The Lagos State Government alongside the French Government has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) enabling professional e-sports players in Lagos to go on real-time online community and compete with players around the world in the $1 billion E-sports industry.
The MoU was signed between Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu and the French ambassador to Nigeria, Mrs. Emmanuelle Blatmann on Friday.
The agreement noted that the French partners would deliver high-grade online video gaming infrastructure that would afford players in Lagos to switch from being casual participants to competitive players in their games of choice across online leagues.
What they are saying
The Lagos State Government said the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) would help professional e-sports players in Lagos to go on real-time online community and compete with players around the world to earn fortunes from the multi-billion dollar industry.
In the bilateral agreement, the French partners would be delivering a high-grade online video gaming infrastructure that would afford players in Lagos to switch from being casual participants to competitive players in their games of choice across online leagues.
Sanwo-Olu said Lagos would be unlocking opportunities for the youth, who are the main players, to make legitimate earnings from online gaming, while creating new ways of youth engagement.
“We are delighted to be laying the foundation for the development of this industry and becoming the first city in this part of Africa to do it. We are building something new, fresh and organic which will grow and uplift our youths in the IT world. This is the essence of this collaboration and the time is right to give our young people a new lease of life in the e-sports industry.
“Our enthusiasm is raised because, aside from the money to be earned from the industry, there would be skills and knowledge to be shared and transferred among our citizens taking part in the online sports. Technology, innovation and creativity are part of things we are committing great investment into in order to improve youth engagement. It is our belief that all the players will get to see the benefit of having this partnership between the two governments,” Samwo-Olu said.
To effectively explore and leverage the opportunities in the industry, Sanwo-Olu said the State Government, through Lagos State Sports Commission (LSSC), had established the Lagos State E-sports Association, and embarked on consensus-building among all the e-sports stakeholders to forge a common front in building vibrant and sustainable ecosystem.
The development was met with excitement from the local association of e-sports players, which described the partnership as long overdue.
They revealed that Nigeria has an estimated 42 million e-sports players in Nigeria, with Lagos boasting of a growing population of casual and competitive video game players, who invest resources to participate in online competition.
E-sports are organised competitive video games played in real-time and watched by millions of participants across the world.
What you should know
- Bloomberg reported last year that the global e-sports industry generated $0.94 billion in 2020, and is anticipated to generate $4.75 billion by 2030, witnessing a CAGR of 17.5% from 2021 to 2030.
- They added that the Major shift toward video games and the increase in popularity of e-sports events drive the growth of the global Esports market. “However, lack of standardization in online gaming event and online threats such as gambling hinder the market growth”
- The leading Market players in the space are Leading Market Players: Activision Blizzard, Inc; CJ Corporation; Electronic Arts; FACEIT; Gameloft SE and many others
