Investors update: May 8 2023 - Microsoft brings Xbox Studios Game Camp to Africa

Microsoft is bringing its Xbox Studios Game Camp to Africa

Highlights

• Microsoft, through its Africa Transformation Office (ATO), has confirmed that its Xbox Studios Game Camp will be hosted in Africa.
• Game Camp is an initiative that unifies various Xbox initiatives under one umbrella where talent is celebrated, and game developers are empowered to pursue their dreams. 
• The two-day conference, which started in 2014 in Sweden before it was later shaped into a global program, seeks to recognize and celebrate all game creators across more than 50 diverse countries and regions. The conference will run from July 15th – 16th, 2023, and is open for applications.

Source: ABC

Our Takeaway

Having a combination of the world’s fastest-growing youth population and an exponential increase in digital skills and connectivity amongst the youth puts Africa in a pole position to be both the leading consumers and creators of content in the video gaming world by 2030. Many startups are emerging to tap into the huge market hence it is unsurprising to see Microsoft bring its flagship Xbox event to the continent. Sub-Saharan Africa is the fastest-growing region worldwide for mobile gamers; its gamers increased to 186 million in 2021 from 77 million in 2015, with 95% on mobile phones.

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Egypt-based VC DisrupTech raises $5m investment from Proparco

Highlights

• Egypt-based VC fund DisrupTech Ventures has received a $5 million investment from Proparco.
• Founded in 2021, DisrupTech is an early-stage VC fund that aims to provide seed capital to up to 28 startups with a prime focus on fintech. The fund has raised $36 million from several investors, including DFIs, Funds-of-funds, and family offices.
• Proparc is a subsidiary of the French Development Agency which has invested over $134 million in early-stage companies and venture capital funds in Africa since 2020.

Source: Wamda

Our Takeaway

Over the past few years, new fintech startups trying to take on legacy banks in Africa have sprung up as the digital banking wave takes shape. In Egypt, the need is glaring. Only 33% of people have a bank account. Expanding access to financial services is thus primal, and startups leading such efforts stand to gain significantly from increasing amounts of early-stage venture capital available in the country, such as DisrupTech, which was launched 24 months ago and has invested 40% of its fund size in technology startups to date.

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Vodacom rolls out country-first 5G network in Mozambique

Highlights

• Vodacom has launched Mozambique’s first 5G network with plans to deploy the new services at selected sites across the country.
• The network operator is the country’s biggest with over 11.3 million customers in the first quarter of 2023. It has achieved a 75% coverage rate on its 2G network and 80% coverage on its 4G network.
• 5G is expected to help to expand financial inclusion in Mozambique, and Vodacom’s target is to cover 75% of the adult population by 2025.

Source: TechCabal

Our Takeaway
With Vodacom’s 5G rollout, Mozambique joins Nigeria, South Africa, Kenya, Zambia, Botswana, and a few other African countries where commercial 5G services have been launched while testing/pilot is ongoing in more than 10 others. The potential benefits of this next-generation network for the continent, such as the optimization of service delivery and end-user experience, are well-published. But adoption faces hurdles due to the high cost of 5G-enabled handsets as well as mobile data. That hasn’t discouraged and shouldn’t stop Africa’s leading telcos from investing in the technology, however.