Interview with Victor Manuel Ele Ela, Founder of Afrika Na One

Today, we have the pleasure of speaking with Victor Manuel Ele Ela, a career diplomat at the Embassy of Equatorial Guinea in Washington and a visionary entrepreneur. He is the founder of Afrika Na One, an interactive platform that allows users to test and expand their knowledge of Africa through a quiz-based game. This innovative project blends technology and culture to offer an engaging and educational experience.

From Diplomacy to Tech: An Unconventional Journey

54 ETATS : Victor, you are first and foremost a diplomat at the Embassy of Equatorial Guinea in Washington. What inspired you to venture into entrepreneurship, especially in the tech sector?

Victor Manuel Ele Ela : Thank you, Priscilla. I really don’t see myself an entrepreneur. At least not yet. Nevertheless, I believe that it’s relentless curiosity that has led me into this venture. I do see myself as a pan-Africanist, eager to learn as much as I can about the continent. If you combine that with my passion for new technology, me going this route was almost bound to happen.

54 ETATS : Your career path is quite unique. How has your diplomatic experience influenced your approach to digital innovation and cultural promotion?

Victor Manuel Ele Ela : As a diplomat you are exposed to individuals from different backgrounds daily. Diplomacy is as much about politics and economics as it is about cultural celebration and promotion. It’s always easier to connect to each other and empathize through cultural elements.

Unfortunately, that also leads you to realize how little people out there know about Africa. But even among us, it is discouraging how little interaction regular people from different parts of the continent have, how little we know ourselves and our neighbors, even within the same country.

 So, for some time now I have been using my skills and the opportunities that my job offers me to foster a connection within Africa, Africans in the diaspora, and the rest of the world.

54 ETATS : How did those around you react when you announced this project?

Victor Manuel Ele Ela : Not surprised at all. Family, friends, colleagues, they all know about this side of me. Ever since I was young and throughout my postings, I have been organizing monthly game nights with people from very different backgrounds where we shared, foods, experiences and challenged each other intellectually. My wife has always been supportive but she’s tired of hosting, so now I have to be creative in finding new spaces.

You also have to know that AfrikaNaOne is not my first app. I launched Guinealogia in 2023. It’s the same concept applied to and catered for the audience of my home country, Equatorial Guinea. Also both app are preceded by their respective board game versions.

The Concept and Functionality of Africa Na One

54 ETATS : How did you come up with the idea for Afrika Na One?

Victor Manuel Ele Ela : As I mentioned earlier, I had developed a similar app for Equatorial Guinea earlier. I wanted to fill a gap left by the fact that no one produces games or toys, or even maps for us. When I was a kid we used to make our own toy cars. I remember being very proud of myself when I finished my first one. It’s the exact same feeling I had when completed the apps.

You see there are no toys, no videogames, no apps by Africans, for Africans.

Globalization gives our kids access to toys made in China and apps designed in America, but at the same time it takes away their creativity and the ability to learn from their surroundings. It is also displacing our languages, our identities and our culture.

We take for granted who we are and we tend to think that what comes from outside is cooler than what we have.

Guinealogia, was born with the intention of making people in Equatorial Guinea pay attention to themselves, feel curious and proud about their identity while having fun, lots of fun in the process.

So after asking my sister Vannesa – she actually lives there in Paris to test my app, her feedback was simple:  you should expand your horizon. Create an app targeted for Africa. So, here we are.

54 ETATS : Can you explain how the app works ? What types of quizzes and challenges do users encounter?

Victor Manuel Ele Ela : Certainly. Afrika Na One is a trivia or quiz app that contains exclusively African-related questions. It’s not only for Africans, but for anyone who’s interested in the continent or thinks they know the continent.

There are two ways of playing: Single Mode and Competition Mode. In the single mode you are presented with rounds of ten questions where you have to answer correctly as many as you can. You have 15 seconds to answer each.  At the end of the round, you are evaluated and presented with a trophy for either BEGINER PANAFRICANIST, AVERAGE PANAFRICANIST or EXPERT PANAFRICANIST. You also get motivational quotes depending your performance such as “Not good. You must have been raised in the diaspora”, ancestors would be proud of you or “Damn! we need more Africans like you”.

In Competition Mode, you go head-to-head against players worldwide. Earn points for every correct answer to climb the AfrikaNaOne Global Scoreboard and claim the top spot!This is the category that offers rewards and soon enough, international recognition.

54 ETATS : What are the main themes covered ? History, culture, geography, iconic African figures…?

Victor Manuel Ele Ela : Yes, Right now the game has a database of about 1000 questions divided in the following categories: HISTORY, GEOGRAPHY, SPORTS, ARTS & LITERATURE, ENTERTAINMNET and MISCEELANEOUS. Some examples of questions:

GEO: Which of these Guineas is not one of our own? Guinea Bissau, Papua New Guinea or Guinea Conakry

MISC: To whom did Simon Kaggwa Njala, famously asked, why are you gay in a viral 2012 interview?

ARTS & LIT: Who’s the main character in a Chinua Achebe’s most influential novel, Things Fall Apart (1982)?

The idea is to keep growing the database and, in the future, introduce special categories or challenges for occasions such as Woman’s Day or for specific countries on their independence month. We try to make the questions as creative and fun as possible, drawing inspiration from everywhere, including daily news on magazines like this one. They are very good sources for questions and topics.

54 ETATS : What is the game’s scoring system ? How do users earn points and improve their ranking?

Victor Manuel Ele Ela : The scoring system is based on AFROS, a fictional currency unit.  In Competition Mode for each correct answer you get 500 AFROS, and for each incorrect answer 500 are subtracted from your score. The global ranking is based in the total accumulated points across all your games. I believe the first 25 people with the more points are listed in the leaderboard, with their flags.

The idea is that people will eventually be able to cash out this AFROS into their bank accounts. We are contemplating an equivalency of $1 for 500 AFROS.

While playing Competition, a round goes on until you accumulate five wrong answers.  At that threshold the system will demand a game code before you can play again. For the time being, since we haven’t entered the monetization phase, anyone can use this promo code 2610 2024 2024 261 to unlock the app over and over. In due time, the idea is that users will have to pay for these codes and cash out the money they make on each round.

54 ETATS : What makes Africa Na One different from other quiz and learning apps ?

Victor Manuel Ele Ela : Well, to start with I haven’t seen many other quiz apps targeting our beloved continent. Then the questions are just fun, the music, the colors, it’s a whole experience for users to interact with, “a trip to the Motherland” to put it somehow. There’s always room for improvement and it’s conceived as a work in progress but at this point, after almost half a year of development, I’m confident the app will challenge, inspire and motivate users, especially when they are actual rewards involved.

Dynamism is also a plus. I want to be able to quickly respond to the users’ requests and introduce topics and questions that people can relate to, from events that are happening in real time close to them.

The Impact and Vision Behind the Project

Advice for Young African Entrepreneurs

54 ETATS : What advice would you give to young Africans looking to enter the tech and innovation space?