iROKO-partnered gaming company Kuluya now valued at $2M

Hot off the back of its website redesign, online Nigerian gaming company Kuluya has raised another small seed-stage investment valuing the company at US$2-million.

Users can now place bets, challenge other players to a game, and make money through competitive cash games. This redesign shifts the website from an advertising play to a hybrid commerce platform.

Kunle Ogungbamila, Head of Kuluya says: “Without a doubt, we have the best team of designers and animators in the country, who have grown the company to a $2M valuation in six months. Our goal is to become one of the most successful media companies in Africa, and with today’s news, I see this as being totally achievable”.

Kuluya places its focus on telling the African narrative, and has proven popular with the diaspora and local gamers alike.

Launched recently in October 2012 Kuluya develops cross-platform games with African characters as the focus. Since launching, the website has developed and released 55 casual games and five mobile games. All the games on the website are designed, animated and built in-house by 1f, a Lagos-based team.

The site’s categories include Action, Adventure, Strategy, Arcade, Puzzle and Sports. Top games include My Oga @ The Top, Monkey Run and Penarity, a soccer game.

My Oga @ The Top, a top-down “jumper” which was released mid-April, was played 60 000 times within the first 72 hours.

Kuluya Chairman Jason Njoku says: “Today, the African gaming space has a credible benchmark for how value should be attributed to this industry. This $2M valuation is an exciting and critical turning point in Kuluya incredibly short history and I’m very proud of the super-talented team who’ve worked tirelessly to get the company to this stage in only six months since launch.”