Carry1st, a South African mobile games publisher, recently announced that they have raised a $20M investment round from a group of investors that includes Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), Avenir Growth Capital and Google. This has marked an important milestone for Carry1st and the growth of the mobile gaming landscape in South Africa.
This article will explore how Carry1st is changing the mobile gaming landscape in the South African market.
Overview of Carry1st
Carry1st is a mobile platform allowing South African persons to compete in cash-prize tournaments. Its model is changing how gamers think of competitive gaming and has established the potential of mobile gaming as a viable source of entertainment and income in the country.
Carry1st is committed to growing the mobile gaming ecosystem in South Africa. They offer exclusive tournament environments for avid gamers, allowing gamers to compete against their peers through custom-built tournaments, earn money through rewards from contributing sponsors and partners, and access exclusive offers from the greatest brands around. The app also offers consumers an accessible but competitive platform to receive cash rewards based on their skill level, progress and performance within their respective games.
Gamers can be rewarded legitimately when they win tournaments as Carry1st also caters for safe payouts where winners can cash out at any given time. Additionally, modes such as 1v1s and 4x4s are available with additional support customizable tournament options available where needed.
The system uses a sophisticated ELO rating system to facilitate fair competition amongst players while curating divisions based on skill level worthy of those offering competing prizes — the higher the skilled players, the greater the prize money will be earned!
What makes Carry1st unique?
Carry1st is a mobile app designed to make free-to-play gaming available to anyone, regardless of their device or where they live. It launched in late 2020 with operations in South Africa, and has since grown to become one of the country’s most popular mobile gaming platforms. What makes Carry1st unique is its focus on two key areas of gaming: competitive play and earnable rewards.
Competitive play is at the heart of Carry1st’s platform, with a unified ranking system connecting gamers across various titles and genres. This allows players to measure their skill level against one another and get tangible recognition for their achievements. Carry1st also offers tournaments for players who want to participate in larger competitions – complete with perks like cash prizes and special rewards.
The other key element of Carry1st’s platform are its true “earnable” rewards. Players can use their winnings from tournaments or challenges to earn exclusive digital items, which can either be used as currency within the games or traded directly on the app’s built-in marketplace. This makes it easier than ever for players to monetize their skills and make money while playing their favourite games – something that wasn’t possible before Carry1st entered the space!
a16z, Avenir and Google back South African mobile games publisher Carry1st in $20M round
South African mobile games publisher Carry1st recently announced that they have secured $20 million in a funding round backed by some of the biggest investors in the tech industry, including a16z, Avenir and Google.
This investment is poised to revolutionise how mobile gamers engage with content in the South African market and could be an important sign that big international companies believe in the potential of South African tech start-ups.
Investors involved in the round
The Carry1st Series A+ funding round saw investment by some of the world’s most prolific venture capital firms, alongside several strategic and South African focused investors.
BNP Paribas Venture Partners (BVP) led the round as the main investor, provided with a Multi-million Dollar investment share from BVP’s digital entertainment fund. BVP considers Carry1st to be key to its digital entertainment strategy, and their expertise within this space was an invaluable asset for developing Carry1st esports and financial products.
Further funding came from the TNBees Fund – an early stage venture capital fund focused on South African software companies – and Coollab Africa – a leading pan-African tech catering platform and SoftBank Ventures Asia (SBVA), who provided investments specific to Carry1st’s ride-hailing services. In addition, several large-scale South African investors also joined in this offering, such as previous seed investor SmartX Venture Partners and Naspers, who ultimately proved instrumental in helping Carry1st become one of Africa’s most promising tech companies.
How the investment will be used
The investment from the Carry1st venture round will be primarily used to further develop and launch the innovative gaming platform in South Africa. In addition, the company plans to hire additional personnel, especially developers and artists, to support their current team to ensure a smooth release for their flagship game.
Additionally, the company seeks to strengthen relationships with local partners and build new ones. They plan to use the funds from this investment round for marketing campaigns promoting their new mobile titles and co-marketing initiatives with leading gaming studios within the region.
Furthermore, Carry1st intends to use the resources raised through the fundraising round to invest in research and development of advanced technologies and features that will drive user engagement within their existing line-up of titles. This includes leveraging technologies such as 5G networks which will enhance user experiences significantly. As such, they seek additional investments in research and development to continue developing innovative features designed specifically for South African gamers.
Finally, Carry1st intends to use some of these funds for international expansion by partnering with global studios looking to expand into South Africa’s rapidly growing gaming market. These partners could leverage their combined resources to help both companies launch successful products globally.
Carry1st’s Impact on the Mobile Gaming Industry
Carry1st is a South African mobile games publisher changing the mobile gaming landscape with its unique approach to creativity and game mechanics. The mobile games publisher recently secured a $20M investment round from prominent investors such as a16z, Avenir, and Google.
This new funding allows Carry1st to fuel its mission to challenge the current trends in mobile gaming and continue to be a significant player in the industry.
How Carry1st is changing the mobile gaming landscape in South Africa
Carry1st, a mobile-based app dedicated to providing South African gamers access to competitive eSports tournaments, has drastically affected the local mobile gaming industry. This app was founded in 2019 and has since grown to become one of the largest esports tournament platforms in South Africa. Carry1st has offered South African gamers something unique by creating an ideal competitive gaming atmosphere that is both economic and convenient.
Carry1st specialises in providing gamers with competitions that range from smaller local events to major international tournaments. They offer weekly tournaments at no cost, and their professional staff help ensure fair play and accurate scoring. Through this platform, eSports tournament organisers can set up online qualifiers within minutes which can be watched live by spectators and replayable for review afterwards on their streaming page. The format of each tournament also provides every individual gamer an equal opportunity to win based on their skill level despite any physical disadvantage or risk factors associated with attending LAN events such as COVID-19.
Ultimately, Carry1st has become a hub for mobile gaming enthusiasts throughout South Africa due to the diversity of the game title support list, ranking system, incentivized tournament system, real time notifications and broadcast coverage available for free by their media partners like Esports Central and AXLON International. This ability for independent organisations such as Carry1st to provide professional services shows how far the mobile gaming industry has come in South Africa since its humble beginnings a decade ago. Furthermore, it should be noted that this industry is anticipated to grow even further with more young people now able to easily access higher quality experiences than ever before through apps such as Carry1st.
The potential of mobile gaming in South Africa
The mobile gaming industry in South Africa is undergoing rapid growth and innovation. The increase in smartphone users has allowed developers to create specific titles aimed at the South African market, providing a more diverse and engaging gaming experience to these users. Furthermore, as gamers become more experienced in this domain, game developers have shifted their focus toward developing mobile offerings that offer each user a unique experience.
Carry1st is one of the leading players in the South African mobile gaming market, with its ability to provide high-quality content and services. Its portfolio includes popular titles such as KingsRisk, Epic Quest, Dragomonstruo and Ball Blast which have brought new life into the market by introducing fresh ideas, game design elements and graphical elements to these games. The games allow players to take part in battles or quests of various kinds while also allowing them to customise their profile according to their interests and playing style. Furthermore, by giving access to different modes of play, they are opening up opportunities for new ways of playing that may attract more players from South Africa and all over the world.
Through its focus on providing an innovative product line backed by superior customer service, Carry1st has gained traction among regional customers looking for an immersive gaming experience with strong ties back into traditional board games played offline in South African households. With its strong support for local language translations (including Afrikaans), it has also attracted keen attention from international customers as it extends its reach beyond borders and targets select African markets with impressive successes seen from languages such as Swahili and Zulu among others. By leveraging some of its powerful partnerships, it has won several awards over recent years further establishing itself as a leader within this highly competitive space both locally and internationally.
Ultimately, Carry1st’s success within the mobile gaming industry will be determined by how well its portfolio appeals to regional gamers and its provisions for international audiences being taken advantage of. There is huge potential for development within this region especially when considering untapped resources like artificial intelligence or augmented reality; however, what ultimately matters is how well games appeal on an interface (visual/written) level coupled with control schemes that cater to all types of gamers – ranging from casual fans to casual professionals. For Carry1st’s true potential to be realised, further efforts should be made towards creating strategic global partnerships at scale. Hence, ensure presence across most major segments related to this domain – device manufacturers, distributors through app stores etc.
tags = a16z, Avenir, Google, mobile games publisher, Carry1st, Andreessen Horowitz, Africa-headquartered company, africabased 20m africaheadquarteredtakahashiventurebeat, Africa Investment Fund, Riot Games, Konvoy Ventures, Raine Ventures
