Bukola Akingbade

Role: Founder and CEO, Kucheza Gaming

Location: Lagos, Nigeria

Background

Bukola Akingbade founded Kucheza Gaming in 2019 after a career spanning digital media, advertising, and agency leadership in London and Lagos. Before moving into games, she built and ran Bytesize, a digital marketing agency within the Rosabel Leo Burnett Group in Nigeria, serving clients including Heineken, P&G, and Samsung.

Earlier in her career she held account management roles at Carat in London working across Diageo, Adidas, and Asda. She holds an MBA from Warwick Business School and completed a product management programme at Stanford University in 2022. She also serves as Convener of Lagos Games Week, an annual trade fair she founded to build pathways for African game developers into the global marketplace.

Current Focus

Akingbade is developing Kucheza Gaming across two pillars. The first is Kucheza Studios, where the team develops original African IP and takes on co-development projects. The studio recently launched a remastered version of Ìtàn Òrìṣà, a game rooted in Yoruba mythology, and is working on a serious game exploring societal themes.

The second pillar is a Games in Education initiative, delivered in partnership with Digital Schoolhouse and mapped to the UK computing curriculum, which has reached over 20,000 students across Nigerian public schools. Kucheza is Nigeria's only Unreal Engine authorised training centre. The studio operates with a core team of just over 10 and an extended network of up to 30 developers and creatives.

Industry Position

Akingbade is one of the most active ecosystem builders in the Nigerian games industry. Beyond Kucheza Gaming, she served as Vice Chair of the Lagos Esports Association from 2021 to 2025 and volunteers as an advisor in STEM.org's educational research around Women in STEM. Lagos Games Week, which she convenes annually, has become a key platform for connecting African game developers with international partners and investors.

What She Is Open To

Co-development partnerships with international studios. Investment conversations for African games IP and studio scaling. Education and ecosystem-building collaborations across Africa.

Introduction Network

Available for introductions through IsaKaba's introduction network.

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