of tomorrow. There is a wealth of incredible talent already on the continent, with more graduating every year from top-tier game development schools like Rubika. Most graduates, though, are relegated to doing remote work for overseas clients due to the lack of local gaming job opportunities. We’re going to fix that” .
Leti Arts CEO (Ghana), Eyram Tawia
The PAGG will bring together games developed by its members for publishing under Gara, an African game store, and AfroComix, a content hub for Afrocentric creative work. These channels will enable content distribution and monetization by allowing locally relevant payment options, including mobile money and airtime billing. The channels also plan to increase the number of Africa’s next generation game developers through training and incubation, a function that has already taken off in Kenya, at the Nairobi Game Development Center.
The Group will be governed by a founders’ council to be made up of top gaming entrepreneurs from the continent and joined by Peter Kihara (ex-Goldman Sachs and PWC) who will serve as the group financial officer and Jake Manion, the BAFTA-nominated director and former game director at Aardman Animation in UK, as the group creative director.
Gaming studios to maintain autonomy
Each gaming studio will maintain its autonomy but will be involved in voting proposals or resolutions brought forth by the council. Dawit Abraham, the CEO of Qene Games (Ethiopia), will be the PAGG’s spokesperson.
According to Dawit Abraham, the network has been formed to enable the Africa Gaming Industry to unlock the world’s next one billion players.
“Together, we represent over 200 professionals and 8 different languages. Our team has over 30yrs of experience, leading some of the top gaming companies globally, including Ubisoft, Electronic Arts & Aardman Animation. We have produced more mobile, PC & console games than anyone else on the continent. Most importantly, all of our network members are committed to #GamingForGood, harnessing the power of gamification to create a positive social impact in our local communities”.
Dawit Abraham
The gaming industry in Africa is set to grow exponentially due to a soaring interest amongst the youth, and as more people get connected to the internet. According to the 2021 GSMA mobile economy report, 303 million people, about 28% of the population in sub-Saharan Africa, are connected to mobile internet, a number that is set to grow to 474 million by 2025. This is expected to create an even bigger market for the gaming industry.
South Africa has the highest saturation of gamers across Africa with 24 million people (almost half of its population) playing, according to the Games Industry Africa report. Other major markets include Ghana, Nigeria, Kenya, and Ethiopia.
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