African gaming could experience heavy growth in coming years, according to Amne Suedi, principal at the Shikana Law Group, based in Kenya and Tanzania, who was recently interviewed by ICE Africa.
She was interviewed ahead of the first ICE Africa, which will happen October 24-25 at the Sandton Convention Centre in Johannesburg, South Africa.
Suedi, who specializes in investment in Africa says gaming “is an investment area that has a lot of potential to grow further and to have an even bigger impact on the countries that welcome this type of investment in terms of job creation and of course the revenues that can be collected by the tax/government authorities. Governments in Africa can leverage a lot more on this industry as they can divert the earnings into development of sports, entrepreneurship centers, etc.”
The regulatory landscape is fluid as lawmakers try to keep abreast of technology. “Representing companies in Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda I can say that these markets are smaller than say the Nigerian market, however with an immense growth potential. Definitely, there is room for coming in and making a mark.”
Those looking to invest in gaming in Africa are not so much the existing companies, but entrepreneurs wanting to break in because it is a virgin market with a great potential for returns, says Suedi.
She adds, “You also need to have a very good understanding of the market you want to operate in. It is a mistake when investors feel like they can use the same capital and business model in Kenya as in Tanzania or Uganda since all these markets are very different.”
Her advice is “Forget what you know from other markets and treat each market as separate entity and do not compare.”
