Game On Africa: Esports as a Catalyst for Growth and Opportunity

Today we are speaking with three returning guests on our first LinkedIn Live Event: Soufiane EL FILALI from Morocco, Brad Kirby from South Africa, and Ronny Lusigi from Kenya.

Tom Leonard kicks off the LinkedIn Live session of "Gamers Change Lives", exploring the transformative potential of gaming worldwide. Our conversation covers insights from guests Soufiane El-Fidali of the Royal Moroccan Federation of Electronic Games, Brad Kirby of MTN, and Ronny Lusigi, CEO of IndexG Esports in Kenya.

The podcast touches on the evolving landscape of esports in Africa, addressing challenges like electricity issues, barriers to entry, and the importance of local server infrastructure. Soufiane emphasizes localized servers' significance, advocating for collaboration between governments, industry, and players. Brad discusses the evolving nature of game server infrastructure and champions a unified African approach to game publishers. Ronny underscores the importance of data to showcase the African gaming market's potential.

The African Confederation of Digital Sports (ACDS) is spotlighted, with Soufiane detailing its objectives and its goal to represent and uplift the gaming ecosystem in 41 African countries. The role of government in supporting esports surfaces, with Brad highlighting challenges in South Africa and Ronny addressing the necessity for alignment with national sports regulations in Kenya.

Brad narrates a poignant tale of disadvantaged kids leveraging gaming vouchers for education, underscoring esports' societal impact. The conversation pivots to the broader societal effects, from gaming's potential to address Africa's job market challenges to its role in leadership development, exemplified by Queen Arrow from Kenya.

As the episode concludes, the panelists express gratitude and enthusiasm for gaming's transformative capacity, hinting at future discussions on international events.

Episode Webpage: https://www.gamerschangelivespodcast.com/game-on-africa-esports-as-a-catalyst-for-growth-and-opportunity

Featured in this episode:

Soufiane EL FILALI from Morocco, marketing and communication manager of the Royal Moroccan Federation of Electronic Games and the executive director of the African Confederation of Digital Sports.

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/soufiane-el-filali/

Brad Kirby from South Africa, Senior Specialist @ MTN | Gaming & Esports.

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brad-kirby-0562922/

Ronny Lusigi from Kenya, CEO of IndexG Esports.

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ronny-lusigi-2448b7100/

Also mentioned: The African Confederation of Digital Sports (ACDS)

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PRODUCTION:

Creator and host: Tom Leonard (USA) - https://www.linkedin.com/in/tomeleonard/

Producer: Reginald Nsowah (Ghana) - https://www.linkedin.com/in/reginald-nsowah-09352929/

ABOUT THE SHOW:

Play Games. Create Jobs. Change Lives.

This is a show about how to build an esports business from literally anywhere in the world where each week we showcase the journey of esports entrepreneurs and others to learn how they solved a particular problem that everyone will ultimately face.

In Season Three our theme is “Building a Business: Esports 101”.

I am your host, Tom Leonard. I have a background in entertainment marketing. After working with many amazing esports entrepreneurs from emerging markets, they inspired me to create a show to tell their stories so that others can be motivated to create their own esports business. Gaming and esports can create jobs tackling the problem of global youth unemployment. Creating jobs from playing games. What could be better than that?

Thanks for listening to The Gamers Change Lives Podcast!