Video games are a billion dollar industry and this Malawian start-up vows by it. KOTG (King Of The Grid) Ltd is Malawi’s first ever Esports company, we take a look at their reasoning behind venturing in what seems like an unlikely area.
Zuwa Energy C.E.O Johne’s Ntawukira had this to say about their sponsorship and partnership of KOTG Ltd.
“Video games consume a lot of power, the kind of wattage that gaming consoles produce is essentially lost energy. We want to show gamers and the rest of Malawi that our energy consumption can be thoughtful and environmentally friendly.” Zuwa has provided 5 Nyimbox Bluetooth speakers that are worth 30,000 at a retail price.
“We have partnered with the AEC (Africa Esports Championship), a recognizable Esports organizer in Africa, to bring opportunities to Malawians” says Godfrey Moto, CEO of KOTG.
What we need at this critical juncture is for the corporate and technology sectors to support us. We are aware that for some market leaders this may look juvenile or just another once-off gaming event and that they also may overlook the official sporting aspect or the commercial value of it. Sometimes we ourselves tend to forget how big of an area of commerce this actually is.
Given the rapidly growing nature and opportunities of the industry, accelerated further by the COVID-19 pandemic we have still acknowledged that sponsors and collaborators may be in a difficult position to enter into negotiations to unlock potential value. As such, sponsors have not yielded much, except those early adopters like Zuwa Energy, Kool Enterprises, Infinity Lounge and Origami branding company who we are very thankful for.
“I have met people who are spending as much as MK200,000 for in-game rewards, most electronic shops sell gaming consoles or controllers one way or the other.”
Esports is a highly immersive and engaging activity, unique to other forms of content marketing. The COVID-19 pandemic is an almost perfect example of its value in a climate where traditional sports and travelling is not as safe as it used to be.
As well as seeking the opportunity to have a real, positive, value-driven and results-driven impact on a number of important sectors, KOTG says it is also actively looking to close inequalities:
“We also love gaming because of its primarily inclusive nature. You do not need an athlete’s body to participate; your race, your gender does not matter at all. We are actively implementing measures and tournaments for groups who need a boost including women and girls.
The response from the gaming community and some market leaders has been welcoming, and it inspires us to do more.
While we are engaging with the appropriate arms of government we are also actively looking for mental Health partner’s who can help us to send positive messages to gamer’s concerning their mental health and suicide awareness.
On KOTG’s Discord channel, KOTG has also included an “Opportunities” sector.
“That section is for job/ scholarship opportunities that we want to send out to gamer’s because we see often “ndigayile ya bundle” for them to be able to play their favorite games online. We want to partner with the most appropriate entities for this.”
- KOTG has a gaming event on October 31st 2020 in Blantyre – Registrations for Africa Esports Championship Qualifiers are open on www.aec.africa
- You can follow KOTG on their official social media pages: Twitter & Facebook.
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