Rubik’s Digital CEO, Tony Okeyo, arrived in Botswana on Tuesday, June 24, for a meeting aimed at regularizing eSports in Botswana.
The meeting brought together officials from Kenya, Tanzania, and Botswana, including Botswana Minister of Sport and Arts, Honourable Jacob Kelebeng, Botswana Gambling Authority CEO Peter Kesitilwe, and Tanzania E-Sports Federation official Peter Mshikilwa.
The officials observed the growing demand for eSports among youths, while calling for collaboration to foster a creative economy that combines art, technology, and storytelling to create an entertaining experience.
eSports adoption is quickly growing in Kenya, with an increasing number of young people achieving success in competitive gaming.
According to a report by the Gaming Industry in Africa, the country raked in a whopping US$38 million in revenues from gaming in 2021, making it the fourth largest market in Africa after South Africa, Nigeria, and Ghana.
Revenue in the Esports market is projected to reach US$8.1m this year and continue with an annual growth rate of around 5.2 percent.
Bizna Kenya partners with PlayOn to empower youth through digital innovation
This growth has been attributed to a variety of factors, including high-speed internet availability, support from local and national businesses, as well as gaming cafes and small gaming tournaments.
Several companies and organizations are actively supporting the growth of esports in Kenya, among them Rubik’s Digital, one of the pioneers of the sport in Kenya.
The firm has introduced various mobile-based video games that are purposely designed to entertain, educate, and inform the youth.
Among the games the company has digitized is Ajua, a traditional mancala board game played in most parts of East, Central, South, West, and North Africa.
In the East African Coastal region, it is known as Boa. They have also digitized Kadi, a unique Kenyan-based variation of the card game commonly played in the estates and referred to as ‘poker’.
The games can be accessed through Rubik’s Digital’s PlayOn app available on Play Store for Android users.
Players can play for fun or register and play in scheduled tournaments and stand a chance to win various prizes. The tournaments also allow partcipants to interact with players from various parts of the world.
The upcoming tournament is scheduled to take place on Saturday, June 28, with winners set to take home some prizes.
Game enthusiasts interested in participating are encouraged to download the PlayOn App from Google and App Store.
