A youth population over 1 billion strong is propelling Africa’s e-gaming industry to explosive growth. The number of African gamers has more than doubled since 2015 to 186 million from 77 million, making the continent one of the world’s fastest-growing gaming markets.
Industry leaders predict Africa will become the 3rd largest gaming market within 10 years. “We’re starting from essentially zero about five years ago,” says Jay Shapiro, Chairperson of the Pan-African Gaming Group. “Just through sheer demographics – the fact that Africa has more than a billion youth.”
Smartphone-Centric Market Offers Accessibility
Unlike Western regions, where consoles and PCs dominate, Africa’s gaming landscape is smartphone-centric. “Africa is very much a mobile-first continent,” Shapiro explains, predicting Africa will have more smartphones than India by 2026.
Developers are leveraging mobile’s accessibility to bring gaming to mass audiences. Facilities like Nairobi’s Afrigamer hub allow groups to gather for mobile gaming when unreliable internet prevents at-home play.
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Shapiro also founded Usiku Games, an African mobile gaming startup. It focuses on creating “games for good” to provide a healthier alternative to Africa’s large sports betting industry.
Usiku Games has developed titles addressing real issues like climate change, gender equality, sexual health, and STEM education. “We think that the potential for African games that are made in Africa, either for Africa, or to share African stories with the world is just massive,” Shapiro says.
Capturing Authentic African Perspectives Remains a Challenge
While mobile titles drive much of the swell, some developers want to share African stories through PC and console games. Game producer Dean Gichukie is creating “Hiru,” a game depicting a Masai warrior’s journey.
He believes exploring virtual African worlds can build real cultural empathy. “Games are really powerful in that they’re able to place you within the world and reality of the player,” Gichukie says.
Yet major hurdles exist for creators like Gichukie trying to authentically capture African experiences. “There really isn’t an ecosystem of game developers who’ve made games for years, maybe even decades who we are able to lean on for support, for advice, for feedback, for assistance,” he notes.
Similarly, funding uniquely African games also lags markets like North America and Europe. But Gichukie remains adamant that showing “the journey of a young African man, this is what it’s like living in Africa and dealing with African problems on a daily basis” is crucial for the industry’s development.
As gaming continues to boom industry-wide, capturing and sharing local perspectives will help the continent find its distinct creative voice and fully leverage gaming’s empathy-building power.
