So you’ve decided to take the plunge and dive into the career of your dreams within the games industry. However, dependent on where you’re based on the continent you are likely to face a multitude of hurdles and challenges from conception to the launch of your game tinged project.

FUNDING AND FINANCING

As romantic as the notion of surviving on blood, sweat and tears may be as an African game developer, it’s simply not sustainable, so you’ll need to seek out funding. Here are a few alternatives that could prove useful depending on where you or your company is based and won’t require you having to fork over equity from your company.

WINGS FUND – WINGS invests in indie games by teams in which women and marginalized gender developers hold key positions.

Indie Fund –  Indie Fund is a funding source for independent game projects, run by a collective of experienced game makers looking to encourage the next wave of game developers.

Black Game Developer Fund – The Black Game Developer Fund is an annual fund designed to help empower Black game developers to take that next step and move their compelling game vision forward.

Kickstarter – The premier crowdfunding platform. If your game resonates with backers, you’ll get it funded. A great way to build a comunity for a new project and IP which is one of the metrics placed highly by a lot of publishers.

Bright Gambit / GIA Microfund – This is an investment initiative focusing on investing only in games, not looking for equity in your company. In addition there are no publishing claims, you maintain full creative control, day one revenue share and all this in a developer friendly results oriented approach

Epic MegaGrants – Epic Games has committed to providing financial grants to creative, noteworthy, and innovative projects built in and around Unreal Engine or projects that enhance the open source 3D graphics ecosystem. Their average grants range from $5,000 to $250,000, with some extraordinary projects receiving up to $500,000!

Indiegogo is a crowdfunding platform that allows you to create a campaign and build a pool of fans and supporters. Multiple funding models and payment options like PayPal make it easy to choose what works best for you.

Patreon was founded in May 2013 and based in San Francisco, California, Patreon was created to enable fans to support and engage with the artists and creators they love.

Kowloon Nights – At the moment they only fund premium PC/console games. This means no AR/VR, blockchain or mobile-first titles.

Xsolla Funding Club – Xsolla Funding Club connects video game developers with interested individual investors and publishers at no cost.

Game Seer – Fronted by a team looking to give back to the industry that gave them everything · They are a group of friends and investors united by their love for video games. They review games on a continuous basis.

Google for Startups Black Founders Fund – This provides $150,000 cash awards — without giving up equity in return — and hands-on support to help Black entrepreneurs build and grow their businesses in the US. There is also an African focused segment of this initiative.

Dangen Entertainment: Indie Developer Grant – DANGEN Entertainment is hosting a development grant program aimed at helping indie developers that are working on their dream projects.

Private Division Development Fund – The initiative aims to support smaller studios with mentorship and financing. While Private Division will be assisting independent developers with the fund, their games will be self-published and applications will be reviewed on an ongoing basis.

Astra Games – A fund investing in the whole thinking game ecosystem, from early career developers to established teams.

Game Dev Fund – Targeting developers and companies based in the EU, they provide funds for the games they believe in. The size of the investment depends on an individual case and can be 100k-500k EUR.

Galaxy Fund – A prototype grant focused on the earliest stages of game development. From nothing to something, the Galaxy Fund is a prototype grant backing early stage experiments and bold new ideas from BIPOC and queer creators.