Next-Gen Entrepreneurs: How Nigerian Youths Are Monetising Gaming Via Streaming

With Nigeria’s ongoing socio-economic challenges, many youths are now turning to alternative forms of employment that allow them to harness their passion to earn a living. Some are making significant strides, transitioning from playing video games at home to showcasing their skills to a global audience of millions, writes Iyke Bede 

Globally, video game streaming and content creation have continued to witness significant growth in the past decade, driven by technological advancements, high-speed internet, and the ever-growing $282 billion video games sector. Online platforms such as Twitch, YouTube Gaming, Facebook Gaming, and, more recently, TikTok, have become central hubs for gamers to broadcast their gameplay, interact with audiences, and build communities.

Twitch boasts over 140 million monthly active users, with 30 million users tuning in daily. YouTube Gaming reported a total of 1.18 billion hours of content watched in the third quarter of 2022, while Facebook Gaming claims to host over 700 million individuals who either play games, watch gaming videos, or participate in gaming communities. Cumulatively, these platforms and more, attract approximately 1.2 billion active users across the video game streaming landscape.

Content creators, from professional gamers to casual players, have leveraged these platforms to monetise their passion through the following avenues: Subscriptions fees to their channels, donations from viewers, ad revenue, brand sponsorships, merch sales, tournament winnings (eSports), affiliate marketing, coaching on game play, and crowdfunding among others. 

With the integration of social media, an increasing number of people are becoming familiar with and embracing this facet of the video game industry, often turning to it for entertainment. This trend reflects a cultural shift towards a new era of community-driven media consumption. 

The Nigerian youth population is not far behind these global trends. They are slowly building communities broadcasting their passion to an audience fascinated by the intricacies of gameplay. Their dexterity playing popular games like Fortnite, League of Legends, Valorant, Among Us, Minecraft, Call of Duty: Warzone, Apex Legends, GTA V (Grand Theft Auto V), FIFA and many more, have helped amass them crowds with similar taste. 

With Nigeria’s ongoing socio-economic challenges, many youths are now turning to alternative forms of employment that allow them to harness their passion to earn a living. Some are making significant strides, transitioning from playing video games at home to showcasing their skills to a global audience of millions.

Current revenue projections for the Nigerian games live streaming market are $55.44 million. With a cumulative annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5.98 per cent, the market volume is projected to rise to $74.11 million by 2029 with an estimated 35.8 million users. Although these figures pale compared to China’s $2.5 billion, the new market is driving a surge in local content creation and consumption.

Contributing to this $55.44 million revenue generating sector are notable gamers like PlaywithTomide (Odusote David), Tactical Ceza (Okoawo Jonah), Khalamanja (Ayere Victor), Lordmoon the Pope (Franklyn Nnamdi), Queen of Venus (Oyesanya Tosin), Amaar, NigeriaBotty, and a host of others. Predominantly, Nigerian streamers have a larger audience on TikTok, allowing them to engage with TikTok’s 23.84 million users in Nigeria and beyond. 

“The algorithm doesn’t choose a part of the country it sends your videos to. It is worldwide. When you get people to reach out, you want to make sure that you are friendly. I always pay attention to my comments. I have worked with people from the UK and the USA to create gaming content,” Ayere noted at a TikTok gaming conference hosted in Nigeria last year. 

Via the video-sharing platform, players enjoy the gifting feature on the app’s livestream. Additionally, other streamers like PlaywithTomide and Amaar have successfully landed ambassadorial gigs with Cade eSports and Zagg Energy Drink respectively. 

The achievements of these first-generation streamers are gradually inspiring future streamers to strategically position themselves to leverage the system and forge career paths. Moreover, they are shaping non-gamers interests towards gaming activities, thereby expanding outreach through word of mouth and actions that could lead to educational and training opportunities in the gaming and content creation industry. 

This shift also promises to challenge the negative cultural perception of gaming in Nigeria, create additional avenues for employment, and foster community engagement. As more young Nigerians enter this space, they are set to transform the country’s digital content creation landscape.
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WORDS ON MARBLE

Things started moving online. Many state governments did not know how to generate revenue from this industry. That’s where we came on board. We came on board again, not just even helping them in terms of the law or in terms of revenue collection, but we came in terms of investing in a proper state lottery, but I think they did not understand what it meant, and many people felt threatened. They did not seem to understand the structure of the transaction. There was a bit of frustration. Eventually, we went on to work in Anambra State for years, maybe seven years or thereabout, but the full value of what we could have brought couldn’t succeed because it became politicised.

– Yahaya Maikori, Principal Partner, Law Allianz