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Africa gearing to be the world’s fastest growing video game market

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Just over five years ago, African gamers were mostly playing games on consoles and personal computers at either cyber cafes or gaming joints, with very few people enjoying the games—most of which were foreign creations—at home.

Fast forward to 2022 and smartphones are the new primary platform and you can play your favorite game anywhere, with most characters, assets, and even languages adopting African characteristics.

The number of gamers on the continent has also more than doubled over the past five years and the growth of gaming industry in all aspects is taking an upward trajectory.

Mobile gamers are behind the rise of gaming in sub-Saharan Africa

2021 study commissioned by Newzoo, a games analytics company and Carry1st, a South African gaming platform, shows that the number of gamers in sub-Saharan Africa has risen to 186 million people from 77 million in 2015.

With 24 million gamers, South Africa tops the continent having 40% of its population playing followed by Ghana (27%) and Nigeria (23%) in second and third places respectively.

Kenya and Ethiopia finish fourth and fifth in the continent with 22% and 13% of their population into gaming respectively.

Majority of the playing population (95%) are mobile gamers with the covid-19 pandemic and increasing digitization across the continent said to be the biggest drivers to the numbers.

“Gaming in Africa is exploding. Crucially, this applies not only to people playing games, but also those willing to pay as well,” said Carry1st CEO and Co-founder, Cordel Robbin-Coker.

African developers are customizing games

Developers are fast adding new elements, with ownership being the latest addition allowing gamers to own characters and assets within the games- leveraging on block chain technology.

Usiku Games Africa, a Kenyan based Social Impact gaming company is pioneering the new era of blockchain gaming in the country where the rising number of tech-savvy youth could soon start earning from the industry boom.

“We are looking at ways of having financial mechanisms built into the games where people can either earn or spend in a more transparent manner,” Usiku Games , founder and chief executive officer, Jay Shapiro says.

Under this new model, while gamers will still enjoy the thrill in gaming, they will not be able to directly cash-out earnings like in gambling.

Gaming in Africa is exploding. Crucially, this applies not only to people playing games, but also those willing to pay as well.

Instead an enforced savings mechanisms has been developed to redirect the earnings towards long-term saving instruments like pension schemes, health, and education insurance – helping to shore up low savings culture among youth in Africa and build up their financial resilience.

“The reality is that even if you have a job or an income, a little bit of savings maybe, all that maybe washed away by say a pandemic, climate change or injury in the family,” said Shapiro.

The link between the rise in adoption of digital currencies in Africa and gaming

Already, 63 million of the 186 million gamers, pay for games with these African figures projected to be the fastest-growing in the world as the continent adopts digital currencies.

Another study by Newswagg’s points to a growing appetite for trading in gaming assets using digital currencies with 38% of 41.9 million gamers owning crypto across the world being millennials aged 21-38 years old.

Africa and Middle East have a combined 5.9 million gamers owning crypto, with a potential to shore up these numbers in Africa given that the continent will have one of the largest youthful population by 2050.

According to Newswagg’s, 80% gamers with crypto accounts are interested in using digital currency for gaming purchases, with 67% yearning for an opportunity to use cryptocurrency in gaming.

“There’s an immense potential for crypto to be more involved in the gaming industry,” says the report.

Global crypto gaming was valued at $321 million in 2020.

Nigeria has leaped ahead of its African peers in adoption of cryptocurrencies following the launch of Africa’s first Central Bank-backed digital currency- the e-Naira in 2021.

While Kenya is yet to launch its own regulated digital currency, it tops the world in peer-to-peer cryptocurrency trade.

South Africa is currently in piloting stage of its project, Dunbar- that will support cross border payments with Mauritius.

Six other African countries including Tunisia, Ghana, and Morocco are still conducting research on regulated digital currencies.

The original version of this story was republished with the permission of bird, a story agency under Africa No Filter.

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Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso agree to create a joint force to fight worsening violence

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BAMAKO, Mali (AP) — A joint security force announced by the juntas ruling Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso to fight the worsening extremist violence in their Sahel region countries faces a number of challenges that cast doubt on its effectiveness, analysts said Thursday.

Niger’s top military chief, Brig. Gen. Moussa Salaou Barmou said in a statement after meeting with his counterparts Wednesday that the joint force would be “operational as soon as possible to meet the security challenges in our area.”

The announcement is the latest in a series of actions taken by the three countries to strike a more independent path away from regional and international allies since the region experienced a string of coups — the most recent in Niger in July last year.

They have already formed a security alliance after severing military ties with neighbors and European nations such as France and turning to Russia — already present in parts of the Sahel — for support.

Barmou did not give details about the operation of the force, which he referred to as an “operational concept that will enable us to achieve our defence and security objectives.”

Although the militaries had promised to end the insurgencies in their territories after deposing their respective elected governments, conflict analysts say the violence has instead worsened under their regimes. They all share borders in the conflict-hit Sahel region and their security forces fighting jihadi violence are overstretched.

The effectiveness of their security alliance would depend not just on their resources but on external support, said Bedr Issa, an independent analyst who researches the conflict in the Sahel.

The three regimes are also “very fragile,” James Barnett, a researcher specializing in West Africa at the U.S.-based Hudson Institute, said, raising doubts about their capacity to work together.

“They’ve come to power through coups, they are likely facing a high risk of coups themselves, so it is hard to build a stable security framework when the foundation of each individual regime is shaky,” said Barnett.

—-

Associated Press writer Chinedu Asadu in Abuja, Nigeria contributed.

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Mexican Authorities say they saw a huge increase in migrants from Africa and Venezuela in 2023

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Mexican authorities say they saw a huge increase in the number of migrants from Africa and Venezuela entering the country in 2023.

Those migrants generally enter Mexico from Central America, and cross the country in a bid to reach the U.S. border.

Mexico’s Interior Department said year-end figures showed that nine times more migrants from Africa entered Mexico in 2023, with numbers rising from 6,672 in 2022, to 59,834 in 2023.

The report also showed the number of migrants from Venezuela more than doubled last year, rising from 96,197 in 2022 to 222,994 in 2023.

In part, that may reflect more rapid and more numerous movements of migrants through the jungle-clad Darien Gap that connects South America to Panama.

Smugglers are moving migrants more quickly through the dangerous route, which last year was traversed by over half a million migrants. Once in Panama, migrants make their way through Central America to Mexico.

Overall, the number of all irregular migrants found in Mexico in 2023 rose by 77%, going from 441,409 in 2022 to 782,176 last year.

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Nigeria vs South Africa: AFCON prediction, kick-off time, TV, and live stream

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A meeting of two imperious defences will decide the first entrant to the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations final when South Africa and Nigeria meet on Wednesday.

The Super Eagles have conceded just one goal at this AFCON and dispatched Angola in a tight game to qualify for the semi-finals.

But Bafana Bafana matched their run of four consecutive clean sheets as goalkeeper Ronwen Williams delivered the heroics in their penalty shootout win over Cape Verde.

Only once since their last Cup of Nations title, which came just over a decade ago, have Nigeria reached the last four – and they have lost five of their last six AFCON semi-finals.

South Africa’s wait stretches back even further, with no title since 1996 and this their first run to the last four since 2000.

Date, kick-off time and venue

Nigeria vs South Africa is scheduled for a 5pm GMT kick-off on Wednesday, February 7, 2024.

The match will take place at Stade de la Paix in Bouake.

Where to watch Nigeria vs South Africa

TV channel: In the UK, the game will be televised live on BBC Two, with coverage starting at 4.30pm GMT, as well as Sky Sports Main Event and Premier League.

Live stream: Sky subscribers can also catch the contest live online via the Sky Go app while the game will also be shown for free via the BBC Sport and iPlayer portals.

Live blog: You can follow all the action on matchday via Standard Sport’s live blog.

What we know

♦ Nigeria striker Victor Osimhen was taken off late on against Angola with an abdominal injury and he did not join the rest of the squad in flying out to Bouake on Monday evening.

A team statement assured that he could yet be released to travel on Tuesday if he passes medical checks.

Hugo Broos has a settled line-up for South Africa, with the defence entirely made up of Mamelodi Sundowns players.

However, after failing to score against Cape Verde he could tinker with the attack.

♦ Both teams have been outstanding defensively throughout the tournament and it feels as though a single goal will prove the difference in this game.

Head to head (h2h) history and results

Super Eagles captain William Troost-Ekong scored an 89th-minute winner when Nigeria knocked Bafana Bafana out of the 2019 Cup of Nations quarter-finals, which was these two sides’ last meeting.

Nigeria wins: 7

South Africa wins: 2

Draws: 5

Nigeria vs South Africa match odds

Nigeria to qualify: 1/2

South Africa to qualify: 7/1

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