Newzoo has released its latest report, which looks at consumer spending within the games industry in Africa for 2021. According to the report, revenue generated by the video game industry in Africa rose to $590 million as the number of gamers in the continent doubled over the last five years. The report added that Sub-Saharan Africa is the fastest-growing region globally for mobile gamers and people who pay for games.
The report, released on January 17, showed countries topping revenue collection in Africa are South Africa, Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya and Ethiopia.
Other highlights from the report showed that;
- South Africa has been the largest gaming market, generating a revenue of US$289.5 million in consumer spending throughout 2021. The number of players in the Sub-Saharan country was 23.9 million representing 40.67 per cent of the population.
- Nigeria came in second, generating a revenue of US$184.6 million, despite the country having the highest number of gamers (46.5 million people). However, the population percentage was lower than that of South Africa, standing at 21.83 per cent.
- The West African country Ghana collected revenue of US$41.7 million with a population percentage of 26.94 per cent embracing gaming.
- Through traditional channels, a higher proportion of South African gamers pay for games (43%) than Ghanaians and Ethiopians (33%) or Nigerians and Kenyans (32%).
- Kenya and Ethiopia collected revenues of US$38.1 million and US$35.2 million, respectively.
Another fascinating insight from Mordor Intelligence, a market research company, is that the industry gaming industry in Africa is projected to register a compound annual growth rate of 12 per cent in the period 2021 to 2026. It does make sense when you think about the African gaming industry being influenced by factors such as lockdowns and shuttering of businesses caused by the pandemic.
Although China and the US are bigger markets, Africa’s gaming sector is growing faster, and the industry could create a considerable amount of revenues for African governments ever since it became a way of life among Millennials and Gen Z.
Source: Business Insider Africa
