News
Gamers in Africa are Aiming for Global Inclusion with Increased Awareness
The growth trajectory of an average African child is usually linear.
Take Zuga, an ambitious young man who grew up in the interiors of East Africa with an adventurous mind and a love for gaming. His closest encounter with mobile games would be listening attentively to country folk discuss medieval adventures and combat series while highlighting their best characters.
Intriguing as that sounded, none of the gamers’ foreign-animated heroes came close to Zuga’s beloved Kwanso and Aburi, some local characters he’d invented on his hand-made African-themed gaming board.
Kwanso could stretch river beds across different countries (an adaptation he culled from studying the lengths of the river Nile) and Aburi could re-invent itself in 550 forms, each bearing a native African language, from Swahili to Xhosa and Yoruba. For years, his longing to see these indigenous characters and culture on the “big screen” — what he called the television — didn’t materialise.
But today, the story’s changing. Zuga is right to believe that the fastest way African culture can be exported is by embedding them into games and animated series. From all indications, the time is right, and the market is ripe for disruption.
A 2021 GSMA mobile economy report indicates that 303 million people, almost 28% of the population in sub-Saharan Africa have a mobile internet connection and by 2025, there will be nearly 100 million additional mobile subscribers in Sub-Saharan Africa, where Nigeria and Ethiopia will account for almost a third of these.
The report also reveals that Sub-Saharan Africa has doubled its number of gamers to 186 million people in the last five years. “… This development is a result of African gamers playing on tablets or preferably smartphones rather than consoles.
“South Africa has the highest number of gamers at 24 million people, indicating a 40% of its population, followed by Ghana (27%), Nigeria (23%), Kenya (22%) and Ethiopia (13%)…”
These facts prove that the African gaming industry is rapidly expanding and ready to take on the global gaming economy. Home-grown gaming companies like Qene Games are playing key roles in making this happen.
Based in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, the venture-backed startup was founded by Dawit Abraham to develop mobile games that represent Africa’s beautiful culture in the global gaming and entertainment industry, where it is currently highly under-represented.
Kukulu and Gebeta, two award-winning mobile games, are some of Qene Games’ brainchildren. They both have their concepts derived from an African storyline. For instance, Kukulu is the name of a chicken in Ethiopia which, according to the creators, originated from a traditional sport in Ethiopia called Akukulu Alnegam.
“This is one of the many mobile games based on an African storyline, and it presents opportunities for more creativity by mobile game developers,” says Dawit, “Ethiopia alone has more than one cultural heritage, you can imagine what Nigeria, South Africa, Morocco, and the whole of Africa would present in contributing to its mobile gaming industry”
Earlier in 2022, as one of the viable reasons to drive the gamification of African culture, 10 African gaming development studios converged under one umbrella, the Pan Africa Gaming Group (PAGG) to unite the continent’s gaming industry and help to grow the talent of young African developers.
Qene Games as a member of PAGG aims to unlock the potential within the continent’s gaming industry through its enriching pan-African cultural heritage embedded in mobile games development and creating opportunities for more university graduates who are pursuing careers in mobile game development.
In an interview with Forbes Africa, Dawit said, “Ethiopia, as a country with more than 3,000 years of history and culture, has a large pool for creative inspiration. From the artistic and unique music styles that have been around for millennia, to many fascinating legends and folklore, our game developers have an endless source to feed their creativity and imagination.”
The founder believes that Africa is a hub of inspiration to seek ideas for authentic and local-themed mobile games, which will in turn attract stakeholders globally into the African market.
“I also suspect there would be fierce competition among telcos (telecommunication operators) who have been trying to get into the gaming business to try to fill the gap in distribution and sales,” he added.
While the gaming industry in Africa is fast-growing, challenges such as distribution and monetisation persist, but Dawit says “these challenges wouldn’t stop Africa’s gaming industry from reaching its potential because like it or not, the time is ripe and Africa is game.”
INTERPOL’s African Cyberthreat Assessment Report 2026 revealed that Artificial intelligence accounts for 55 per cent of reported cybercrimes across Africa and making attacks faster, more sophisticated and increasingly difficult to detect.
The report warns that the continent’s rapid digital transformation, marked by more than 1.1 billion mobile subscribers in 2025, is being matched by an equally rapid evolution in cybercrime, while fragmented legislation and limited AI readiness among law enforcement agencies continue to weaken responses.
The 40-page assessment, based on survey data from 36 African member countries, said cybercrime has shifted from isolated criminal activity to an industrialised, borderless ecosystem powered by AI.
According to the report, East Africa has become a hotspot for mobile money fraud and ransomware attacks targeting critical infrastructure, while business email compromise (BEC) and romance scams are widespread across Central and West Africa.
Southern Africa, it noted, has become an attractive target for international cybercriminals due to its high level of internet connectivity.
The report also highlighted the growing financial impact of cybercrime across the continent, revealing that losses have more than doubled since 2024, rising from 192 million dollars to 484 million dollars.
It attributed the increase largely to AI-enabled scams, credential harvesting and automated social engineering attacks.
INTERPOL said online scams remained the most commonly reported form of cybercrime in 2025, with criminals exploiting mobile money platforms, social media and AI-generated content to deceive victims.
It added that 72 per cent of surveyed countries reported the existence of scam centres, with the highest concentration recorded in Southern and West Africa.
The report further identified digital sextortion and online harassment as persistent threats, driven increasingly by AI-generated deepfakes and synthetic media.
According to data from TrendAI, one of INTERPOL’s partners, about 600,000 sextortion incidents were detected during the reporting period.
Business email compromise schemes have also become more sophisticated, with AI being used to generate highly convincing email communications.
The report said Africa-based threat actors are increasingly targeting victims in Europe and North America using cyber infrastructure spread across multiple jurisdictions.
INTERPOL warned that the absence of real-time information sharing between banks, telecommunications companies and law enforcement agencies has created significant vulnerabilities in tackling financial cybercrime.
It said cybercriminals are no longer relying solely on stolen credentials but are now creating AI-generated synthetic identities by combining genuine personal information with fabricated details.
These synthetic identities, the report noted, have been used to bypass biometric verification systems, open bank accounts, obtain mobile loans and register SIM cards under false identities.
Neal Jetton, Director of INTERPOL’s Cybercrime Directorate, described cybercrime as one of the most significant criminal threats facing Africa.
“Cybercrime has emerged as one of the most significant criminal threats to the region. AI is automating every stage of a cyberattack from reconnaissance and phishing to extortion and evasion.
“However, we see that when countries work together, cybercriminal infrastructure can be identified, disrupted and dismantled,” he said.
Despite the growing threat, the report highlighted progress in strengthening cybersecurity across the continent.
It disclosed that 17 African countries enacted or amended cybercrime legislation in 2025, while Senegal launched an online reporting platform to improve responses to online offences affecting children.
The report also noted that regional capacity-building initiatives are helping to improve long-term cyber resilience.
INTERPOL said four major cybercrime operations conducted in 2025, Operation Serengeti 2.0, Operation Contender 3.0, Operation Sentinel and Operation Red Card 2.0, resulted in more than 1,500 arrests, the seizure of hundreds of electronic devices and the recovery of over 100 million dollars.
To address the growing threat, the report recommended the adoption of standardised digital forensic capabilities, stronger cross-border collaboration, greater investment in AI literacy for law enforcement personnel and formal public-private partnerships to improve cybercrime prevention, detection and response.
The African Cyberthreat Assessment 2026 forms part of INTERPOL’s African Joint Operation against Cybercrime initiative, funded by the United Kingdom’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, with data contributions from Fortinet, Mastercard, the Shadowserver Foundation, S2W and TrendAI.
Nigerian students will soon design, assemble, test and fly drones as part of their university education, following a partnership between Miva Open University and Abuja-based defence technology company Terra Industries.
The collaboration comes as Nigeria intensifies efforts to develop indigenous capabilities in advanced manufacturing and defence technology, with both organisations seeking to strengthen Africa’s pipeline of deep-tech talent.
The partnership will see students gain hands-on experience in drone engineering and related technologies through dedicated labs and industry collaboration.
The partners will establish robotics, drone and virtual reality laboratories across Miva’s study centres, beginning with a pilot facility in Abuja.
Students will also gain access to industry-led workshops, research opportunities, internships and mentorship in artificial intelligence, robotics, cybersecurity and autonomous systems.
According to the partners, Terra’s engineering teams will work alongside Miva faculty to integrate hands-on hardware training into academic programmes, exposing students to real-world engineering challenges and building industry experience before graduation.
Nathan Nwachuku, co-founder and CEO of Terra Industries, said Africa’s technological future depends on developing engineers capable of building solutions for local challenges.
“The engineers who will build Africa’s future must learn by building. This partnership creates opportunities for students to work with the technologies shaping modern security, infrastructure and autonomous systems,” said Nwachuku.
Miva Open University said the initiative forms part of its commitment to experiential learning, adding that students will have the opportunity to “design, test and fly drones as part of their academic experience”.
The partnership builds on Terra’s expanding role in Nigeria’s defence technology sector. Earlier this year, the company signed a joint venture with the Defence Industries Corporation of Nigeria to localise the production of drones, robotics systems and cybersecurity infrastructure, supporting efforts to strengthen domestic manufacturing and reduce reliance on imports.
Atte Ayodeji, a Nigerian computer scientist,has developed an artificial intelligence algorithm capable of detecting, counting, grouping and generating healthy hair follicles during hair transplant procedures, an innovation that earned him the Best Innovative Technology award.
Atte Ayodeji
Ayodeji also graduated with a Distinction in his Master of Science (MSc) in Computer Science from Birmingham City University on Friday, adding another milestone to an impressive academic year.
Beyond his award-winning hair transplant innovation, the Nigerian researcher developed a system and framework on Explainable Artificial Intelligence (XAI) as a professional responsibility in the diagnosis of lung cancer.
His dissertation received a silver award at the PGXPO2026 Winter, further highlighting the impact of his research in applying artificial intelligence to healthcare.
Sunday Dare, special adviser on Media and Public Communication to President Tinubu, celebrated Ayodeji’s achievements in a post on X, recalling how he first met him in 2019 during his National Youth Service.
“In 2019 when I became a Minister of the Republic, I met a young man of medium height, genteel with penetrating eyes: Atte Ayodeji. His words rarely come out and he could easily be passed by unnoticed. But I noticed him especially when my SA Kemi Areola brought him to me asking my approval for him to do his Youth Service in my office. I approved. From then on he was unstoppable. His brilliance shown and he developed skills beyond his frame.”
Highlighting Ayodeji’s recent accomplishments, Dare congratulated him saying, “Congratulations Atte. I am proud of you!”
NBC Files Fresh Appeal against Judgment Barring it from Imposing Fines on Broadcast Stations
Nigerians Lost N25.85Bn to Digital Payment Fraud in 2025 –CBN
NRS Announces 30 Percent Tax on Corporate Crypto Income
Kaspersky Identifies Cyberespionage as a Growing Threat Across Africa, Others
PalmPay’s Transaction Guard Gives Users More Control, As Fraud Tactics Evolve
NRC, Ponzi Scheme Collapses Resulting Loss of Billions of Naira
From Scarcity to Scale: What Africa Can Learn from India’s Agricultural Transformation
EFCC Busts NIS Visa Overstay Racket, Uncovers N700m in an Account
BON Establishes Six Ad Hoc Committees to Modernize Broadcasting
Tokenization, Blockchain Technology will Transform Financial Institutions – IMF
News2 days agoAtte, Nigerian Develops AI Algorithm for Hair Transplants
News2 days agoFG to Abolish Subsidies in Power Sector in 2027 – Minister
E-Financial2 days agoFCT Court Awards Ex-Customers N15m against Stanbic IBTC over Data Privacy Breach
E-Financial2 days agoCBN Exposes over 13,000 BVNs Tied to Fraud as Banks Tighten Security
General News2 days agoDare Tackles Onaiyekan over Criticism of Tinubu, Says Economic is Working
Telecom2 days agoStarbase Technologies Introduces Yolly, a Reward-Based Social Entertainment Platform
General News2 days agoSERAP Asks Tinubu to Probe Alleged N6.79Bn Missing Police Funds, Firearms
General News2 days agoLenacapavir, HIV Injectable Drug Offers Pregnant, Lactating Mothers 100 Percent Protection – Study