International gaming tech start-up, Skrmiish, has utilised South Africa’s technically adept and innovative talent to develop the world’s first app-driven competitive gaming platform.
Started in 2019, the UK-based company has raised seven-digit funding in British Pound Sterling through angel investment and seed capital. The contracted Cape Town-based team has taken two years to develop the pioneering platform at a fraction of the price commanded overseas. Skrmiish has now soft-launched its beta product into the local market during December 2020 and will launch globally at the end of January 2021.
The Mother City as a tech start-up hotbed
South Africa is known as a leader in tech innovation and Cape Town has become synonymous with a wide availability of ICT skills embedded in a solid entrepreneur landscape.
“There is a globally recognised track record in South Africa of highly qualified and technically advanced professionals who possess the skills, experience and out-of-the-box thinking to develop ground-breaking products affordably,” says Skrmiish’s newly appointed CEO, Luke Grob.
Grob’s former company HelloFresh – now a public entity valued at more than $11bln (~R168bln) – was named Europe’s fastest-growing business by the Financial Times for the period 2012-2015. During this period Grob served as Chief Operations Officer in the UK before becoming the company’s VP of Product, Growth and Innovation, highlighting his impressive business acumen. Grob’s business strategy and operations expertise which specialises in early-stage growth looks set to make Skrmiish a powerhouse in the global gaming space.
Skrmiish offers unique USP’s
The Skrmiish app uniquely offers players the ability to create a match or auto match make with an opponent, get instant verified results, utilise live leaderboards and compete for Leaderboard Points (LP). Communities can be challenged and incentivised in a controlled, fair and transparent environment, making competitive gameplay fun for the everyday player and enabling streamers to further monetise their content.
“From the start of development, we set out to build superior technology that would give users an experience they will love,” comments Skrmiish head of product, Roland Reed. “Being gamers, we know how important it is to remain authentic and relevant to the millions of communities of gamers around the world, whilst removing the pain points that we have seen on some of the other competitive platforms.
“Our mobile-first approach will also give gamers flexibility across the platform and allow for continued engagement anytime, anywhere,” says Reed.
Beta launch proves successful
Skrmiish’s beta launch in December proved highly successful as the app hit the top 10 downloads in South Africa through the testing period, with high recurring users and an exceptional conversion rate. Within the local gaming community, there was incredible excitement and positive sentiment towards the platform.
With a global market of 2,7 billion gamers, Skrmiish will explode the under-serviced competitive gaming experience, generating multiple new revenue streams for players.
“We have surmounted every challenge thrown at us and this test drive has proven our concept. We eagerly anticipate our global launch as we are perfectly positioned to be a genuine disruptor in the space,” says Grob
