General News
AppsFlyer Reveals Gaming App Install Ad Spend Reaches $26.7B Globally Despite Slowing Growth in Installs

AppsFlyer has released its State of Gaming App Marketing for 2023, an in-depth report on key gaming trends for app developers, marketers and game studios to utilize as they navigate through a year of challenging macro trends, including the new age of data privacy.
As the post-Covid era unfolds, a digital slowdown, or return to pre-Covid conditions, is taking place. While the effects are becoming increasingly apparent in metrics like overall app installs by consumers, the gaming app economy still showed resilience with nearly $27 billion invested in ad spend by gaming marketers and developers worldwide in 2022 in order to acquire new users.
Overall, Android game app installs rose slightly, by 8% compared to 2021, whereas iOS game app installs showed a small decline, with a 5% drop.
Based on advertising investment, the United States remains the largest target market for gaming app marketers by a significant margin, followed by Japan, South Korea, Germany and the United Kingdom.
“If 2021 and the first quarter of 2022 was the golden age of gaming, the second half of 2022 and especially 2023 will be a time that marketers, developers and studios will need to overcome challenges to adopt highly-focused, efficient strategies for attracting and inspiring loyal, valuable players,” said Shani Rosenfelder, Director of Market Insights at AppsFlyer.
“Evolving marketing budgets coupled with drops in consumer spending across some genres mean game businesses are compelled to prioritize profits over growing the sheer size of their numbers of players. Despite the hurdles, however, mobile gaming remains a lucrative powerhouse nearing three billion players globally.
Marketers will continue to succeed by putting more focus on modern measurement capabilities, utilizing techniques that deliver an engaging experience while respecting user privacy, and leveraging remarketing and owned media channels further in order to offset increases in their cost-per-installs (CPI).
Additionally, they will need to dive deep into the complex yet promising SKAN 4.0 from Apple, and invest more in campaigns outside of the United States, as gaming is truly a global phenomenon.”
As for gaming app revenues, the State of Gaming report reveals that consumers spent the most on in-app purchases (IAP) in role playing and social casino (not real money) games. Purchases in these game categories declined mostly in the second half of 2022, leading to an overall drop in IAP revenues by 7% compared to the first half of the year.
The economic downturn appears to have impacted consumer behaviour in high IAP genres of role playing and social casino more than other categories like match or puzzle games, which rely more on micropayments. In-app advertising (IAA) remained the strongest driver of revenues for hyper casual, match and simulation games, though IAA revenues also declined across most genres towards the second half of 2022.
Key Insights from the 2023 State of Gaming App Marketing:
- $26.7 Billion total gaming app install ad spend worldwide in 2022. The US commands nearly half at $12.2B thanks to its high-volume and high-cost media landscape; Japan is a distant second with nearly $2B in spend.
- Worldwide, Android game app installs rose slightly in 2022, iOS game app installs showed a small decline. There was an 8% YoY growth in total app installs of Android games. A -5% YoY install drop on iOS reflects the continued challenges iOS app marketers are facing following Apple’s privacy changes (despite the improvement vs. the previous 2022-2021 YoY figure of -13%). In the US, still considered the most important market for gaming app marketers, 2022 saw a 19% growth in Android app installs and -1% decline in installs of iOS gaming apps when compared to 2021.
- The second half of 2022 in particular was a struggle for in-game purchases with the economic uncertainty in the market. There was a -7% overall drop in in-app purchase (IAP) revenue in H2 2022 compared to H1 2022, with iOS down 9% and Android down 4%. Overall, in-app purchases on Android gaming apps were down -14% year-over year (YoY), while iOS was down -1% YoY. This was driven largely by a decline in Role Playing and Casino game genres that typically have high rates of in-app purchases, and where the economic downturn appears to have impacted consumer spend.
- Categories that saw largest growth in 2022 vs. 2021: 48% growth rate for Android casino games, 3x more than second-place Hypercasual and 5x higher compared to the growth rate in puzzle and Role Playing games (RPG). Casino games led growth on the flagging iOS side, clocking an impressive 17%.
- Cost-per-installs on iOS continue to climb: 88% is the increase in CPI on iOS from Q1 2021 to Q4 2022, shooting up $3.75 per install as iOS marketers continue to accept high prices to acquire valuable Apple users. YoY rates show a 35% jump.
- Marketers increasingly leveraging owned media channels: As marketers look to get more value out of their budgets, the use of owned media strategies such as push notifications, in-app messages and cross promotion is seeing a sustained rise. This has led to a significant YoY increase in the number of owned media conversions, with a 16% growth on iOS and a 34% surge on Android.
“As gaming marketers continue to navigate their way through a shifting economic landscape along with privacy changes, particularly on iOS, they face fresh challenges and opportunities in regards to their app marketing efforts,” said Adam Smart, Director of Product, Gaming at AppsFlyer.
“Privacy restrictions on iOS limit the ability of marketers to leverage user-level data, which was previously the cornerstone of their ability to connect campaign performance to attracting new users.
“Yet despite a significant rise in media costs and measurement challenges, gaming apps are still investing heavily in capturing high-quality players on iOS, and are not shifting those resources to Android even if the approach results in attracting fewer users overall.
“This gives greater importance to the use of privacy-enhancing tech and data clean rooms in 2023 and beyond, and will also provide advantages to those able to leverage accurate and comprehensive data for making the timeliest decisions on where, when and how to optimally invest budgets in ways that attract and retain the most valuable players.”
“With Europe and North America often being a benchmark for African countries, it is safe to say that the gaming industry on the continent also follows the same trend. Overall, gaming app installs ad spend reached $26.7 billion globally in 2022, with a small portion of this attributed to Africa, primarily South Africa.
Based on AppsFlyer’s recent report on the State of Gaming App Marketing, we have seen that gaming app installs have decreased on iOS, while there has been a notable increase across android devices.
This is a sign of things to come for the African gaming industry, and we predict that more African countries will contribute to the overall ad spend on gaming app installs in the coming years.
“With the United States comprising almost half of global gaming ad spend at $12.2 billion, investing in the country is important despite the heightened competition. But, other countries have growing gaming populations and are not as competitive when it comes to hunting for paid installs. High population countries like South Africa, Indonesia, India, and Vietnam are always hungry for new content” he added.
General News
FG Plans N50m STEEM Grant to Support Student Innovation in August

In a giant stride to support innovation, entrepreneurship and economic transformation, the Federal Government is set to unveil a N50 million grant for Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics and Medical Sciences (STEEM) students in Nigeria’s tertiary institutions.
The project, which is referred to as the Student Venture Capital Grant (S-VCG), is a pioneering initiative designed to empower the students towards building the next generation of scalable, job-creating ventures.
According to a statement by the Director of Press and Public Relations in the Ministry of Education, Folashade Boriowo, Friday, the initiative will be formally unveiled in August by the Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa.
Boriowo stated that the minister made the disclosure during a stakeholders’ engagement session held in Abuja in the presence of vice-chancellors, provosts, rectors, student leaders, academic staff, and development partners, and will chart a collective course for nurturing student-led innovation.
The statement noted that the grant targets full-time undergraduate students in STEMM disciplines (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics and Medical Sciences), specifically those in 300 level and above.
“Each selected student-led project will be eligible to receive startup funding of up to N50 million, along with access to mentorship, incubation services and business development support.
“The initiative will be implemented in partnership with the Bank of Industry (BoI) to ensure financial transparency, impact measurement and effective project execution.
“S-VCG is not just a grant. It’s a launchpad for bold, young innovators to lead Nigeria’s industrial and technological transformation,” said Alausa.
Speaking at the session, the Minister of State for Education, Prof. Suwaiba Sa’id Ahmad, described the grant as a strategic investment in Nigeria’s knowledge economy.
“We’re building a stronger, more competitive future by supporting innovation from the ground up,” she said, adding that the programme’s design was informed by months of consultation with students, faculty and institutional leaders.
Participants at the event welcomed the STEMM-Up Grant as a timely, strategic and high-impact initiative that will drive youth innovation, tackle graduate unemployment, and position Nigeria as a hub for student-led entrepreneurship in Africa.
General News
UK Businesses Look to Africa As Strategic Growth Partners

New research by UK-based Strategy Management Partners reveals that a growing number of British businesses are identifying Africa as a key strategic growth region – drawn by structural reforms, demographic momentum, and rapid digital transformation across the continent.
The research, based on a survey of senior decision-makers from 250 large UK-based companies, finds that 50% are already active in African markets and planning to expand further.
An additional 28% are considering entry, signalling a clear uptick in long-term interest from international businesses with the resources to scale regionally.
The findings challenge outdated perceptions of Africa as a high-risk or secondary market. Instead, they highlight key drivers behind renewed commercial interest: • 61 per cent of UK leaders cited Africa’s large and growing consumer markets as a major draw. • 61 per cent pointed to the continent’s rapid pace of digital and technological adoption. • 50 per cent highlighted the potential of Africa’s young, skilled, and digitally native population.
The study also suggests that Africa is no longer viewed simply as a market for philanthropic initiatives or shortterm gain. Only 20 per cent of respondents cited philanthropic motives, while most are focused on building commercially viable, long-term operations.
Initiatives like the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), are also laying the groundwork for significant economic growth.
With 23 countries already implementing preferential tariffs, the framework is expected to facilitate smoother intra-regional trade, enable market scale, and support more efficient supply chains.
These structural improvements are making Africa more attractive to global firms with the ambition to operate at scale.
However, despite rising optimism, significant operational and policy challenges remain. The top four barriers to investment cited by UK business leaders were: political and country risk (68%); safety and security issues 66.4%); regulatory barriers and tariffs (60.4%); and the complexity of cross-border transactions (60%).
Addressing these issues will be crucial to unlocking Africa’s full potential for UK investment. UK companies are showing the most interest in sectors that align with Africa’s core strengths, such as natural resources, agriculture, a young and expanding population, and infrastructure development.
These areas are seen as the backbone for long-term commercial growth, offering opportunities to build local supply chains, expand digital services, scale manufacturing, and meet rising consumer demand.
However, for companies looking to invest or expand into Africa, success also depends on key enabling conditions. According to business leaders surveyed, the top factors supporting investment are: • The size of market and consumer demand (49.6%) • Reliable and consistent energy supply (48.4%) • Access to affordable, educated and capable talent (44.8%) • Efficient transportation networks, such as roads, ports, airports (38%) • A favourable macroeconomic environment: low interest rates, low inflation, stable exchange rates, and seamless cross-border transactions and repatriation of earnings(38%).
“UK businesses are increasingly seeing Africa as a strategic growth market, driven by structural reforms, digital adoption, and the momentum behind the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA),” says Muibat Ijaiya, Partner at Strategy Management Partners.
“But real progress will depend on practical cooperation with African governments. The AfCFTAis a pivotal step forward – what’s needed now is a deeper alignment between public policy and private investment to address trade, regulatory and infrastructure barriers, and unlock long-term, sustainable growth.”
General News
Experts Champion Sustainability at Lagos Green Economy Forum

Lagos State’s transition to a greener economy is gaining momentum, with female leaders from top corporations taking the lead and the state government beginning to record early wins from its plastic bag policy.
At the Lagos Green Economy Forum held on July 23, senior executives from MTN Nigeria, IHS Towers, TechnoServe, and other large organisations highlighted the role of corporate innovation in advancing sustainability.
The all-female panel also emphasised the urgent need to integrate Nigeria’s thousands of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) into the country’s green transition.
“We’re not just here to share strategies,” said Temilade Olabanji, Senior Manager, Sustainability and Shared Value, MTN Nigeria. “We are here to build local resilience. Our Project Zero is not only helping us cut emissions but also equipping our suppliers with the knowledge to do the same.”
MTN’s Project Zero aims for net-zero emissions by 2040, with a 50% reduction target by 2030. The company is already powering base stations and data centres with renewables, while training suppliers to understand carbon footprints and adopt circular practices. MTN has pledged that by 2026, 80% of its top suppliers will align with its sustainability goals.
Titilope Oguntuga, Director of Sustainability, IHS Towers, reinforced this approach, noting that the company’s Project Green is decarbonising its over 16,000 tower sites across Nigeria by switching to renewable energy. “Project Green is enabling all sites to run effectively with more renewable sources of energy rather than the typical fossil fuels,” she said. IHS also runs Clinic Without Walls, a free micro-health insurance scheme for underserved communities.
From the nonprofit sector, Juliet Ezeani, Senior Business Advisor of TechnoServe, explained how the organisation supports vendors through environmental impact assessments, sustainability training, and responsible procurement.“For all our projects, we look at how the project runs and especially how it affects the environment,” she said.
Meanwhile, the Lagos State Government provided an update on its green policy efforts, especially the plastic bag ban introduced two months ago.
“All of what we have done so far is towards making the economy of Lagos or the quality of life of the average Lagosian much better,” said Dr. Babatunde Ajayi, General Manager of the Lagos Environmental Protection Agency (LASEPA), who represented the Honourable Commissioner, Mr. Tokunbo Wahab.
On the plastic bag ban, he added: “What that [the ban] has also done is to free up our drainage from the plastic waste. In some way, we have reduced flooding, reduced pollution, and reduced the headache and the cost of maintaining drainages and labourers.”
Dr. Ajayi emphasised that green transition is not just a compliance issue for SMEs but an economic opportunity. “It helps them drive their engines, their entire businesses in a more sustainable manner.”
As Lagos accounts for nearly 30% of Nigeria’s GDP, the increasing alignment between corporate leaders and public policy towards a greener economy is positioning the state as a model for inclusive, environmentally responsible development.
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