South African Carry1st, has been named in Fast Company’s list of the World’s Most Innovative Companies. This honour recognizes Carry1st’s transformative approach to publishing and scaling gaming content across the African continent.

Ranking among innovators like Nvidia, YouTube, Microsoft, and more, Carry1st’s inclusion underscores its impact on how games are created, published, and experienced in Africa’s burgeoning, soon-to-be $1 billion gaming industry.

Carry1st CEO and Co-Founder Cordel Robbin-Coker comments: “We are pleased that Carry1st has been recognized in this year’s Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies list. For the past five years, our team has been focused on delivering tailored solutions that solve hard problems for our players and content partners. There is much more to come, as our journey is just getting started…”

Cementing its position at the forefront of Africa’s gaming revolution, Carry1st has forged partnerships with industry giants such as Activision, Supercell, and Riot Games. These collaborations have enabled the company to scale popular titles like Call of Duty: Mobile and Valorant across the continent, tapping into the region’s vast, underserved player base.

Fast Company recognized Carry1st for its groundbreaking strategy combining influencer marketing, community-building, and localized publishing solutions tailored for the African gaming market. By partnering with local influencers to promote content and products tailored to African consumers, Carry1st allows publishers to effectively tap into the African market.

This latest recognition from Fast Company builds on Carry1st’s recent milestone of being named to The Forbes Fintech 50 list earlier this year for its proprietary payments and e-commerce platform which supports transactions for games such as Valorant, PUBG, Call of Duty: Mobile, and Mobile Premier League.

“Our list of the Most Innovative Companies is both a comprehensive look at the innovation economy and a snapshot of the business trends that defined the year,” said Fast Company editor-in-chief Brendan Vaughan. “We saw extraordinary innovation across the board in 2023, but we also saw a handful of clear patterns: the growing footprint and impact of AI, the triumphant return of live events, and great leaps forward in climate tech. We face daunting challenges on many fronts, but the solutions we celebrate in MIC give me plenty of hope about the future.”