South African startup Carry1st, a mobile games publishing platform that enables global gaming studios to unlock the untapped African market, has raised US$6 million in Series A funding to help it scale further. Launched in 2019 and based in Cape Town, Carry1st is a mobile games publisher serving the first generation of African smartphone users that has so far reached over 1.5 million users across the region. The company provides a full stack publishing solution, handling distribution, localisation, user acquisition, marketing, customer experience, and monetisation for its partners. Carry1st’s Pay1st platform is an embedded fintech solution which consolidates the most well-adopted payment methods in six African countries, allowing customers to pay in their preferred way. Carry1st raised a US$2.5 million seed round last year, and has now taken its total secured investment to US$9.5 million with its Series A raise. The US$6 million round was led by Colorado-based video game VC firm Konvoy Ventures, with participation from Riot Games, Raine Ventures, AET Fund / Akatsuki, and TTV Capital. The startup will use the funding to secure new partnerships with global gaming studios, launch and scale its existing portfolio of games, and expand its product, engineering, and growth teams.
SOURCE: DISRUPT AFRICA