GameUp Africa's five-year report reveals where many African game development talents are coming from
New data from Maliyo Games tracks 6,000 applicants across 40 countries and five cohorts
Lagos-based Maliyo Games has released a five-year impact report on GameUp Africa, revealing the depth and spread of game development talent across the continent and the structural gaps that still remain.
The report draws on data from 2021 to 2025 and covers more than 6,000 applicants across 40 countries. Nigeria and Kenya account for the largest share at 36% and 28% respectively, with Ivory Coast, Angola, and Rwanda identified as growing markets. Some 77% of applicants are under 30.
The background data is telling. Some 84% of applicants come from software development or engineering backgrounds, and 65% had never worked in games before applying. Only 36% had ever built one. The programme is not pulling from an existing pool of game developers. It is creating one.
Building the pipeline from scratch
Across five cohorts, GameUp Africa produced 161 published game projects, with mentors drawn from more than 30 global companies including Xbox, EA, Disney Games, and IGDA. The 2024 cohort accepted 246 learners, of which 99 reached mentorship stage and 51 published games on Itch.io.
Female participation grew from around 16% in the programme's early years to 25% by 2025, with the report attributing the shift to deliberate redesign of application campaigns and mentorship pairings rather than organic growth.
The full report is available here.
Maliyo Games is listed in the IsaKaba Studios Directory.
Get deeper intelligence on the studios shaping MENA gaming with IsaKaba+ - full studio profiles, funding history, strategic positioning, and direct access to our introduction network. Get access.
