Mobile gaming revenues for Africa are expected to hit a compound annual growth rate of more than 13% for the 2021 to 2025 period.
Furthermore, mobile internet users will reach 475 million and 4G connections will increase from approximately 9% to around 27% between 2020 and 2025.
This creates massive opportunities for mobile game developers to reach new audiences across the continent.
With more than 21 million smartphones being shipped per quarter to Africa, the market has shown the potential for engaging with consumers using mobile devices as the platform of choice.
This is especially true when it comes to finding alternative forms of entertainment. Thus, for its part, mobile gaming provides an affordable and accessible alternative.
Another benefit of the mobile gaming environment is that the main payment method is Direct Carrier Billing (DCB) which allows the user to make in app payments using their airtime.
With almost 60% of the world’s population of two billion unbanked people living in Africa, the convenience, security, and user-friendliness of carrier billing just makes more sense.
Between 2015 and 2021, the number of game consumers in sub-Sahara Africa increased by approximately 144%. Of the 177 million gamers in the region, a massive 95% are using mobile devices as their platform of choice.
Gaming benefits
Of course, mobile gaming is a great form of entertainment and provides wonderful escapism however there are many other benefits to consider.
Playing mobile games help children test their strategic thinking and awareness of their environment. It can improve memory, spatial awareness and problem-solving. For instance, ‘Train your Brain’, available on the AppGallery is an addictive title containing a complete collection of games that will help develop your memory skills whilst having fun.
Memory training is perfect for all ages and this game provides different challenges to test your capacity of retention and memory in the short and long term. Each game has different levels so you can practice gradually.
There’s also the creativity aspect of gaming to think of. Mobile games can give flight to your imagination. ‘Sand Drawing’ is a fun app which lets you draw on realistic sand. It’s the ultimate drawing pad where you can just unwind and relax.
Whoever said that games provide no educational benefits haven’t explored how the environment can test children’s knowledge of maths, science, or other areas of interest. This not only enhances learning but also makes it a fun experience for your children to stay engaged in a particular subject.
‘Educational games for kids’ is a great example of this. Your kids will learn alphabet, numbers, colours, shapes, days of the week, months of the year, planets of our solar system, space and much more. Features include sounds of letters, animal sounds for babies, fun games for pre-schoolers, shapes for babies, the list just goes on.
Mobile gaming is booming across the African continent. Choose the platform that gives you the most opportunities whether you are a developer or a gamer.
