African-Owned Gaming Startup, Rise of Fearless, Secures $1m Funding

By Adedapo Adesanya

Rise of Fearless, an African-owned battle royale mobile game, has secured $1 million in funding from advisory firm Epic Edges Capital to support its expansion and strengthen its position in the global gaming industry.

The investment, structured as a Simple Agreement for Future Equity (SAFE), will be deployed across talent acquisition, technology, infrastructure, marketing and community development as the company prepares to expand beyond its existing markets.

The funding will also enable the gaming startup to bring experienced international developers and executives into its team to strengthen its development capabilities and support its global ambitions.

The investment comes amid growing activity in Africa’s gaming industry, which is home to more than 400 million gamers and generated $1.98 billion in revenue in 2026.

Mobile gaming accounts for the largest share of the market, reflecting the continent’s mobile-first digital economy and increasing smartphone accessibility.

Through the investment, Rise of Fearless hopes to demonstrate the potential of African-owned gaming intellectual property to compete internationally while creating opportunities for local studios and creators to retain ownership of their original content.

Launched in 2025, Rise of Fearless is built around an African interpretation of the battle royale gaming genre, drawing inspiration from the continent’s history and culture, particularly Ethiopia’s historic victory at the Battle of Adwa in 1896.

Its characters, environments, hairstyles and costumes are designed to reflect African identities and experiences, offering an alternative to the Western-centric narratives that have traditionally dominated mainstream video games.

The free-to-play mobile game, available on Apple’s App Store and Google Play, has surpassed 15,000 downloads, with Nigeria, Ethiopia and South Africa accounting for its largest player communities.

Commenting on the investment, Ms Kanessa Muluneh, Founder of Rise of Fearless, said the funding would help the company move beyond its initial growth phase and build an African-owned gaming franchise for international distribution and commercial scale.

She said the launch of the game had exposed the need to develop a broader African gaming ecosystem, with greater emphasis on intellectual property ownership and talent development.

“As a bootstrapped company, this investment is pivotal to our ambitions and the future of African gaming. We are grateful to partner with Epic Edges to support us on this exciting journey,” Ms Muluneh said.

The company also plans to address structural challenges confronting African gaming businesses, including access to reliable technology, servers and cross-border payment infrastructure, while creating opportunities for international expertise to strengthen local capabilities.

To support the expansion, Rise of Fearless has assembled a team of international gaming industry executives and specialists across development, publishing, marketing, market research and investment.

The team includes Miniboss Solutions, an embedded publishing partner providing marketing expertise, with its leadership comprising Adam Krause, formerly of Ubisoft, 2K/Take-Two and Capcom, and TJ Consunji, whose previous experience includes PlayStation and Krafton.

Others are IDG Intelligence, a gaming industry research and strategic advisory firm with more than 300 clients across over 60 countries, led by its chief executive, Yoshio Osaki.

Trick Question Studios, led by Founder and Chief Executive Officer TQ Jefferson, will provide franchise development and creative direction. Jefferson previously worked with Survios, 20th Century Fox Games, Marvel, Pixar and Disney.

Spectra Entertainment, an art- and technical-art-led full-stack game developer, is also part of the new team.

Mr Remco Coerman, Founder of Epic Edges Group, said the investment reflected the firm’s belief in the potential of culturally rooted African intellectual property to attract international audiences.

He said African creators had significant opportunities to develop globally relevant gaming experiences that showcase the continent’s stories, identities and talent.