AFRICA GAMES WEEK

What AFRICA GAMES WEEK does

Africa Games Week is an annual B2B conference and exhibition serving the African video game industry, founded in 2018 by Nick Hall and Rex Bowden in Cape Town, South Africa. The company operates a single flagship event held at Workshop 17 in the V&A Waterfront, with the 9th edition scheduled for 6-8 December 2026 under the theme 'Levelling the Foundation: Constructing Africa's Gaming Engine.' The event integrates multiple vertical tracks — Make Games Africa (game development), Play Games Africa (esports), Games for Change Africa (social impact), and a VIP Day — supported by B2B matchmaking, workshops delivered by partners such as Unity, Xbox, Spielfabrique, and Goethe Institut, an African-made games exhibition, and the AGW Awards. The 2026 edition extends the platform with Virtual Regional Roadshows, AGW Labs (an accelerator/sprint program), AGW Policy Day (regulatory focus), and a Pitch Lab/Pitch Competition.

The company's core technology is non-existent in the traditional software sense: it is an event platform whose infrastructure consists of an event website (gamesweek.africa), Quicket-based ticketing, email/newsletter CRM, and on-site venue logistics. Its principal assets are its network of African game developers, international publishers, and institutional sponsors — including Xbox, Epic Games, Unity, Electronic Arts, Annapurna Interactive, Supercell, Ubisoft, Goethe Institut, the City of Cape Town, and South Africa's Department of Sport, Arts & Culture.

Revenue is generated primarily through ticket sales (Student Pass R500, Conference Pass R1,495, VIP Pass R11,855, all inclusive of 15% VAT) and corporate sponsorships. The exhibition area is offered free of charge to drive attendance breadth. The company operates with a lean team of 5 employees and is privately held, with no disclosed institutional funding or financial statements. The 2025 Games Industry Africa Awards named Africa Games Week 'Event of the Year,' and the 2022 edition drew 5,000+ visitors, 600+ VIP attendees from 22 African countries plus 13 countries across Europe, the UK, USA, Canada, and the Middle East, and 1,760 facilitated B2B meetings.

Name

AFRICA GAMES WEEK

Legal name

Africa Games Week

Website

https://gamesweek.africa

Company type

Private

Founded year

2018

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Africa Games Week is an annual B2B conference and exhibition in Cape Town, South Africa, connecting African game developers with global publishers, investors, and industry leaders. It operates the African gaming industry's premier business event with four themed verticals, B2B matchmaking, and workshops.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Gaming industry events and conferences

NAICS

Amusement Parks and Arcades (7131)

SIC

Services-Miscellaneous Amusement & Recreation (7990)

akta.pro primary industry

Industry-Specific B2B Trade Show Organizers (THAHABAB)

akta.pro secondary industry

Consumer & Public Shows (B2C) Organizers (THAHABAC)

Keywords

• Gaming industry conferences
• B2B matchmaking events
• Game developer workshops
• Esports industry events
• African gaming showcase

Headquarters

HQ city

Cape Town

HQ country

South Africa

HQ region

Africa

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Ticket Sales: Revenue generated from selling tickets to the conference, including Student Pass, Conference Pass, and VIP Pass tiers.
2. Sponsorships: Corporate sponsors and partners fund the event in exchange for visibility and brand placement at the conference.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Africa Games Week operates an annual multi-day B2B conference and exhibition held in Cape Town, South Africa, serving as the continent's largest business-focused gaming industry gathering. The event connects African game developers, publishers, investors, and global industry professionals through conference sessions, workshops, curated B2B matchmaking, an exhibition of African-made games, pitch competitions, accelerator programs, and structured networking functions, with a VIP tier that includes concierge matchmaking and exclusive functions.

Product overview

Africa Games Week is a unified event platform serving as the premier business-focused gaming industry event on the African continent. The core offering is the annual three-day conference (6-8 December 2026) held at Workshop 17, V&A Waterfront, Cape Town, South Africa. The event comprises multiple integrated tracks including Make Games Africa (game development), Play Games Africa (esports), Games for Change Africa (social impact), alongside supporting services such as B2B matchmaking, workshops, exhibition space, Pitch Lab/Pitch Competition, AGW Labs accelerator program, AGW Policy Day, and the Africa Games Week Awards. Virtual Regional Roadshows extend accessibility across the continent. The platform connects African game developers with global publishers, investors, and industry leaders to facilitate deal-making and showcase continental talent.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Make Games Africa: Conference vertical focused on all aspects of game development
• Games for Change Africa
• Play Games Africa
• Africa StreamCon
• AGW Awards
• Pitch Lab
• AGW Policy Day
• AGW Labs

Products and services

• Africa Games Week Conference The premier annual business-focused gaming industry event in Africa held over three days (6-8 December 2026) at Workshop 17, V&A Waterfront, Cape Town, South Africa; includes talks, panels, workshops, exhibition, B2B matchmaking, and networking.
• B2B Meetings & Matchmaking Service Concierge B2B matchmaking service connecting African game developers with publishers, investors, and stakeholders; included with the VIP Pass and accessible to delegates through curated matchmaking.
• Africa Games Week Awards Annual awards ceremony recognizing excellence in African game development, including categories for Game of the Year, Debut of the Year, Team of the Year, and Industry Initiative of the Year.
• AGW Labs Development sprint and accelerator program designed to stress-test and refine the African gaming ecosystem through intensive mentorship and resources.
• AGW Policy Day Dedicated day focused on policy discussions and regulatory frameworks for African gaming industry development.
• Pitch Lab & Pitch Competition Platform for African game developers to pitch their projects to industry professionals, publishers, and investors with potential for funding and publishing deals.
• Virtual Regional Roadshows Virtual events connecting gaming hubs across the African continent, culminating in the flagship Cape Town event; expands accessibility beyond physical attendance.

Named customers7 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

17 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Xbox (Microsoft)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2026Xbox has partnered with Africa Games Week and brought its Xbox Game Camp programme to Africa, providing tools, training, and networking opportunities for dozens of African studios since 2023.
• Epic GamescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEpic Games has partnered with Africa Games Week, providing support through their MegaGrants program for developers using Unreal Engine.
• UnitycoreTechnology or IntegrationUnity has provided workshops at Africa Games Week, supporting African developers with game development tools and training.
• XsollaminorGTM or Marketing PartnerXsolla serves as a potential funder and payment solutions partner for African game developers at the event.
• Annapurna InteractivecoreGTM or Marketing PartnerAnnapurna Interactive is a funder and sponsor of Africa Games Week, supporting the African gaming ecosystem.
• IGDA (International Game Developers Association)coreGTM or Marketing PartnerIGDA partners with Africa Games Week to support African game developers and connect them with the global development community.
• SupercellcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerSupercell is a sponsor of Africa Games Week and has launched their Developer Grants Program providing equity-free grants of $20,000-$200,000 for African game studios.
• City of Cape TowncoreGTM or Marketing PartnerThe City of Cape Town is a governmental partner supporting Africa Games Week as the host city.
• Department of Sport, Arts & CulturecoreGTM or Marketing PartnerSouth African government department supporting the event as a funder and strategic partner.
• Goethe InstitutcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGoethe Institut provides workshops and the GamesConnect AFRICA initiative at Africa Games Week, supporting African developers with international exposure at events like Gamescom.
• Electronic Arts (EA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEA serves on the Advisory Board of Africa Games Week and supports XDI initiatives for external development engagements with diverse partners.
• IESA (Interactive Entertainment South Africa)coreGTM or Marketing PartnerIESA partners with Africa Games Week to support the South African gaming industry ecosystem.
• 24Bit GamesminorGTM or Marketing Partner24Bit Games is a South African game studio partner supporting Africa Games Week.
• ITThynk GamingminorGTM or Marketing PartnerITThynk Gaming, backed by MultiChoice, supports Africa Games Week and runs an incubator programme for smaller studios.
• Spielfabrique / ThunderfoxcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSpielfabrique provides workshops and support through their Thunderfox program at Africa Games Week.
• PlaytopiaminorGTM or Marketing PartnerPlaytopia festival partners with Africa Games Week as a program partner.
• Republic Francaise & IFASminorGTM or Marketing PartnerFrench cultural institute partners with Africa Games Week to support French-African gaming connections.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Tokyo Game Show: Tokyo Game Show is Asia's flagship gaming trade show organised by CESA. It is a comparable large-scale regional gaming B2B/B2C event that AGW effectively emulates at a continental level for Africa.
• Game Developers Conference (GDC): GDC is the leading B2B game developer conference run by Informa. AGW's founders attended GDC before launching Africa Games Week, and AGW's VIP Day and Make Games Africa tracks directly mirror GDC's developer-focused programming.
• Paris Games Week: Paris Games Week is a major European B2C/B2B gaming expo. AGW's founders cite attending Paris Games Week as an inspiration for launching Africa Games Week, making it a direct category comparable.
• PAX (Penny Arcade Expo): PAX is a major gaming convention series with strong B2B and consumer components. It is comparable as a multi-vertical gaming event with expo, panels, and workshops, similar in structure to AGW's tracks.
• Gamescom (Koelnmesse): Gamescom is the world's largest gaming trade fair held annually in Cologne. It is a broad incumbent peer because AGW explicitly benchmarks against Gamescom (Goethe Institut's GamesConnect AFRICA initiative uses AGW to spotlight African developers at Gamescom).

Direct peers

• Nordic Game Conference: Nordic Game is a regional B2B game developer conference in Malmö. It is comparable as a smaller-scale developer-focused industry conference that anchors its regional games ecosystem, similar to AGW's role in Africa.
• Brazil Game Show: Brazil Game Show is the largest gaming event in Latin America and a direct analogue to AGW as a region-defining B2B/B2C gaming expo serving an emerging market with strong publisher and developer participation.
• Devcom (Developer Conference at Gamescom): Devcom is the official B2B developer conference co-located with Gamescom. It is a direct peer in format (multi-track B2B developer event with matchmaking) and AGW partners with devcom-adjacent programmes like Spielfabrique.

Regional players

• Playtopia: Playtopia is a Cape Town-based indie games and play festival. It is a regional peer operating in the same South African market with overlapping audience, and is already a program partner of Africa Games Week.
• Africa Comicade / Africa Gaming Festival: Africa Comicade is an emerging African gaming and creative festival. It is a regional peer that addresses the same continental developer audience and competes for the same sponsorship and attendee pool as AGW.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/africagamesweek
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/africa-games-week

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about AFRICA GAMES WEEK