First up is the rockstar that is Rex Bowden! Not only is he Co-Founder and Director of Africa Games Week, he heads up the event and international show agency, CATALYZE which takes African companies to markets across the globe.
After leading a group of South African Developers to Games Connection 2016, Gamescom 2017 and GDC 2018, Rex recognised the need to give a much larger exposure and first hand experience of what Africa has to offer in the games industry and to bring Game Industry decision makers to experience the culture and ecosystem of the industry at the tip of Africa.
And so, Africa Games Week was born in 2018, bringing together Africa’s game industry and creating a community which works together and grows together.
What excites you most about the Africa Games Week event?
The amazing art and culture that shines through the development; the games are totally different to other parts of the world.
Nicholas Hall, co-founder and program director of Africa Games Week, is a name known by all in the online gaming space (with good reason as he is regularly seen in the media on topics around policy and strategy affecting the games industry.)
Currently Nick is the CFO of RenderHeads, an innovative software company developing interactive experiences led by high-end technology and beautiful graphics and one of the larger game development studios in SA. But he has been legal counsel for some of the top game development studios in South Africa, was a founding member of Make Games SA, an online game development community, and was the driving force behind the establishment of Interactive Entertainment South Africa, an industry body for game developers.
In 2018, Nick and Rex created Africa Games Week as a unique opportunity to expose gaming industry leaders from around the world to the amazing work that African Game developers do, and create a space for the community to connect and grow.
What excites you most about the Africa Games Week event?
I think the games industry has the potential to significantly reform the economies of African countries and holds so much potential for us to establish and re-envision what Africa means and what we are, through the stories we can tell.
The newest addition to the AGW team is the amazing Alexandra Pattison, who has taken on the role of Event Director (she is the person with alllll the answers around the AGW event and the person to speak to if you want to partner up with us in any way!)
Alexandra has been in the events and exhibitions industry for over ten years and has a huge passion for creating meaningful and engaging event spaces. She has won multiple awards for event management and was elected exhibition management chair, representing the Western Cape exhibition portfolio, for SAACI!
While Alexandra is not a gamer, she knows how to bring an event to life and is excited by the potential for exponential growth in the gaming industry in Africa.
What excites you most about the Africa Games Week event?
The fact that it is the biggest gaming event in Africa and I am able to take on that mantle and make it even bigger and better!
Mandy-Lee Miller is the fingers on the keyboard behind the Africa Games Week social media, media, website and design. She covers communications in all forms with the world at large, helping the AGW team keep you all updated on all the things.
Mandy’s background in tech and telecoms PR & Marketing and she has been an influential content creator for the past 9 years.
She is also the founder and director of national car seat awareness initiative #CarseatFullstop, and has built and grown multiple online businesses. Her passion for communicating has led to strong long term partnerships with leading brands in the motoring, tourism, lifestyle and parenting industries.
What excites you most about the Africa Games Week event?
I have loved exploring the incredible South African gaming space and finding more ways to share that awesomeness with new audiences.
