Ayofemi Akinlaja is a big man in many ways. Big in stature. Big in presence. Big in ambition. Now this serial Nigerian entrepreneur, still only 30-years-old, is poised to hit the big time as an iGaming revolutionary – and the man who literally opened the gate of the gambling business in Africa to his fellow Africans.
Akinlaja–full name Ayofemi Panshack Akinlaja, remember you read it here first–is the CEO of Shacks Evolution Studios in the Nigeria’s commercial capital, Lagos, and has just struck a major partnership deal with B2B iGaming software and platform players, EveryMatrix.
Malta-based EveryMatrix will now be distributing a super six bundle of Shacks games–Penaldo, Citadel, Spin-the-Bottle, Keno, Reel Wheel and Coin Toss–across Africa and the wider online gaming world.
So what’s the big deal, you may ask. Partnerships are struck every day in iGaming.
But not deals like this one.
African First
For Shacks Evolution Studios–founded in 2021, fully operational in 2023–is the very first all-Africa games developer on the continent, created, manned and developed by local talent.
“It’s been quite a journey,” Akinlaja, a consummate business developer, told me in an exclusive interview at iGF’s East Africa summit (IGFEA25) in Nairobi, Kenya, last week.
“We had to break barriers, even with fellow Africans who doubted that an African company could do it. But the more they saw me, the more they believed that this guy was really up for something special.
“Being the first, we had nobody to look up to or access for knowledge. Initially the technical aspect was really lacking.
“But we were determined to make use of local talent, as we could not afford foreign talent.”
Hitherto African operators and providers have offered games that were designed for non-African markets.
Viral
But Africa, a huge, still vastly-untapped gaming bazaar, has its own unique requirements, if a game is to succeed.
“They must be localised, light-weight, easy to learn and easy to play with low-data access,” stressed Akinlaja, who led the marketing team at leading Nigerian gaming company Merrybet from 2018-2021.
Even though digital access, increasingly, is good and growing, data is still relatively expensive, he pointed out.
Yet there remain significant advantages for African operators and gambling providers, Akinlaja explained, principally “economies of scale” and a “huge” potential market.
“Everyone wants something easy, relatable, a product that can return a lot of money. They also like something viral, something they already know about.
“Tastes, compared to Europe and the USA, are still conservative.”
Pioneers
Through EveryMatrix’s tie-in with big beast Betway, Shacks’ games are now available, or soon will be, in 20 African countries.
“If Betway can find value with us then every other provider can find value with us,” asserted Akinlaja.
“As pioneers we can create room for more people to follow; encourage new developers, new talent. We can become a force for Africa and really make an impact.
“So that when people talk about top iGaming companies in the world, they will not miss out Africa.”
