Africa’s gaming market is too big to be ignored and new data shared exclusively with CNBC has validated that claim. According to the data, sub-Saharan Africa’s gaming industry is expected to generate $1 billion in revenue by 2024—the first time that would happen in the history of the continent.
The data was the product of studies by Newzoo, a Dutch research firm, in collaboration with African gaming startup, Carry1st, which has its headquarters in Cape Town, South Africa. The research finding was surprising because the region has continued to experience sluggish economic growth in addition to high external debts, tough financial conditions, and inflation.
A World Bank analysis shows that the economic growth of sub-Saharan Africa shrunk from 4.1% in 2021 to 3.6% in 2022. It is expected to shrink further to 3.1% in 2023. However, regardless of the economic downturn, Africa’s gaming market is booming.
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Last year, Africa’s gaming market generated a revenue of $862.8 million, an 8.7% jump year-over-year, according to the data from Newzoo. The growth of Africa’s gaming market contradicts global trends. Other parts of the world have been witnessing a contraction of gaming revenue due to the rising cost of living that is forcing consumers to be more frugal in spending.
In 2022, $182.9 billion was generated by the global gaming market, a 5.1% decline from the result of the previous year, according to Newzoo. The CEO of Carry1st, Cordel Robbin-Coker said the most spectacular revelation of the data was the “secular growth in the games market in sub-Saharan Africa”.
“Looking back, we know that COVID was a significant contributor,” said Robbin-Coker. “But now that those benefits have receded, we’re seeing slowing and even declining growth in other markets.”
Why Africa’s gaming market is seeing a sudden boom
Robbin-Coker believes that the sudden boom in Africa’s gaming market is partly because of the rapid growth in population in the region and partly because a lot of Africans are coming online for the first time and that over 90% are doing so through mobile.
Konvoy, a venture capital with a focus on gaming-related investments predicts that Africa’s gaming industry will grow by 15.7% in 2023 and by 13.6% in 2024. This is higher than the previous estimate of 9.23% and 8.95% growth respectively.
“These initial numbers for gaming on the continent are promising, but the long-term trends of population growth, internet penetration, and smartphone adoption paint a picture of incredible growth for gaming on the continent,” said Jackson Vaughan, managing partner at Konvoy.
Two factors that have favored Africa’s digital trend include a higher-than-normal young population and the rapid adoption of smartphones. This has also favored Africa’s gaming prospects.
It is estimated that 87% of sub-Saharan Africa will own a smartphone by 2030. That’s approximately 1.02 billion people that will be in need of content. This is attributed partly to the falling prices of smartphones and the growth in “digital-native” users.
The growth in Africa’s gaming market has not been even across the continent
The vast majority of the growth in Africa’s gaming market will be driven by smartphone usage. Newzoo reported that mobile gaming generated $778.6 million in revenue last year, which was about 90% of total game sales.
Nigeria is clearly the leader in annual gaming revenue in Africa’s gaming market with $249 million. This is closely followed by South Africa which generated $236 million in revenue. According to Newzoo, South Africa used to be the leader in Africa’s gaming market.
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Completing the top five revenue earners in Africa’s gaming market are Kenya ($46.5 million), Ethiopia ($42.7 million), and Ghana ($34.6 million). Out of these countries, Ethiopia recorded the highest year-over-year growth (13%), while Uganda had the slowest-growing gaming market, increasing by only 6%. The top 10 African countries and their gaming revenue are as follows,
- Nigeria (with a population of 213.4 million) – $249 million
- South Africa (with a population of 59.39 million) – $236 million
- Kenya (with a population of 53.01 million) – $46.5 million
- Ethiopia (with a population of 120.3 million) – $42.7 million
- Ghana (with a population of 32.83 million) – $34.6 million
- Ivory Coast (with a population of 27.48 million) – $31.9 million
- Angola (with a population of 34.5 million) – $26 million
- Tanzania (with a population of 63.59 million) – $23.4 million
- Cameroon (with a population of 27.2 million) – $17.2 million
- Uganda (with a population of 45.85 million) – $16 million
Technically, South Africa still outspent Nigeria if you consider the population size. According to Newzoo, Nigeria and South Africa’s revenue is two times the cumulative earnings of the other top eight countries on the continent. Nevertheless, all the countries on the top 10 list recorded year-over-year sales growth.
We previously wrote a piece about the potential of Africa’s gaming market and how developers and investors can tap into the market. You can read the post here.
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