Sony Invests in African Start-up Carry1st, Paving the Way for Video Game Industry Growth in Africa
Sony has made a bold investment decision in the African video game industry by contributing an undisclosed amount to Carry1st, a video game studio based in Cape Town, South Africa, through its venture fund, Sony Innovation Fund. This strategic partnership between the two companies will enable collaboration in various commercial areas, and they are currently in an exploratory phase of their cooperation.
CEO and co-founder of Carry1st, Cordel Robbin-Coker, revealed that discussions with Sony Innovation Fund began about 8-9 months ago. He emphasized Africa as a prime market for growth in the video game industry, especially for influential corporations like Sony. The African console market is reportedly underrated, with increasing console adoption in countries such as Nigeria, Morocco, and Algeria.
Sony sees great potential in the emerging market with rapid growth projections. According to research by Carry1st and venture capital fund Konvoy, the sub-Saharan African video game industry is expected to surpass a value of $1 billion by 2024. Many gamers in Africa currently purchase consoles through the “gray” market, which involves importing consoles from abroad for local sales.
Expanding PlayStation in Africa is one of the key aspects of Carry1st’s partnership with Sony. Sony aims to achieve record-breaking sales of 25 million units of the PlayStation 5 console in its 2023 fiscal year, which would make it the best year in PlayStation console history. By investing in Carry1st, Sony aims to tap into the African market for PS5 sales growth.
Carry1st contributes to this growth by utilizing a changing console business model that emphasizes digital experiences, including game downloads, free-to-play games, and in-app purchases. Their local payment service, Pay1st, allows African gamers to buy games using local infrastructure, bank accounts, and payment methods such as M-Pesa and mobile wallets. Game developers can monetize their games on the Carry1st platform, which serves as an online marketplace for games and add-ons.
Carry1st, founded in 2018, specializes in developing social and casual mobile games for African platforms. While the company currently provides games for clients such as Activision, they have plans to release their own original titles, with work already underway for three new games. Carry1st aims to release its first in-house game in 2024, expressing confidence in their chosen path.
As an early-stage start-up, Carry1st has experienced significant growth in recent years, with revenues nearly nine times higher from 2021 to 2023. However, due to the confidentiality of financial data, the company cannot disclose a more comprehensive picture of its financial situation.
Carry1st collaborates with renowned companies such as Activision, Supercell, and Riot Games to bring Western games like “Call of Duty: Mobile” and “Valorant” to the African market. The company has developed mobile games including “Mancala Adventures,” “SpongeBob Krusty Cook-Off” in partnership with Nickelodeon, “Ludo Blitz,” and “Mine Rescue.”
Sony’s investment in Carry1st marks the first financial commitment of its flagship African venture fund, Sony Innovation Fund: Africa, launched in October 2023 to invest in early-stage entertainment start-ups in Africa. Sony Ventures Corporate, the venture capital arm of Sony, allocated an initial $10 million to the African venture fund. This recent agreement with Carry1st adds to the list of supporting investors, which includes Andreessen Horowitz, Bitkraft Ventures, Google, Riot Games, and rapper Nas, who have collectively provided $60 million in funding to Carry1st.
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The source of the article is from the blog mgz.com.tw