Newly formed PAGG wants to empower a billion African gamers

Ten African game studios have come together at Africa Games Week 2022 in Cape Town to announce a new initiative to grow the continent’s gaming industry. The Pan African Gaming Group (PAGG) is looking to double the industry every year to take advantage of the rapid growth of young people with internet-connected smartphones across the continent.

PAGG aims to strengthen the industry to create job and economic opportunities in gaming.

Together, PAGG can leverage scale, skills and access to capital within the group to collectively shoulder the costs of market education and compete with global tech giants.

The group will form a decentralised autonomous body (DAO), which will share governance responsibilities, with guidance from a council of founders including Group CFO Peter Kihara and Group Creative Director Jake Manion, representing 10 African countries.

• Sea Monster (South Africa)
• Kayfo Games (Senegal)
• Kiro’o Games (Cameroon)
• Leti Arts (Ghana)
• Digital Mania (Tunisia)
• Qene Games (Ethiopia)
• Usiku Games (Kenya)
• Khanga Rue (Tanzania)
• DopeApps (Rwanda)
• Messeka Games (African Diaspora)

Each studio will maintain its autonomy on branding, leadership, and financial independence, but the founders will vote together on the proposals and resolutions brought to the council. One of the founding principles is to increase the amount of local content to adequately address the needs of the billion-strong audience.

“Together, we represent over 200 professionals and eight different languages. Our team has over 30 years of experience, leading some of the top gaming companies globally, including Ubisoft, Electronic Arts, and Aardman Animation,” said CEO of Qene Games Dawit Abraham in a statement.

“We have produced more mobile, PC and 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.”

“We’re building a portfolio of mobile-first casual games that are fun, nonviolent and gender-integrated,” says Manion.

“Our games are Made-in-Africa, for Africa, with African heroes wrapped in local culture, music and atmosphere. This allows our players to see themselves reflected in our games, making all the difference.”

PAGG will equip and train Africa’s next generation of game developers to extend these efforts into the future, creating new jobs for youth across the continent. And it intends to use the power of gamification to create fun ways to solve some of the continent’s challenges, including health, education, women’s empowerment, and climate change.

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