When discussing the global gaming and eSports market, Africa may be one of the less likely regions first considered, however, Emerge Gaming (ASX: EM1) may have identified a market gem having secured more than 10,000 subscribers within the first month of launching MTN Arena – a mobile gaming and tournaments platform.

Co-branded alongside MTN, Africa’s largest telecommunications provider, the MTN Arena is currently only being marketed in South Africa where subscribers pay R3 per day (~A$0.26 per day, equivalent to ~A$7.80 per month) to enter competitions and tournaments of their favorite mobile games. Once entered, there are opportunities to earn rewards and win prizes of R100,000 per month (~A$8,500). 

“We are delighted with the initial platform metrics and performance of MTN Arena. The MTN Arena platform is demonstrating stability and scaling consistent with our prelaunch test results,” said Emerge Gaming CEO, Gregory Stevens. 

“The foundation is set for mass user adoption and subscriber growth with the MTN Go to Market Strategy driving customer acquisition and revenue.”

“We have worked extremely hard in developing a disruptive eSports and gaming technology offering that leverages global Mobile eSports and gaming trends.” 

“We are confident that we have an enticing commercial proposition for global mobile network operators and other commercial partners, and that we can now focus on business and revenue scaling, and user growth.” 

A global trend has emerged since the beginning of 2020 where pandemic-enforced lockdowns have seen a rise in gaming as a source of entertainment. This has been reflected in Africa where mobile gaming is significantly more accessible than console-based gaming. 

The platform roll-out has been aided by MTN which has been marketing MTN Arena to its South African customers via SMS marketing where the telco has more than 29 million subscribers. 

Following the successful launch of MTN Arena in South Africa where the platform has handled the influx of users, Emerge Gaming is in discussions with other mobile network operators to drive mass adoption towards the platform, including MTN which has a total network of more than 250 million mobile subscribers across the African continent. 

MTN Arena is differentiated from the standard subscription-based casual gaming services with competitions on games that do not require download and are easily streamed to mobile devices, an important attribute in emerging markets.