Africa: The Emerging Frontier for Mobile Gaming

Africa represents a largely untapped market, and this holds true for the mobile gaming industry. Despite significant economic expansion and increasing smartphone penetration across the continent – home to over a billion millennials and Gen Z individuals – mobile gaming hasn’t yet reached its full potential.

Challenges to Growth: Distribution and Payments

Historically, two primary obstacles have hindered the growth of mobile gaming in Africa: difficulties with distribution and digital payment systems. Fragmented ecosystems have made it challenging for game studios to effectively reach African consumers and generate substantial revenue.

Carry1st is addressing these issues with its mobile games publishing platform. The company recently announced the successful completion of a $6 million Series A funding round.

Recent Funding and Key Investors

Just last month, Carry1st secured a $2.5 million seed investment. This latest round was led by U.S. VC firm Konvoy Ventures, which specializes in investments within the video gaming industry’s infrastructure and technology sectors.

Notable participants in the Series A round included Riot Games, the creators of League of Legends, Tokyo’s Akatsuki Entertainment Technology Fund, Raine Ventures, and fintech VC firm TTV Capital.

From Game Studio to Regional Publisher

Founded in 2018 by Cordel Robbin-Coker, Lucy Hoffman, and Tinotenda Mundangepfupfu, Carry1st initially functioned as a game development studio. However, a strategic reassessment led the company to shift its focus.

Rather than solely developing games, Carry1st transitioned to a regional publishing model, aiming to connect international studios with the African market. The company also supports local developers by facilitating partnerships with experienced operators to enhance the global appeal of their games.

Understanding the African Gamer

“We discovered that African users aren’t necessarily seeking locally-made games; their preference lies with playing the world’s best games,” explained CEO Cordel Robbin-Coker.

According to COO Lucy Hoffman, Carry1st provides a comprehensive publishing platform, managing localization, distribution, user acquisition, monetization, and customer support. They license games under exclusive, long-term contracts.

“We invest in user acquisition to maximize game reach, and in return, our partners receive royalties based on their intellectual property,” Hoffman stated.

A Model Inspired by Sea Limited

Carry1st’s approach bears resemblance to the success of Sea Limited (Garena’s parent company). Initially, Sea Limited served as the publisher of League of Legends in Southeast Asia before launching its own hit game, Free Fire. This ultimately led to the creation of a leading consumer payments and e-commerce platform valued at over $130 billion.

Carry1st has similar ambitions for the African market.

Addressing Payments and Monetization

Carry1st is actively tackling payment and monetization challenges through strategic partnerships with fintech companies like Paystack, Safaricom, and Cellulant. These collaborations have been instrumental in developing Pay1st, an in-house payments platform offering customers a variety of payment options.

“For international studios, this capability is crucial for generating revenue,” Robbin-Coker added.

Rapid Growth and New Partnerships

Demand for Carry1st’s services has increased significantly. Since securing its seed funding, the company has signed publishing agreements with seven mobile gaming studios, including Sweden’s Raketspel, Cosi Games, and Ethiopia’s Qene Games.

This growth was largely fueled by the pandemic-induced lockdowns of 2020, which dramatically increased mobile usage and gaming activity across Africa.

The Rise of the African Mobile Gamer

The increased reliance on mobile phones for communication has naturally led to greater exploration of entertainment options. New smartphone users are particularly inclined to discover the gaming experiences available on their devices.

“The initial activities for new smartphone users globally – and Africa is no exception – are typically connecting with friends and playing games,” Robbin-Coker observed. “Consequently, we are witnessing a growing number of mobile gamers throughout Africa.”

Expanding the Team and Future Plans

Carry1st has expanded its team from 18 to 26 members, with recruits from prominent companies like Carlyle, King, Jumia, Rovio, Socialpoint, Ubisoft, and Wargaming. This demonstrates the company’s commitment to building a globally competitive team.

The new investment will be used to further expand the team across product, engineering, and growth departments. Carry1st also plans to forge new partnerships with global gaming studios and scale its existing games, such as Carry1st Trivia and All-Star Soccer.

Total Funding and Investor Confidence

With this latest funding round, Carry1st has raised a total of $9.5 million. Robbin-Coker expressed confidence that the investment will enable the company to “delight millions of users across Africa and the globe.”

Konvoy Ventures’ and Riot Games’ initial investments in the African gaming market underscore their belief in Carry1st’s ability to overcome the continent’s distribution and gaming experience challenges. Jackson Vaughan, Konvoy’s managing partner, will join Carry1st’s board.

A Vision for the Future

Africa’s gaming industry has historically lacked innovation. Carry1st distinguishes itself with a hybrid model, but its ultimate goal is to become a leading consumer internet company in the region.

“We believe social games and payments represent the optimal starting point, but our ambitions are far-reaching. If we succeed, we will stimulate substantial growth within the region’s digital ecosystem, creating numerous high-quality employment opportunities. We aim to be the catalyst for this transformation,” Hoffman concluded.