CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA - TUESDAY 19th MARCH 2024 - Africa’s leading mobile games publisher, 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, Taco Bell, 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…”

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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.

Complementing this is Carry1st's "Tribe" initiative - Africa's largest and fastest-growing gaming community with over 450k members. Tribe hosts events that unite players, celebrate gaming culture, and provide inclusive platforms to spotlight underrepresented talent. These community activations are key for building loyal fanbases, gathering user feedback to improve game experiences, and inspiring the next generation of African developers. Carry1st's localized influencer marketing combined with its community cultivation represents a pioneering model for publishers looking to authentically connect with the burgeoning African market.

"Tribe represents far more than just gaming – it offers a unique space for African players to build meaningful communities and gain access to transformative career paths," said Dominion Eromosele, Senior Community and Events Lead at Carry1st.

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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.”

About Carry1st

Carry1st is Africa’s leading publisher of games and digital content. Its mission is to scale awesome content in frontier markets by solving hard problems. Carry1st develops, licenses, and publishes games, and monetizes them effectively with Pay1st, a proprietary alternative payments platform and online marketplace for digital gaming goods. Carry1st has partnered with the likes of Activision, Supercell, and Riot Games to help scale games like Call of Duty: Mobile and Valorant and has launched games including Africa Glam (Nanobit), Mancala Adventures, SpongeBob Krusty Cook-Off, Ludo Blitz and Mine Rescue for gamers in Africa. Carry1st has raised over $60M since being founded in 2018 and counts Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), Google, BITKRAFT, Riot Games, and Nas as investors.

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About Fast Company
Fast Company is the only media brand fully dedicated to the vital intersection of business, innovation, and design, engaging the most influential leaders, companies, and thinkers on the future of business. Headquartered in New York City, Fast Company is published by Mansueto Ventures LLC, along with our sister publication Inc., and can be found online at www.fastcompany.com.

Contacts:
Alexandra Lloyd at Nara Communications
Alexandra@naracommunications.com 

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