The topic of Cryptocurrency has become a main talking point in developing countries such as the Philippines, El Salvador and now even African Nations. El Salvador took on Bitcoin as legal tenure as their somewhat hip Prime Minister invested large amounts of the companies wealth in Bitcoin for it to crash violently months later.
Whilst countries like Philippines and countries in Africa are not going all in on Crypto tokens, millions of people are turning to Crypto gaming as a way to earn money. Axie Infinity over the lockdown period became full time jobs for some people in Asia as the game was proving to be a highly lucrative venture.
Let’s look further into the metrics on African blockchain activity and how people are getting on with the gaming side of things!
@ Digital Africa Group
What is happening on the African Blockchain?
In general, video games have become a growing trend in African nations. Over the past 5 years alone video game players in these countries have doubled. South Africa leads the way with this by country.
Technologies have become more available in these countries, and with the rise of Esports on a global scale it comes as no surprise that people are wanting a piece of the action themselves!
Around 180 million African people play games, with around 60 million paying for them. As African nations are recognising the possibilities that digital assets have for their countries development we can expect figures to grow.
Binance has been leading the way for Blockchain education all around the world, including in Africa! These philanthropic efforts from the biggest Crypto exchange have proven highly successful as individuals have access to education on Web3 no matter their geo-location.
400, 000 African people were granted access to resources in 2020 and leading into 2022, with this number set to grow over the upcoming years.
Off of the back of this, 5.9 million gamers have been recorded to own Cryptocurrencies in Africa and the Middle East. With the growing birth rate and how quickly young people pick up technology in today’s climate, Africa’s figures alone will be boosted exponentially by 2050.
“Blockchain education is at the heart of our focus in the global market. As a blockchain infrastructure provider, we are committed to ensuring that more and more people have access to the right information about the workings of the ecosystem. Africa is a very important market for Binance because we see the profound opportunity blockchain brings to the entire continent.”
– Emmanuel Babalola, Director at Binance Africa.
Which crypto games are popular in Africa?
Crypto games are primarily on mobile devices and desktop, however we have seen big names in the console gaming world like Sony and Microsoft etching towards the blockchain.
The World Bank and the African Development Bank have noted that 650 million people in Africa use mobile phone devices. Overall mobile gamers make up 95% of the gamers within Africa.
At the moment Usiku Games Afrika is a hot company from Kenya who make popular mobile games. They have been featured on BBC and CNBC.
Crypto gaming communities are also rampant in the form of guilds. MetaVerse Magna (MVM) is the first guild and the most popular DAO within Africa. Founders believe that this Metaverse experience will raise many out of poverty with their services.
Games such as Axie Infinity review, Thetan Arena and even Call Of Duty: Mobile are available on their platform. Players are connected into ‘Tribes’ and are known as ‘MetaKnights’.
@ Zerocap
Africa seems to love niche games
One thing that must be noted is that many popular crypto games we see in the headlines are not being played much in Africa. As mentioned, the African games are the ones being played which makes complete sense due to the recent emergence of crypto gaming and gaming as a whole.
Gamic, a social startup recently backed by Polygon, are on a mission to integrate these popular games into the African rotation. They currently produce NFTs and have their own NFT marketplace to trade these assets on.
Their current mission is to bring the more popular games to Africa. They will create an easier startup process for new gamers, making these popular titles more accessible. As we have covered there are hundreds of millions of eager gamers in Africa. Ultimately Gamic are on a mission to do blockchain gaming justice within Africa and we’re for it!
What does blockchain education mean?
Education on the fundamentals of the blockchain allows for new users to be informed better. Global news has a negative outlook on these new technologies therefore, real education on it allows for more growth.
Those who gain education automatically are safer when wanting to play their favourite crypto games or invest in tokens. Knowing the legalities and drawbacks allows them to have due diligence and to be weary when playing games on the blockchain.
Furthermore players will also be able to make smarter investments on their crypto ventures. Having these actions in place allows for the retention of players and capital on a long term basis.
Having key players in Web3 pumping time and money into Web3 education is amazing. Plus having a focus on nations such as Africa where technologies like these are fully utilised by people is a great use of resources.
Be on the lookout for African blockchain companies as we go into the New Year. Polygon showing support and Binance offering their resources for education may spurr on further developments from western brands in 2023 and beyond.
Happy gaming!
