Microsoft’s Africa Transformation Office (ATO) is announcing a two-day Xbox Game Studios Game Camp in Africa. To empower African creators to realize their potential in the gaming industry through unique learning experiences from industry leaders. The conference will run from July 15th – 16th, 2023.
The two full days events are themed “The Journey of a Game” and will offer multiple perspectives on the complex craft of game development. In addition, there will be online learning components to the camp, which will allow participants to engage with focused training modules on topics that align closely with their skills and interests, before and after the event.
While the camp is available online for all registered campers, Game Camp will also host in-person viewing events for 100 selected campers at the Microsoft campuses in Cairo, Johannesburg, Lagos, and Nairobi. These sites will offer viewing parties on-site panel sessions and opportunities to meet with Microsoft and Xbox personnel. Furthermore, teams or individuals with games to pitch are encouraged to do so.
To participate, individuals must be of legal age, reside in any country on the African continent, and be studying or working part or full-time in the field of software development, visual arts, 3D, music and audio, web design, narrative design, or professional project management. See the complete list of participation requirements at Xbox.com.
“At Xbox, we’re on a mission to bring the joy and community of gaming to the world’s 3 billion gamers and we recognize that Africa is home to the largest population of youth in the world, many who love to play. In 2019 I attended the opening of our Africa Development Centre and met with tech leaders, educators, and developers from across the region to understand their vision for the future of game creation. Through the inaugural Xbox Game Studios Camp Africa, in collaboration with Microsoft’s Africa Transformation Office, we have an opportunity to continue to deepen our relationships with talented developers in region and help African games studios realize their vision and role in the global gaming industry,” said Phil Spencer, CEO, Gaming at Microsoft.
The Xbox Game Studios Game Camp program is an initiative that unifies various Xbox initiatives under one umbrella where talent is celebrated and game developers are empowered to pursue their dreams.
“At Microsoft, we are excited to enable African game developers and creators to build faster through access to tools and resources, and to help their games be discovered by players in Africa and around the world. We want to grow strong roots in this significant market for gaming and game development. The ATO and Xbox personnel will also combine efforts to identify game studios to invest in through our Startups acceleration program and venture capital investment partners. I’m looking forward to seeing what innovative concepts this Game Camp produces,” says Wael Elkabbany, Strategic Initiatives Lead for Microsoft CEMA.
Kwik Delivery is announcing that it has closed its pre-Series A financing round. The startup successfully raised $1.7 million in equity from institutional and high net worth investors.
“Kwik Delivery has demonstrated to customers and investors alike its efficiency as well as the relevance of its bold technology-based approach during a most challenging period” explains Romain POIROT-LELLIG, Founder & CEO. “This financing round is enabling us to grow even faster and to disrupt and conquer new markets.”
Kwik Delivery is an on-demand, last-mile delivery platform that connects African businesses to independent delivery riders, dubbed Kwiksters. Launched in 2019, the Kwik platform is currently open to Kwiksters operating in Lagos and Abuja, Nigeria.
Using the app, customers able to request a delivery vehicle and track their shipment in real-time. It also provides insurance for goods in transit.
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The Microsoft Leap program is announcing a Data Analyst apprenticeship cohort scheduled to take place in Lagos, Nigeria.
Application portal for registration opens from Monday 18th to the 25th of January 2020. With selected candidates scheduled to start the 16 weeks training on the 8th of March 2020.
Microsoft will host a webinar for anyone interested in learning more about the Leap apprenticeship program. On the 18th at 1200 Noon +1UTC, kindly find webinar link here. Kindly note the link will be live prior to the start of the event.
The webinar event will also throw light on if this is going to be only virtual, physical or mixed training. So don’t miss the webinar and come with your questions.
This is a Female-only cohort. The selected ladies will undergo four weeks of skills training, followed by twelve weeks of hands-on project sessions. With Wragby Business Solutions & Technologies, 2020 Microsoft Country Partner Nigeria award winner.
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Here are some of things a candidate must possess to know if they are eligible for the program. Don’t forget to click the link to find out more details that aren’t covered here about the program.
Data Analyst Cohort eligibility requirements
A flair for numbers or basic mathematics skills.
Basic knowledge of any of Microsoft Excel, Power BI or Tableau, etc.
Accuracy and attention to detail.
Written and verbal communication skills.
Must have completed the National Youth Service Corps obligation or are exempt.
Completed a tertiary degree in a numerate field.
If you meet the eligibility requirements, kindly click here to apply for the program.
Online social media and networking company, Facebook, announces it will open its first engineering office in Africa. The new office will be located in Lagos, Nigeria and will become operational in the second half of fiscal year 2021.
Facebook Lagos office will support the Sub-Saharan region and contribute to the African technology ecosystem. It will also tap into Africa’s budding developer talent pool to build products for the continent and beyond.
This will be the company’s second office on the continent. After opening the first in Johannesburg, South Africa back in 2015.
Like the Johannesburg office, the Facebook Lagos office will house teams across sales, partnerships, policy and communications. With the Lagos, Nigeria office becoming the first in the region to house an engineering team.
“This is where a lot of the future is going to get built“
Mark Zuckerberg
We are continuing to invest in and support local talent shares Nunu Ntshingila, Regional Director, Facebook Africa. The office will be key in helping to expand how we service our clients across the continent, she continues.
“This is where i think a lot of the future is going to get built. … The key thing is that you are building this. … We are at the beginning of this journey. … The more we can do to empower folks here to build the future, that’s the better that we can do. … Of course, we will invest more in the future.”
Ime Archibong, Facebook’s Head of New Product Experimentation noted the new Facebook engineering office presents exciting opportunities.
“The opening of our new office in Lagos, Nigeria presents new and exciting opportunities in digital innovations to be developed from the continent and taken to the rest of the world. All across Africa, we’re seeing immense talent in the tech ecosystem. I’m proud that with the upcoming opening of our new office, we’ll be building products for the future of Africa, and the rest of the world, with Africans at the helm. We look forward to contributing further to the African tech ecosystem.”
Microsoft officially launched the Lagos Africa Development Center site at an event in Nigeria. The Lagos team will develop Azure services that power new Augmented Reality experiences for Microsoft’s mixed-reality platform. An investment that will enable digital transformation to create sustained societal impact in Africa says Microsoft.
Microsoft executives
Presidential Visit
Earlier in the day, Microsoft Nigeria Country manager Akin Banuso led the visiting Microsoft executives to meet with Nigerian Vice President, Prof Yemi Osinbajo.
Today, I received a delegation from the Microsoft Corporation led by Phil Spencer, the Executive Vice-President of Gaming. pic.twitter.com/ph9tvMeivi
Phil Spencer, Microsoft Executive Vice President of Gaming leading the visiting executives told the vice president about the project. He said Microsoft’s investments are an ambition on the African continent to create a global centre for excellence and development.
It is what makes Microsoft what it is.
Lagos Africa Development Center launch event
Lagos Launch event
Later at the launch event, Nigeria country Manager, Akin Banuso said “our teams will help build products with global impact. We will work with local partners and customers to improve our products for the continent and beyond. This is part of our commitment to creating opportunities for every person. It is what makes Microsoft what it is.”
Microsoft executives at the launch event included Alex Kipman, Michael Fortin and Phil Spencer. It also had other Microsoft engineers and members of the new team in Lagos.
“We have chosen Kenya and Nigeria, as they present a strategic opportunity for us to better understand a continent that is rapidly adopting cloud technology and massive innovation at the intelligent edge.” Michael Fortin, Corporate Vice President, Windows
Alex Kipman
Alex Kipman, Microsoft Technical Fellow Mixed Reality and Artificial Intelligence address the gathering at the launch event.
I am incredibly proud that Africa, the cradle of civilization, now has the opportunity to define the future of computing. I’m inspired by all the creativity and energy of the startups and entrepreneurs here in Lagos, Nigeria. Microsoft will be engaging deeply with developers and universities amongst others. – Alex Kipman
Meet the founding Microsoft ADC cognition team in Lagos Nigeria.
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