Hugo Obi

Hugo is the founder of Maliyo; a design studio known for developing African-inspired games for mobile devices. He is a pioneer in his field, having created gaming classics like Mosquito Smasher, Okada Rider, Aboki Run and Whot King. In 2012, Hugo identified a gap in the gaming industry and stepped in to fill the void by bringing unique storytelling to African’s one billion mobile audience. He draws inspiration from his experiences; growing up in Lagos, studying finance in Manchester, developing strategy skills in Singapore, gaining professional skills at General Electric (GE) in London, and also travelling the world. Hugo is a passionate technology enthusiast with a proven track record of designing, developing and deploying multiple products online. This concept to completion attribute, led to him winning several awards, such as the Rising Star Award - UK, the Future Africa Award - Nigeria, Demo Africa Award - Kenya and the Harvard Venture Competition - USA. He has also featured on major publications such as CNN, BBC, the Guardian, Forbes and many more. Being a relentless innovator, Hugo and his team at Maliyo are working hard to develop a talent pipeline programme through a training bootcamp with plans to launch Nigeria’s first hub for game developers in the near future. His achievements and work has also been presented at multiple global conferences, including Google’s PlayTime – London, Game On – Toronto, Amaze – Johannesburg, and the Fak'ugesi Festival.