Nigerian startup ECS Network is looking to bring long-term structure to competitive gaming in Africa, offering a league system with divisions, promotion and relegation, player statistics and team rankings.
Launched just over a year ago, ECS Network started out as competitive Call of Duty: Mobile (CODM) “scrims” – or practice games – before evolving into a broader e-sports organisation covering multiple games.
“A lot of competitive gaming activity was centred around standalone tournaments, where everything essentially started and ended with one event. We wanted to build something with continuity, where teams and players could compete consistently and have their performances tracked over time,” CEO Larry Channel told Disrupt Africa.
That led the startup to develop a structured league system featuring multiple divisions, promotion and relegation, player statistics, team rankings, MVP recognition and competitive integrity systems.
ECS now has more than 50 staff working across its different titles and operational areas, including event management, competitive integrity, verification, rankings, community management and media.
Channel said there were several tournament organisers and esports communities operating across Africa, but most were primarily focused on individual tournaments or events.
“Our main difference is the long-term structure. ECS is built around an ongoing competitive system where teams can progress through divisions, players can build statistics and rankings, and performances continue to matter beyond a single tournament,” he said.
The approach is resonating. ECS has grown to more than 43,000 players and over 5,000 registered teams across 10 titles, while more than 1,600 teams and 15,000 players have competed in CODM alone since launch. Having started with CODM, the platform has expanded to include Free Fire, PUBG Mobile, eFootball, FC Mobile, Blood Strike, Mobile Legends and Valorant, among others.
“The response has been very strong,” said Channel.
Though its core competitive base is in Africa, ECS has also built an audience in Europe, North America and the Middle East. The startup plans to continue expanding across more games and to strengthen its position as a wider African esports ecosystem.
ECS is self-funded by its management team, and has so far awarded more than NGN75 million (US$56,000) in prize money across its events. It generates revenue primarily through sponsorship and commercial partnerships.
“At this stage, revenue is largely reinvested into the operation and development of the league, including events, prize pools, staffing, infrastructure and community development, rather than being taken as profit,” Channel said.
The journey has not been without its challenges, chief among them changing how players view competitive gaming.
“One of the biggest challenges was changing the mindset around competitive gaming from viewing each tournament as a standalone event to seeing it as part of a longer competitive journey. Building that trust and getting teams and players to buy into a structured system took time, but we’ve seen that improve significantly,” he said.
Sponsorship remains a hurdle too.
“African e-sports is still developing commercially, so securing long-term sponsorship support remains something we’re actively working on,” said Channel.
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