Many countries are experiencing an aging population. However, the opposite is the case in Africa. With the increase in accessibility to the internet and games on mobile phones, many young people in Nigeria are increasingly interested in Esports.
Nigeria has about 23% of its population as gamers, a small number belong to a community where they get to compete with other gamers and increase their skill set in specific games.
The growth in the popularity of video games in Nigeria and Africa has also presented the need for an increase in the number of esports organizations that will put together online and offline platforms for these gamers to connect and improve their talents.
Nigeria is replete with notable esports organizations; however, we will be looking at five Esports organizations in no particular order that are noteworthy.
Nexal Esports Ltd
The Nexal Esports Ltd, formerly called the Nigerian Gaming Community until July 2021 when the company was revamped, was founded by Micheal Seth and Paul Bakare.
Nexal Esports Ltd is one of the most prominent esports organizations in Nigeria that manages the Nexal Gaming Community, Esports Ranking NG and are looking forward to establishing some other Esports subsidiaries.
The NGC is a community of gamers and content creators that seeks to connect gamers in Nigeria, Africa and other parts of the world.
The community also serves as an information hub for Esports news, events, and tournament updates, keeping Esports lovers updated with the happenings in Nigeria and Sub-Saharan Africa.
Also, the Nexal Gaming Community strives to promote and positively influence the Esports community in Nigeria and Sub-Saharan Africa.
With the growth of the Esports industry in this part of the world, the NGC serves as a go-to site for the latest news and updates in the gaming community.
The community has over 2400 subscribers and has entered into partnerships with other Esports organizations like Carry1st, Cxmmunity Media Co, 3 Crowns Esports, and TNL sect.
The Nexal Gaming Community also organizes an annual tournament called the Nexal League, featuring titles like Call of Duty Mobile, Mobile Legends and Free Fire.
Gamr Africa
Gamr Africa is one of the biggest Esports brands in Nigeria that seeks to build and improve the gaming culture in Nigeria and Sub-Saharan Africa.
Gamr provides a platform for competitive gaming in Nigeria where gamers can interact, play games, connect and grow their skillset.
The Gamr App has over 210,000 gamers and game organizers across 12 African countries utilising its features, has organized about 600 tournaments and paid over 75 thousand dollars in rewards.
The biggest annual African gaming festival, Gamr X, where people from different African countries come together for healthy competition, is also organised by Gamr.
Furthermore, it was recently named one of the top 100 gaming startups to watch in the world, according to Dealroom.Co.
Gamr Africa was founded in 2021 by Seyi Fakoya, Eniola Edun and Kunmi Adenipebi. Eniola Edun, the chief executive officer and co-founder, was recently featured in Forbes Africa based on her commitment to helping gamers discover their skills, building communities of professional gamers and connecting Esports organizers to gamers.
In 2022, Gamr Africa was selected for the Google for Startups Black Founders Fund. It was set to receive $100,000 in non-dilutive capital and another $100,000 in Google Cloud credits for technological assistance and the use of Google’s tools and teams.
Gamr Africa has partnered with remarkable organizations, including the Nigerian Football Federation, Redbull, Logitech, Nivea, Intel and Nigeria University Games (NUGA).
10n8e Esports
10n8e Esports is an organization committed to providing exciting gaming experiences both online and offline through tournaments, delivering content and managing talents.
The company combines tournaments, media and talents to provide opportunities to connect to gamers and fans in Africa through its platform.
10n8e Esports has partnered with several organizations to promote the gaming culture and esports industry in Nigeria and Africa.
One of such organizations is the Esports Innovation Group. Both organizations entered into a partnership in 2022 to promote the development of esports in West Africa, focusing on its grassroots.
Together, they worked to create a platform where gamers can connect and grow by playing games they love vis-a-vis building a career.
10n8e Esports also partnered with Carbon, a fintech company in 2020 and has renewed this partnership for 2023. The digital bank will be in charge of payments for all tournaments by 10n8e.
Carbon guarantees fast and uncomplicated transactions to players and will also strive to improve financial education and earnings maximization among them.
10n8e Esports has four significant communities; PUBG mobile, Call of Duty Mobile, Mobile Legends Bang Bang, and Free Fire. The organization also owns and runs the Nigeria Pro League, which is currently in its sixth season.
Kon10dr
Kon10dr is a leading Esports organization in Nigeria that hosts and organizes tournaments in Nigeria.
The organization aims to provide local gamers with a platform that leads them to the global platform where they can compete with gamers from other parts of the world and emerge victorious.
Kon10dr was founded in 2021 by a former Nigerian singer and songwriter, and lover of video games, Dr. Sidney Esiri, popularly known as Dr. Sid. He is also the founder of Sidizens Gaming, an outstanding esports team which will also be the first Nigerian team to participate in the Fyfe Club Series in 2023.
Kon10dr also acquired the Republic of Gamers CODM community (ROG) that previously managed the CODM Africa Communities. According to Dr Sid, this will enable easy access to resources for the team to do more than they’ve been doing in the past.
The esports organization aims to provide employment opportunities for professionals in the esports industry to thrive and develop sustainable career paths locally and globally.
In 2021, the organization organized the “Kon10dr Esports Championships” sponsored by Metaverse Magna and MTN, supported by LG, Supakomando Energy Drink, Adlantique and Pulse Sports.
The tournament was the biggest LAN event in Nigeria and happened live at Landmark event center in Lagos, Nigeria with a prize pool of about N26,000,000.
Kon10dr also recently partnered with FITGMR to build the esports ecosystem in Nigeria, providing gamers with tools and employment opportunities to excel in the esports field globally.
This partnership will further boost the development of the esports industry in Nigeria and Africa as a whole, creating the chance for local talents to thrive in the global space.
3 Crown Esports
3 Crown Esports, headquartered in Lagos Nigeria is another Esports organization in Nigeria developed to promote online gaming in Nigeria and Africa.
They are committed to collaborating with Esports organizations, gamers and content creators to establish a space for the Esports industry in Africa where gamers can choose a career path in esports and thrive.
They also organize Esports tournaments to enable gamers to improve their skills and boost their confidence in the Esports space. 3 Crown Esports organized the Africa Elite Championship, a PUBG mobile tournament and African Elite League, which ran successfully.
The organization also acquired Lag Esports, a Zimbabwean PUBG Mobile (PUBGM) team, in 2022 and is committed to providing a fantastic gaming experience for mobile and console games and gamers in Africa.
