The PlayStation DualSense controller and the PlayStation 5 console.
Jakub Pozhicki | Nurphoto | Getty Images
The deal is a strategic investment that will allow the two companies to partner on a number of commercial opportunities. For now, the two companies are in the “exploratory stages” of this partnership.
Cordell Robin-Coker, chief executive and co-founder of Carry1st, said talks with Sony’s innovation fund began about eight to nine months ago and that his pitch to the PlayStation console maker was that Africa was the next big market to will find growth in video games.
“As big companies like Sony, who have really strong positions in tier-1 and tier-2 markets, are starting to think about where the next billion customers and gamers are going to come from, our idea is that Africa is a prime market for that,” Robin Coker said. in an interview with CNBC.
“We believe very strongly that there is an incredibly undervalued console opportunity in Africa,” Robin-Coker said, citing countries like Nigeria, Morocco and Algeria as places where console adoption is growing a lot.
Sony is entering an emerging gaming market with incredible growth potential. Sub-Saharan Africa’s gaming industry is expected to generate over $1 billion for the first time in 2024, according to research by Carry1st and venture capital firm Konvoy.
Many gamers in Africa buy consoles on the “grey” market – in other words, from vendors who have imported consoles from abroad to resell them locally, Robin-Coker added.
One aspect of Carry1st’s partnership with Sony was to help the gaming and entertainment giant expand PlayStation’s presence in Africa.
Sony predicts it will sell a record 25 million PlayStation 5 units in its 2023 fiscal year, marking the best year for any PlayStation console in history. The PS5 was initially plagued by shortages due to chip shortages and supply chain disruptions.
Sony’s bet with its stake in Carry1st is that Africa will be the next big market to drive PS5 sales growth.
“Our hope is that we can help [Sony] to expand their PlayStation reach in the region and support them in a number of ways, including broader go-to-market strategies as well as digital payments,” Robin-Coker told CNBC.
He noted that Carry1st could benefit from the changing console business model, where sales have shifted from mostly in-store payments for physical consoles and games to a more online experience marked by digital downloads, free games and in-app purchases.
Carry1st’s localized Pay1st payment service enables African gamers to purchase games using local infrastructure, bank accounts and payment methods including M-Pesa and mobile wallets. Game creators can monetize their games on Carry1st, the company’s online marketplace for games and add-on content.
Carry1st, founded in 2018, specializes in developing primarily social and casual puzzle-based mobile games for an African audience.
Carry1st currently only makes and scales games for other clients, such as Activision. But the company now plans to develop its own original titles this year, with three new games currently in development.
Little is known about the original games at the moment, but Robin-Coker says he is “very confident” about the roadmap for Carry1st’s original titles and that he “firmly believes” that the company is on track to release its debut game for the first time somewhere in 2024
Carry1st is still an early-stage startup, but its growth has been on a tear in recent years. Carry1st says its revenue rose almost ninefold between 2021 and 2023. Carry1st said it was unable to give a fuller picture of its financials given the sensitivity of the numbers.
Carry1st works with companies such as Activision, Supercell and Riot Games to bring Western game franchises such as “Call of Duty: Mobile” and “Valorant” to Africa.
The company is behind the mobile games “Mancala Adventures,” “SpongeBob Krusty Cook-Off” — made in partnership with Nickelodeon — “Ludo Blitz” and “Mine Rescue.”
Sony’s investment in Carry1st marks the first financial commitment of its new flagship African venture fund, Sony Innovation Fund: Africa, which will launch in October 2023 to invest in start-ups in Africa’s entertainment industry.
Sony Ventures Corporate, Sony’s venture arm, committed an initial $10 million to its Africa fund.
Carry1st’s latest deal adds to its list of venture backers, with another top name at the table. Andreessen Horowitz, Bitkraft Ventures, Google, Riot Games and rapper Nas have so far backed the company with $60 million in funding to date.
