 Welcome back from that quick break. Now back in the day, the easiest access to games for men and Nigerians were the PS1, PS2 contours at the football viewing center for the barbershop. Unable to afford these pricey video games, the average gamer relied on these public spaces for their favorite pastime, which meant the country's gaming industry at the time was solely dependent on the people in world and neighborhood who could afford to buy these games. Now fast forward to 2023, more people can afford to get the games of the dreams at home whenever they want, most times even from their phones. Now joining me now to discuss further is Oscar Michael, a creative entrepreneur with over eight years of experience in the games and tech industry. He is an alumnus of Mastafika where he acquired skills in software entrepreneurship and he's a graduate of the IGDA Foundation, next-gen leader program for the 2021 virtual exchange program. Currently Oscar Michael leads Africa Complicate, a launchpad for stakeholders in the African immersive and interactive media industry. Many thanks for joining me on Business Insider Oscar. Yes, I just for my intro there's a whole lot going on in the games industry and from what we hear globally it's what's about 200 billion dollars bigger than even the music and the movie industry but why don't we hear of the industry here in Nigeria, Africa is there really an industry in this part of the world? Yeah, there is an industry in Nigeria and Africa, the reason you don't hear it's because the value of the market is not as big. Like if you look at the tech space right now there's a whole lot of talk around fintech and the likes that's because of the amount of investments going into there, the amount of transactions happening in that sector but in the African games industry we don't have that attention yet that's why but there is a very huge industry that is growing. So if the industry is really growing now how come I know we have people who are very techie, a very business savvy, how come they are not really seeing it or is it that there are other issues that might be plaguing it from expanding or taking its full potential in this part of the world? Yeah so the issue with the video games industry is it's not transactional like when you look at the average tech startup you see if you're using a fintech app the startups they take commissions once you make a transaction it's very transactional but the video games industry is it's just like the art industry it's in the creative sector just like movies and music the way of making money is different the revenue models the business models are different and it's very difficult to monetize I mean look at the hierarchy of what Nigeria and spend money on games is the least you get you buy a recharge card so there's transaction you get food you get clothes but games or movies are the least places we spend money and that's what's affecting the sector. Okay and just like other businesses I know there should be like a value chain and stakeholders input or that the major stakeholders in this particular industry. Now that's another thing contributing to the slow growth so the industry right now is driven by passionate game developers who are more like programmers but as we know for any industry to survive or thrive you need stakeholders from several verticals the public sector the private sector finance communication so that is what is missing the proper value chain you need the developers you need people who are into marketing publishers investors and a lot of these people are not yet in the African video games industry so that is what is missing but we're seeing growth in that as well people from the business side the finance side they're beginning to pay attention and that's awesome to see. Okay fine it looks like a very wonderful and lucrative you know business if one actually knows and understands industry when I hear about 200 billion dollars you know globally that's a whole lot. Yes you know and we can actually get maybe if it's just a chunk of that bulk amount and they wouldn't get revenue enough for the country where we're talking about issues with our forex and all of that but then again let me understand the kind of activities that are happening in the sector of the gaming industry or video gaming industry. Yeah due to its enormous potential a lot of activities are now ongoing to educate the various stakeholders so we can attract these people so far it's been filled with the developers the people that build the game but we're seeing much more activity trying to attract the public sector the private sector to come and invest as well as create an exchange so that these angels three can grow so you'll see there are more associations coming up like there's a game developer station in Nigeria there is in Ghana and many other places there are conventions as well coming up in Nigeria we organize a convention in South Africa there's what they call the Africa Games Week so a lot of activity is ongoing to educate stakeholders across board on the potential as well as attract investment. A lot of activities you talked about Ghana talked about South Africa now so what have been the major takeout from these activities that have gone on so far? So the major has been that exchange there are more stakeholders from even outside the continent coming in right now and they are trying to get insight onto what is happening on ground because data about the industry is not out there and that's a big issue so now that there's that exchange interaction with stakeholders they're beginning to understand the challenges they are facing and to see how best they can plug in their services and resources into and I think that has been the massive one on real engine one of the makers of the biggest softwares used to build games one of the makers of the biggest softwares used to build games just recently came into Nigeria this year because of that exchange that has been happening virtually and we are looking to see more of that. Okay like almost every other sector I'm sure the video gaming industry has its own challenges we mentioned some of them in person when we're talking about you know what it is doing globally and why Africa is not actually getting into that. Can you tell us more about other challenges that is peculiar or that are peculiar to the African continent? Yeah so aside of course the obvious fact of lack of funding which is a crossbow the main issue yeah I would say is that lack of stakeholder having a diverse set of stakeholders in this sector that is what I would say because if we look at the music industry there is structure you get they are the producers they are the distributors they are the marketers they are the ones that organize events and everybody gets paid across board but in the video games industry of Africa today that is missing that value chain is not existing okay and I would say that's the big issue because it's only when all the stakeholders come together and collaborate that industry can grow. Okay so when I think of our video games specifically I think of the PS the one-to-five as it were and the wonderful games that are on it you know so speaking of which we really have games that are really peculiar to all some Nigerians and Africans. Yes there are lots of amazing games like that though the first thing you need to know is the African games industry or gaming industry that tells people that they are playing is mobile first so due to lack of access not everyone can afford those consoles if you want to succeed in the market you target mobile gamers there are lots of and when you look at game developers in Africa a lot of people are so focused on that you see more mobile games talking about our culture talking about tradition selling that African you get the African vibe putting it out there yeah though we have more people now looking to publish for PC and consoles as technology is becoming more accessible to develop and I mean the network is opening up all right I still have an Oscar Michael's with me and we're looking at the video game industry in Nigeria and Africa to be specific we'll take a quick break and we'll return with more don't go away