Telkom gives away R615k at Comic Con Africa

After a two-year Covid hiatus, Comic Con Africa returned with a colourful, action-packed bang. Tens of thousands of attendees packed out  the Johannesburg Expo Centre for a weekend of cosplay and gaming action. 

Telkom, through its VS Gaming brand, was official gaming partner of the event, which saw it owning the largest tournament stage at Comic Con Africa. It gave away  a massive R615,000 in prizes across VS Gaming Tournaments. 

We caught up with Wanda Mkhize,  executive for smart home and content at Telkom, to find out more about its commitment to local esports:

Gadget: What steps is Telkom taking to drive the local esports industry? 

Wanda Mkhize: We continue to support our players from a Masters and Championship perspective, with over 353 professional and semi-professional teams and 110 eDiski seasons and 5 participants competing in the 2022 league.

We’ve featured 60 high schools in our 2022 High Schools Esport League (HSEL) that have contributed over 150 teams to the league and some of these schools have started issuing their star players with school colours for participating and winning.

With our aim to democratise gaming, we have close to 200,000 registered mobile gaming participants, extending our reach and impact within esport quite significantly. 

We’ve also produced the VS Gaming Weekly show on SABC 3 and TelkomONE, taking esports and gaming coverage to the masses. The goal of this show is to showcase, enlighten and encourage participation, not only in our esports leagues, but also on our mobile gaming platforms. 

Through Telkom’s partnership with leading hardware providers, we’ve been providing users with more affordable means to play at their best with the best equipment. We’ve just recently partnered with MSI to bring consumers gaming laptops in affordable monthly instalments. 

G: Where can people find out more about getting involved in VS Gaming activities like these?

WM: Our website digitalgamingleague.co.za is where we take registrations annually. Our new 2023 season registrations opens in December 2022.  Registrations for mobile gaming will continue throughout the festive period at TelkomPlus.co.za

G: Why do you believe in investing in the local esports industry and players? 

WM: Telkom is a proudly South African brand, dedicated to supporting and developing local talent and providing them with the most competitive platform to grow players and prepare them for the international stage. 

G: Where would you like to see the local esports industry headed in the next few years?

WM: We’d like to see this industry creating strong commercial opportunities for players, participants, brands and leagues; enabling full-time careers in esports.  

G: Did your involvement in Comic Con Africa 2022 go beyond gaming?  

WM: As the official connectivity partner of Comic Con Africa, we were not only making sure that the gamers playing and participating in the leagues had an uninterrupted connection, but we are also provided connectivity to the fans, exhibitors and players at Comic Con Africa and enabled them to upload their best moments from the event.