Johannesburg - A newly launched Braamfontein gaming incubation hub is aiming to close the gaps that are preventing young South African gamers from benefiting from the $90.7 billion (about R1.47 trillion) global games market.
The Tshimologong Digital Innovation Precinct’s hub, which is supported by Agence Française de Développement (AFD) and the French Institute of South Africa (IFAS), is an innovative initiative that seeks to address several critical shortcomings. This includes poor business skills, a lack of mentorship and funding shortfalls.
The Tshimologong Precinct, which is a Johannesburg digital innovation ecosystem under the umbrella of the University of Witwatersrand, provides skills and on-the-job training while accelerating the growth of digital enterprises.
It also enables students and entrepreneurs to showcase their work publicly and access commercial opportunities.
Meanwhile, its gaming incubation hub focuses on this segment of the digital economy, providing highly equipped facilities and specialised support for start-up gaming enterprises.
Alongside IFAS, which has worked with multiple public and private partners in South Africa and in more than 30 African countries, AFD first partnered with Tshimologong in 2018, when it provided EUR 950,000 (R14,500,000) in funding for the establishment of the Digital Content Hub at the precinct.
AFD is a public financial institution and the main actor in France’s development policy. Established in South Africa in 1994, AFD Southern Africa works in many sectors - climate, biodiversity, education, urban development, health and governance – and supports the transition to a safer, more equitable and more sustainable world.
“The initial investment in 2018 was a first for AFD in digital innovation in South Africa. Furthering the investment reflects our recognition of the cultural, creative and tech industries’ important contribution to the social and economic development of the country,” AFD Head of Operations in South Africa Audrey Rojkoff said.
Meanwhile, IFAS has been a partner since Tshimologong’s inception and has worked closely with the Precinct and AFD to identify and develop French partnerships in the creative industries, which have also ensured the growth of Tshimologong.
Joy Mawela, the precinct’s Head of Digital Content Hub, said the launch of the gaming incubator followed research on the local gaming industry that was convened by Tshimologong in 2020.
The findings from the research report, which identified weaknesses and suggested future growth strategies, noted the importance of mobile game development both for Africa as a consumer market as well as internationally as a driver of the global industry’s growth.
Mobile games are expected to account for 52% of the global games market, already valued at $90.7- billion.
And although there are no reliable figures for the value of the mobile gaming market in Africa, mobile games are already the most popular gaming platform in Africa, with South Africa having the fastest growing mobile gaming market worldwide.
But, there this is off a small base, and Africa remains the smallest game market globally. Out of three of the country’s 60 active gaming studios, only six employ more than 10 people. Instead, the majority of studios are micro-enterprises that are not active commercially and have no cash flow.
Meanwhile, Cape Town and Johannesburg are hubs of an industry that is more than 80% white male dominated with significant barriers to entry for females and African entrepreneurs. A lack of opportunities is seeing home grown talent looking to work for global developers.
In response, Tshimologong’s nine-month long gaming incubation programme aims to lower the entry barriers for African start-ups and to assist with access to market. The programme also provides a series of workshops centred on entrepreneurship, business foundations and building soft skills relevant to the industry.
“With this initiative, we hope to see African gaming content being exported as opposed to just African gaming talent,” Ntumba Katabua, senior project manager at AFD, added.
Mawela explained that each of the incubates will be supported at different levels, from the advanced level through to the very early stages of development.
“The idea is to upscale SMMEs and also to empower and equip them with tools that will help them to develop games that are not only playable but can be taken to market because they are of world-class quality. We also want to make sure they remain sustainable by connecting them to decision makers that can take each project further,” he said.
Lesley Donna Williams, CEO of the Tshimologong Precinct, added that the gaming sector is an exciting space globally with the adoption of new users during lockdown.
“However, South Africa is losing out on this incredible opportunity with talent not being absorbed by the local industry, so they are either leaving the sector or the country,” she said.
“We need to grow larger professional studios, which will help to attract investors and publishers of African content.”
Meanwhile, the lack of development of a truly African gaming aesthetic is also a concern.
Skinnyboy, a studio that describes itself as “unapologetically African”, has incorporated many African themes into its already advanced game called Banana Republic. Although the overall aim is to utilise the sophisticated equipment provided by the incubation programme to get their game onto retailers’ shelves, they also have a wider vision.
Skinnyboy founder Thabile Maganyane said that he hopes to see a stable gaming ecosystem in South Africa that is flowing with game developers and players.
“There are good gamers out there that are not getting the recognition they deserve. I hope to see the gaming industry grow into something that brings a lot of success and more to our country,” he said.