Four African Gaming Studios Launch The First Pan-African Mobile Game, Mama Atingi Shop

Four African gaming studios have launched the first Pan-African Mobile Game, Mama Atingi Shop; a co-production project funded by the German Development Cooperation Agency, Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ). The co-production was done on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).

The game developers from Ghana, Nigeria, Kenya and Senegal are on a mission to collaboratively create an experience that reflects stories from the continent and is designed to educate the continent’s growing youth population.

African entrepreneurs, especially in the tourism sector, have been struck over the past year. And, while serious threats always demand serious solutions, Mama Atingi Shop seeks to deliver these solutions playfully and enjoyably.

Atingi is the new digital learning platform of the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). The platform provides people in the global South with free access to high-quality digital learning content tailored to German development cooperation partner countries’ local needs anytime and anywhere.

Atingi’s vision is to create a world where digital learning is inclusive, accessible, relevant, safe and secure for all. Atingi was developed by a team of education and digital experts and worked closely with the Smart Africa Initiative and partners from politics, business, civil society and science. The aim is to establish Atingi as the standard tool for digital learning opportunities in German Development Cooperation.

The game has colourful characters and exciting gameplay that let the player forget the daily grind and learn about customer care, pricing and stock management on the go. And for those who want to take their knowledge to the next level, a whole universe of additional content is always just a click away on atingi.org

Their signature title, Mama Atingi Shop, is a ‘Serious Game’, designed to teach young adults popular concepts in African entrepreneurship. The player is invited to run a curio shop, selling popular trinkets and cultural artefacts to passing tourists. Its scenario mirrors a commonplace scene in many popular African destinations. Players complete challenges related to inventory management, investment and growing their virtual business are relatable to real-life scenarios.

“We are excited to launch this project in collaboration with our co-production partners. Mama Atingi Shop represents, in many ways, the impact we all seek to make in educating and empowering various African online audiences through our games. The hope is that more young people from across the continent use their smartphones as tools for both entertainment and education. We are grateful to BMZ and GIZ for helping us make this dream a reality,” says Hugo Obi, Founder and CEO of Maliyo Games.

The partner studios intend to continue growing their portfolio of fun-first social impact games, featuring African heroes set across various backdrops of African culture and context that gives players immersion into environments effectively modelled after their own in the ‘real world’. The partners are also dedicated to fostering the local content creation ecosystems on the continent, commissioning bespoke soundtracks and character animations created by African artists and designers. In addition, these studios intend to mentor the next generation of African game developers via paid internship opportunities shortly.

Mama Atingi Shop is available on Android and iOS. You can also click here to watch the Mama Atingi Shop trailer.

ABOUT THE GAMING PARTNERS:

Co-production studios include:

1. Leti Arts (Ghana) is a game studio working in Ghana and Kenya, leading the charge in the new wave of Africa’s rich storytelling tradition with a vision to shape a new generation of unique content through comics and games. For over a decade, Leti Arts has had a breadth of industry knowledge and experience, providing exciting interactive consultancy services to other industry players. They have a proven track record of building interactive video games for advocacy projects across the continent in the fields of Health, Environment and Sanitation, Finance, African heritage. Learn more at www.letiarts.com.
2. Maliyo Games (Nigeria) is a Lagos-based game development studio that creates African-inspired games for mobile users with over 40 games in its portfolio. Maliyo infuses the continent’s lively culture and the context in each of its titles. Our goal is to embed Africa’s vibrant culture into video games through storylines, character development, immersive environments, captivating sounds and strong visuals. Learn more at www.maliyo.com
3. Usiku Games (Kenya) harnesses the power of gamification for positive social impact in communities across Africa. With more than 350 million smartphone users online across the continent. We believe that mobile games are the best way to serve its youth by adding the emotional elements of fun, challenge & curiosity; # GamingForGood can create powerful behavioural nudges in prevailing continental development challenges. Learn more at https://usiku.games
4. Kayfo Games (Senegal) aims to produce fun, engaging and non-violent gaming experiences made in Africa for African audiences. We firmly believe that video games are the best platform for raising awareness and educating the youth in many interactive ways. Kayfo is a 10-person game development studio based in Dakar, Senegal. Learn more at https://kayfo.games