Carry1st, a mobile games publisher based in Africa, has just secured a $27 million pre-Series B investment to help it grow its business and create more games.
With the support of Andreessen Horowitz, TTV Capital, Alumni Ventures, Lateral Capital, Kepple Ventures, and Konvoy, Bitkraft Ventures led the round.
In 2018, Carry1st was established in Cape Town, South Africa, where it has its headquarters.
The company uses its own payment and online marketplace called Pay1st to commercialize video games.
“As we continue on our objective to scale fantastic content in Africa, we’re thrilled to work with Bitkraft, one of the top gaming VC firms in the world, along with a16z and other current investors,” said Carry1st CEO Robbin-Coker.
Carry1st Shop, the gaming startup’s online marketplace for virtual goods, has also seen growth, according to the company.
Through Carry1st Shop, customers in Africa can pay for content and more than 100 products using 120 different payment methods, including bank transfers, cryptocurrency, and mobile money.
A year ago, Carry1st raised $20 million in a Series A round that was led by Horowitz. The most recent round of financing follows that.
The funds will be utilized to expand Pay1st and create, license, and distribute new games in order to promote growth across the board.
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