Usiku Games

Country: Kenya

Founded: 2018

Team Size: 10-40

Platforms: Mobile, PC, Console, Web

Status: Active

Overview

Usiku Games is a Kenyan game development studio based in Nairobi, focused on creating games and AI-powered solutions for education, behaviour change and social impact. The studio describes its approach as building games "from Africa, for the world", with projects rooted in African culture and local contexts.

Founded in 2018, the studio was co-founded by Jay Shapiro and has developed both original games and projects in partnership with organisations including the Gates Foundation, Harvard Medical School, Microsoft, GIZ, MTN and CGIAR.

Usiku also plays a wider role in Kenya's development ecosystem. It operates the Nairobi Game Development Centre, providing training, mentorship, workspace and events for developers across East Africa, and co-founded the Pan Africa Gaming Group.

Games

Electric Blue: Gecko Dash
Wahenga: The Lost Ancestors
Usiku Beats
Shamba Showdown
Cyber Soljas
Sista Stories
Usafi Mtoni
Mama Atingi
Mission 55

Electric Blue: Gecko Dash won Most Impactful Mobile Game at the 2025 Games Industry Africa Awards. Wahenga: The Lost Ancestors, meanwhile, is a sci-fi Metroidvania set in a techno-mythic future East Africa and is currently seeking funding for a vertical slice.

Key People

Jay Shapiro - CEO
Jake Manion - Creative Director
Arnold Mwanjila - Head Writer
Samm Kigo - Strategy Lead
Denis Odera - Producer
Wes Kanyeria - Producer

Intelligence

Usiku Games positions itself around mobile games that are “made in Africa, for Africa”, with a focus on locally relevant, non-violent and gender-inclusive experiences. The studio also uses games for social impact, covering areas including education, healthcare, women's empowerment, agriculture, wildlife conservation and climate change.

Funding & Backing

Usiku is a founding studio within the Pan Africa Gaming Group (PAGG), which it describes as its parent group.
The studio won an Epic MegaGrant for Shamba Showdown, a 3D African farming simulation focused on food security.
Usiku identified limited access to funding, resources and mentorship as some of the major challenges facing African developers.

Strategic Model

Usiku builds games around African audiences, with local talent responsible for the art, sound and stories.
Its strategy combines entertainment with social impact, using games to address real-world issues while keeping them fun.
The studio also invests in ecosystem development. It created the Nairobi Game Development Center, a 6,000 sq ft community space for collaboration, networking and skills development.
Usiku sees culturally relevant characters and narratives as important to reaching African players, while also using games to challenge established narratives around the continent.

Active & Upcoming Projects

Shamba Showdown - 3D African farming simulation focused on food security.
Usiku Beats - rhythm-based mobile game built around local vernacular music from different African communities.
Electric Blue: Gecko Dash - casual mobile game centred on the endangered Electric Blue Gecko in Tanzania, developed with sister studio Kayfo Games and publisher OtE Productions.

Performance Signals

Usiku was founded in 2018 and had positioned expansion across Africa as a key long-term goal.
Its Nairobi Game Development Center was established as a dedicated space for developing local talent and strengthening the developer community.
Electric Blue: Gecko Dash demonstrated Usiku's model of combining mobile entertainment with environmental awareness, while also showing its ability to collaborate across African studios.
Electric Blue: Gecko Dash crossed 500,000 downloads on mobile

Key Person

Jay Shapiro

Accepting introduction requests: TBC