E-SPORTS - The African Mirror

Feb

12

2025

Africa’s gaming market is expanding beyond traditional giants

SPORT, E-SPORTS

AFRICA’S gaming boom is no longer limited to its largest economies. Rising mobile penetration and a growing tech-savvy population are driving the emergence of unexpected gaming hubs like Eritrea and Niger, according to a new report. The report, an annual statistical analysis from Carry1st, a Web3 gaming publisher, and Newzoo, a provider of PC and console games market data and insights, reveals that Africa's gaming market is growing six times faster than the global average. According to ‍Carry1st CEO and Co-founder Cordel Robbin-Coker, with an estimated 32 million new gamers in 2024, the vast majority on mobile, “This new data…

Dec

19

2024

By BONFACE ORUCHO, BIRD STORY AGENCY

How women e-gaming pioneers are navigating Africa’s growing esports landscape

SPORT, E-SPORTS

TWENTY-SIX-YEAR-OLD Magdaline Mumbi is living life in the fast lane. Both in real life and digitally as an e-sports gamer whole alias is Bambina. What once was a casual pastime opened up "a whole new world," for Mumbi. Everything changed for her in 2018, she explained. That year, a call to participate in Safaricom's Be Your Own Boss (BYOB) campaign transformed her perspective. “At the time, I didn’t realize eSports was a whole industry. But by 2020, I began transitioning into administrative roles and even represented the Kenya National Team at various competitions,” she shared in an interview with bird…

Feb

02

2023

By The African Mirror

Investment in African gaming startups gains momentum

NEWS, E-SPORTS

CONRAD ONYANGO, BIRD STORY AGENCY AFRICAN gaming platforms are reporting increased investment activity, signalling investor confidence in Africa’s growing reputation as a market for the gaming industry. South African gaming startup, Carry1st recently raised US$27 million in a pre-Series B round, the single largest fundraiser for any African gaming startup and Carry1st’s most significant since its founding in 2018. “Carry1st will use the financing to develop, license, and publish new games as well as further expand Pay1st, the company’s monetization-as-a-service solution,” the company said in a statement. The mobile games publisher raised Series A rounds of US$20 million in January…

Oct

24

2023

By The African Mirror

Saudi Arabia launches Esports World Cup

SPORT, E-SPORTS

SAUDI Arabia said that it was launching an annual Esports World Cup, which will include the most popular games in the world and have the largest prize pool in esports history. The competition will be held annually in Riyadh starting summer of 2024, a statement from Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said. Clubs will compete across games from various genres to become the ultimate Esports World Cup champion, the statement said. Sports, esports and gaming have been part of the crown prince's transformation plan, known as Vision 2030, in which the government is pouring hundreds of billions of dollars…

Jun

20

2023

By CONRAD ONYANGO, BIRD STORY AGENCY

Investors train eyes on African youth with gaming campuses

NEWS, E-SPORTS

IN early June, Maliyo, a game studio in Nigeria began training its pioneer class of 27 participants, drawn from the West African country as well as Kenya, Cameroon and South Africa, while this July, Microsoft is scheduled to run a 2-day virtual gaming camp that will take place across four African cities: Cairo, Lagos, Nairobi, and Johannesburg. Also lining up in a growing list of gaming academies and short-term learning experience camps springing up on the continent is ‘Level up Africa’ with a planned student intake in early 2024. Organisers of all these virtual and onsite programs -lasting from two…

Jul

14

2022

By The African Mirror

This young African gaming star now has an international platform

NEWS, E-SPORTS

THUKU KARIUKI, BIRD STORY AGENCY SYLVIA Gathoni, aka QueenArrow, is on a roll. Returning from the Caribbean island of Guadeloupe, her success in the e-sports arena there is, for this Tekken player, just the latest in a string of recent wins. In Guadeloupe, the Kenyan placed fifth overall and was the best female player in a field of 15 international players brought to the island for the event. In June, she was named a Forbes top 30 under 30, putting Kenya on the world gaming map. QueenArrow started her professional gaming career when she was 18 years old, entering a…

Jan

19

2021

By The African Mirror

The rise of eSports in Africa

SPORT, E-SPORTS

BOITUMELO RANTAO WHAT if I told you you could become a millionaire after staring at a screen for a few competitions and moving your fingers intelligently on the controls? Even though, in a nutshell, it boils down to teams behind computers attempting to win a game for prize money. Although, as with any professional athlete, hours and hours of dedication, practice, and commitment are a requirement when becoming a pro esports gamer. There are rising stars emerging from every corner of Africa, the next mission is to create a welcoming and competitive atmosphere. eSports is a code that is on the…

Dec

19

2024

By SETH ONYANGO, BIRD STORY AGENCY

Africa’s casual gamers drive multi-billion-dollar payday for developers on and off the continent

NEWS, E-SPORTS

GAMEPRENEURS across Africa are converting millions of casual players into paying customers as the continent's gaming market looks on track to hit double-digit growth. Figures from Indian-headquartered research firm Astute Analytica show the market will swell north of US$10.81 billion by 2033 at an annual growth rate of 19.96% during the forecast period 2025–2033. This year, the gaming market within the region is projected to exceed US$2.1 billion in revenue with notable markets such as Nigeria and South Africa worth US$249 million and US$236 million respectively. Developers are driving this growth with smart payment models, hyper-localised games, and partnerships that…

Feb

01

2021

By The African Mirror

Enzo wins Virtual F1 GP

SPORT, E-SPORTS

BOITUMELO RANTAO FORMULA One’s digital race series, which emerged during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, returns for a three instalment championship series, acting as a preface to the season. Haas driver Enzo Fittipaldi took race honours after a nail-biting final lap brawl with Ferrari Driver Academy driver Arthur Leclerc, brother of Ferrari F1 driver Charles Leclerc. Enzo’s brother Pietro Fittipaldi, who contended for Haas towards the conclusion of the 2020 F1 season, finished in a respectable fifth. Williams duo George Russell and Nicholas Latifi had hopes to impress in the days leading up to the race.…