Awesome African Talent is a philanthropic fund set up to assist game developers from across Africa to attend foreign events where they have been selected to exhibit or speak. The fund will offer financial assistance to help with the costs of flights, accommodation and visas for African Developers to attend shows outside of Africa.
While the fund currently cannot cover the full costs for specific individuals, the hope is that the contribution will provide a starting point that will encourage further funding and increase the likelihood of developers showing up on the world stage.
Nick Hall, co-founder and program director of Africa Games Week says, “We recognise that many African developers struggle to attend international shows where they have been accepted to exhibit due to the high costs of visas and travel. This denies them the experience and opportunity to expand their network and forge new partnerships with the international game development community. The Awesome African Talent fund is our way of giving back to the community that has given us incredible support over the years.”
The Awesome African Talent fund was launched by partially funding award-winning game designer Bahiyya Khan to attend The Sheffield Documentary Film Festival, where her game ‘after HOURS’ was selected as a showpiece. Khan is an incredibly talented storyteller and game developer. She is also an influential young South African Muslim woman, who is using games to explore unique perspectives on tough issues, including mental health, rape and trauma.
“I am really thankful for the Awesome African Talent fund and everyone who made it possible for me to showcase my art and participate in conversations and events that broadened my ideas of what is possible in art and what is possible for me,” says Khan. “Attending the Sheffield DocFest allowed me to meet women of colour from around the world, who were stomping down barriers that make us feel like we are participating in a culture where we don’t belong.”
”The Awesome African Talent fund has been created to showcase the unique and special projects coming out of Africa,” says Rex Bowden, co-founder and director of Africa Games Week. “Bahiyya’s game ‘after HOURS’ has awoken our senses and made us take a step back and think. Games like this exemplify the amazing talent we have to offer the world.”
The Awesome African Talent fund is available to developers located in any African country.
Africa Games Week is a business conference made up of four sub-conferences that explore the business aspects of the gaming industry of Africa. The event runs between 29 November and 4 December, with a 3-day live exhibition event at Workshop17 at the V&A Waterfront in Cape Town. You can find more information here: bit.ly/AGWexplained.