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Carry1st
Games & mobile app publisher for Africa
- 101-200 employees
- Fintech
- B2C
- B2B
- Payments
- Gaming
- Publishing
- Social
- Mobile
- eCommerce
- Century City, Cape Town, WC, South Africa
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Company mission
Carry1st's mission is to bring awesome mobile experiences to the African continent to bring joy to and improve the lives of their users.
Our take
Carry1st points out that Africa is the world’s fastest growing mobile gaming market, with the continent’s young population putting it on course to have twice as many gamers as North America by the end of the decade. However, launching games on the continent comes with some challenges – chief amongst these being a large unbanked or credit card-less population.
Carry1st finds itself in a prime position to bridge these gaps by providing game publishing, distribution and, crucially, alternative payment services across Africa. In particular, its eCommerce and payments solutions which allow local options such as bank transfers, mobile money and crypto payments is causing a lot of excitement amongst investors, who are eyeing up a huge but thus far untapped market.
Though founded as a game studio itself in 2018, Carry1st’s shift into publishing has been very wise. Indeed, it’s helped the company attract major investment that will allow the team to develop internally produced titles, including home-grown games for the African market. With gaming revenues set to skyrocket in Africa, Carry1st looks to be on the verge of serious growth.
Steph
Company Specialist at Welcome to the Jungle
Benefits
- Learning and development: Attend courses, conferences and training events
- Build awesome, industry-changing products, every day
- Co-working excursions: Travel to meet your colleagues in cities around the world
- Remote working allowance: Put an additional $600 / year to optimise your WFH experience
- Grow with a VC-backed startup at the intersection of gaming, fintech, and web3
- Work from anywhere in the world with international teammates
- Own shares in the Company - enabling you to benefit from the value you create
- Awesome equipment: Get everything you need to work effectively
- Social events: Participate in regular company events to relax and connect with teammates
- Birthday leave: Enjoy a paid day off on your special day
Company values
- Have Fun – Enjoy what you do and inspire others.
- Play to Win – Strive to be the best in everything we do.
- Be Authentic – Speak and act genuinely at all times.
- Solve Problems – Think creatively and be proactive.
- Take Ownership – Embrace and impact the Carry1st vision.
Funding (last 2 of 5 rounds)
Jan 2023
$27m
EARLY VC
Jan 2022
$20m
SERIES A
Total funding: $57m
This company has top investors
Leadership
Cordel Robbin-Coker
(CEO)Former Morgan Stanley Analyst and Amrod Board Member. Before co-founding Carry1st they spent seven years at Global Investment Firm The Carlyle Group, serving as a VP.
Lucy Hoffman
(COO)Former Chief of Staff at the African Leadership Academy and Head of Operations at social enterprise and advisory firm Nexii. Previously worked in Investment Banking for Morgan Stanley as well as in Global Diversity and Inclusion for Credit Suisse.
Experienced Software Engineer, previously serving as a Senior Analyst Programmer for pan-African banking group Old Mutual. Prior to this they were a Software Development Manager for Konga Online Shopping.