Evans Kiragu, founder and CEO of Mekan Games based in Nairobi, created ‘The President’ a popular game in the United State inspired by the former US Head of State Donald Trump.
The game that ranked highest for several days in the US charts is loosely based on the former Head of State who was ever vocal and opinionated on social media.
“We decided to zone in on the humor, it is about being a powerful president but making very silly, hilarious decisions as you go. It worked like magic,” Kiragu noted.
Kiragu had traveled to Cape Town South Africa for a four-month training camp attended by other talented game developers when his idea stood out.
Before arriving for the training session, Kiragu had created at least 80 mobile titles and the outcome of the ‘The President’ idea was more than he anticipated.
The training camp held in 2021 was hosted by reputable firms in the industry including Carry1st and CrazyLabs.
In addition to the game being actualized by CrazyLabs, it is estimated to make about Ksh120 million for Mekan games enough to sustain the firm for close to 3 years.
The brain behind the innovation holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science from Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT) and a certificate in web and android application development.
He also attended the University of Cambridge to pursue Organizational Leadership. Kiragu was in the Leading Change program developed for the winners of the Queen’s Young Leaders Programme by the Institute of Continuing Education at the institution.
Maken games have tapped into the growing gaming industry in the continent. According to the co-founder and CEO of Carry1st Cordel Robbin-Coker, the number of gamers on the continent has tripled from 2015 to 200 million gamers.
Cordel opined that ‘The President’ is a perfect example of untapped talent in Africa. He added that the increase in mobile phone usage has propelled the industry.
In addition, he noted that Africa contributed to barely 1 per cent of the Ksh12 trillion global industry. He added that the African market will be dominated within a short period.
“It is there for the taking. The continent is the market easiest for us to dominate in a very short time. The current social awakening toward global content as seen in the global popularity of Afro Beat or Korean music can translate to games too,” he said.
Source-https://www.kenyans.co.ke/
Meet the Kenyan man Evans Kiragu Behind ‘The President’ Game Inspired by Trump
