Enter Africa Lagos Interviews: Kunmi Adenipebi, Esports Promoter and Founder Naija Game Evo

Enter Africa Lagos
4 min readOct 7, 2020
Kunmi Adenipebi

The eSports promoter and founder of Naija Game Evo tells Adefoyeke Ajao about his vision for the African gaming industry as well as the challenges involved.

Please tell us a little about your background and how you got into gaming.
My full name is Adeshola Kunmi Adenipebi from Ogun state. I have a BSc in Sociology. I got into the gaming business in 2006 after I finished my NYSC; it had always been my passion to run gaming tournaments and gaming arcade centres after watching a movie called “The Wizard” when I was young.

What’s the story behind Naija Game Evo? What role does it play in the industry and how have you been achieving your vision of taking the “African gaming industry to the next level”?
I created Naija Game Evo with two of my friends called Seyi and Sina John, twins from Lagos Island. We wanted to do something new in the entertainment world which was different from music and dancing. Gaming was not in the system at all as a sport or event so we decided to push it.

NGE plays a big role in the gaming industry in Nigeria as it is the only platform that has created an eSports platform for over ten years, enriched over 100 gamers, created over 10, 000 players and pushed Nigeria’s eSports culture in and out of Nigeria.

© Kunmi Adenipebi/Naija Game Evo

Since you became a part of the industry, what would you say has changed and what more do you think can be done to advance the industry?
Since NGE entered the gaming and eSports scene in Nigeria, we have been able to create a new market for young talented individuals who use their gaming skills constantly to make a living. We have made eSports popular in the Nigeria and have been able to push the vision to a lot of other tournament organizers to start up their own franchise.

We basically need the corporate sector to invest in the industry so we can make it bigger.

How do people react when you say you work in the gaming industry? Looking back to when you started and now, would you say there’s been a change in mindset towards choosing a career in the gaming industry?
Back then, most people laughed at us for saying we work in the gaming or eSports industry as they believed it was for unserious people and nothing could come out of it. But 10 years down the line and they see that we are making headway in industry, they change their intonations to how they themselves can be part of what we are doing.

© Kunmi Adenipebi/Naija Game Evo

How would you describe Nigeria’s gaming industry?
The industry in Nigeria is still in its infant stage because the corporate sector hasn’t found a way to properly leverage on it, we have a long way to go.

What are the biggest challenges you’ve encountered in the industry and how have you overcome them?
I don’t think I’ve been able to overcome any challenges in Nigeria, I just work with it and turn them into positive vibes: No sponsorship, we get a free place to do free tournaments; government issues on lottery, we tell them it’s a game of skill not luck and so many more.

What motivates you to continue doing what you do?
Passion for gaming. I love gaming so much that when I hit a brick wall, it feels normal and I look for how to break it down because I believe there is still another side waiting to be explored.

If you weren’t pursuing a career in gaming, what else would you be doing?
My family business, interior decoration.

© Kunmi Adenipebi/Naija Game Evo

With the benefit of hindsight, what advice would you give to a beginner hoping to start a career in the gaming industry?
Learn from our mistakes, collaborate with others and let passion drive you.

What are you currently working on and what should we expect from Naija Game Evo in the nearest future?
Early this year Naija Game Evo partnered and Merged with Techplus to become Techplus Esports, we started a whole new series of products like Naija Mobile Rangers and Game Konnect. We will continue creating platforms for gamers to thrive. Currently, in last quarter of 2020, we will be having an online conference and gaming tournament; we are working on that currently.

To know more about Kunmi Adenipebi’s work, follow him on on Instagram @9jagameevo or visit his website naijagameevo.com.

This interview series is part of Nigeria’s Gaming Industry: Opportunities, Challenges and Practices, an Enter Africa Lagos project supported by Goethe-Institut Nigeria.

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Enter Africa Lagos

Enter Africa is a creative African network represented in 15 African countries, initiated by 15 Goethe-Instituts in Sub-Saharan Africa.