{"id":9416,"date":"2025-09-30T02:53:39","date_gmt":"2025-09-30T05:53:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/africa\/?p=9416"},"modified":"2026-04-19T13:27:36","modified_gmt":"2026-04-19T16:27:36","slug":"egyptian-game-studio-shows-africas-growing-power-in-global-gaming","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/africa\/egyptian-game-studio-shows-africas-growing-power-in-global-gaming","title":{"rendered":"Egyptian game studio shows Africa\u2019s growing power in global gaming"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Cairo developer secures $300,000 investment after completing Saudi Arabia\u2019s EXEL Gaming Accelerator.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Egypt.- Egypt<\/strong> is making waves in the global gaming industry<\/strong> as Cairo-based developer Rojeh Maher <\/strong>secures a $300,000<\/strong> investment from Merak Capital, an investment firm supporting startups and emerging companies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This follows his completion of Saudi Arabia\u2019s EXEL Gaming Accelerator<\/strong>, a program providing mentorship, guidance and funding for emerging studios<\/strong>, underscoring Africa\u2019s growing impact on the global gaming stage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The studio is gaining attention for its use of hand-drawn 2D animation and narrative-driven gameplay<\/strong>. It first gained recognition with its mobile game, \u2018Panda Food Business\u2019, but its upcoming releases mark a bold new step.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018Charlie\u2019s Nightmare\u2019, a premium PC and console action-adventure game<\/strong> featuring close-range combat and a story-driven experience, and \u2018Fashion Startup Idle\u2019, a business simulation<\/strong> that takes players from cotton farms to fashion retail, are both scheduled for launch in January 2026. These titles are designed to appeal to audiences across Africa and beyond.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cCompleting EXEL and presenting my studio among 17 startups<\/strong> in its first cohort has been the best time of my career,\u201d said Maher. \u201cThe mentorship from Alexander Poysky, Aitor Lozano and the Merak team unlocked a whole new level<\/strong> for our games and our vision.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From Egypt to the world<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The studio operates remotely<\/strong>, enabling it to collaborate with talent across Africa<\/strong>. This cross-border approach<\/strong> reflects the growing connections between African developers who are increasingly working together to push the continent into the global spotlight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Five years ago, Rojeh Maher quit his previous career to launch a game development studio. Today, the studio is backed by international investors<\/strong> and guided by experienced industry mentors, signalling a major milestone for African game development.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The new investment will support team expansion, platform diversification<\/strong> and the move from mobile into premium PC and console titles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Maher\u2019s success is more than a personal milestone. It reflects the rise of Egyptian and African game studios<\/strong> on the global stage, demonstrating that the continent\u2019s talent is ready to compete internationally.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n\t\t\tSee also:<\/span><\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\tSee also:<\/span> Gaming gets a boost as Orange Egypt launches 5G<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Cairo developer secures $300,000 investment after completing Saudi Arabia\u2019s EXEL Gaming Accelerator.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2809,"featured_media":4784,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"is_press_release":false,"is_interview":false,"is_opinion":false,"focusai_summary":"Cairo-based game developer Rojeh Maher secured a $300,000 investment from Merak Capital following completion of Saudi Arabia\u2019s EXEL Gaming Accelerator. This capital injection will facilitate team expansion and a strategic pivot from mobile to premium PC and console gaming verticals, underscoring the increasing global investment interest in African game development talent.","focusai_entities":"Rojeh Maher, Merak Capital, EXEL Gaming Accelerator, Alexander Poysky, Aitor Lozano","focusai_location":"Cairo, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Africa","focusai_target_profile":"ceo_executive (0.9), investor_analyst (0.95), supplier_vendor (0.85), journalist_researcher (0.9)","focusai_suggestions":[{"label":"Investment Thesis","query":"What specific market opportunities or competitive advantages did Merak Capital identify in Rojeh Maher's studio to justify this early-stage investment, particularly given the pivot to premium PC\/console verticals?"},{"label":"Market Diversification Strategy","query":"How does the strategic shift from mobile to premium PC and console titles align with the broader market trends in the African gaming ecosystem, and what are the anticipated challenges in player acquisition and monetization for these new verticals?"}],"footnotes":""},"categories":[60016,60010],"tags":[72],"class_list":["post-9416","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business-news","category-north-africa","tag-gaming"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9416","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2809"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9416"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9416\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9445,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9416\/revisions\/9445"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4784"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9416"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9416"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9416"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}