The pair announced that they will collaborate on the development of Africa Gaming Box.,

Côte d'Ivoire’s Digital Afrique Telecom (DAT) has teamed up with Clipfeed, a global e-sports entertainment firm, to provide mobile gaming solutions for African telecoms operators.

This week, the pair announced that they will collaborate on the development of Africa Gaming Box, a white label platform for mobile carriers to deliver e-sports services to subscribers across the continent.

The firms said that Africa is a prime region for e-sports expansion.

The partnership comes as research firm GlobalData forecasts that the e-sports market would be worth $1.64 billion in 2023 and will increase at a compound annual growth rate of 16.7% until 2030..

According to the GlobalData report, e-sports acceptance in Africa will be supported by increased mobile and PC gaming usage, high accessibility and inclusiveness, and the growth of 5G connectivity.

"The continent has a young and growing population, with more than half of Africans under the age of 25. This is the group most likely to be interested in e-sports," the companies said in a joint statement.

The companies also cited Africa’s growing connectivity infrastructure. “Over 500 million Africans had internet connection in 2022, and this figure is predicted to rise to over one billion by 2025.”

Michael Whelan, CEO and founder, Clipfeed, said: "This partnership will allow us to reach a wider audience and help to grow the e-sports community in Africa."

According to Simplice Anoh, CEO, DAT: "E-sports remains a very large opportunity in Africa, and we are extremely pleased to partner with Clipfeed to open the doors for the continent's mobile operators to reap the benefits of this booming industry."