Professional journey.
Edwin Mekaddishkem Kapesa is a Zambian game developer, technology entrepreneur and ecosystem builder whose work sits at the intersection of technology, creativity, entrepreneurship, culture and the rapidly expanding global digital economy. He is the Founder and CEO of Chroma Pixel Games, one of Zambia's pioneering video game development studios.
In 2018, at a time when the African gaming industry was still developing and Zambia's own game-development ecosystem was relatively young, Edwin founded Chroma Pixel Games. Building a studio dedicated to creating interactive experiences from Zambia was not simply a business decision — it was a statement that game development could become a legitimate creative and technology industry in Zambia, that African developers could create original intellectual property, and that young Zambians could develop careers in fields many people around them had barely begun to understand.
Under Edwin's leadership, Chroma Pixel Games has emerged as an important part of Zambia's growing gaming and creative technology landscape. The studio's work demonstrates that modern game development sits at the intersection of software engineering, art, animation, music, storytelling, design, technology, business, marketing, intellectual property, culture, community and innovation — and that a game can become a platform through which a country exports its imagination, an economic opportunity, a training ground for young developers, a vehicle for cultural preservation, and a globally marketable piece of intellectual property.
Among the most exciting projects associated with Chroma Pixel Games is IMPANGA, an upcoming open-world game deeply rooted in Zambian tradition and heritage. IMPANGA represents the possibility of Zambian heritage becoming something the world can experience interactively — transforming traditions into interactive experiences, history into gameplay, and imagination into intellectual property. Another fascinating project is Toys All Race, a racing game inspired by the creativity of African childhood in the 1970s, when children created their own toys from wire, wood and recycled materials — nostalgia transformed into innovation, memory transformed into technology, and culture transformed into intellectual property.
One of the defining ambitions of Edwin's work has been helping position Zambia within the international gaming conversation. His journey demonstrates that Zambia can participate in global technology markets from the position of a creator, not merely a consumer. Every time a Zambian developer builds something that reaches beyond our borders, it challenges the assumptions about where innovation comes from, expands the representation of Africa in global media, and moves the boundaries of possibility for young people.
Edwin's leadership extends beyond Chroma Pixel Games. He serves as Vice Chairman of the Content Creators & Gamers Association of Zambia, reflecting his understanding that an industry cannot grow through individual companies alone — it needs an ecosystem of communities, networks, mentors, opportunities and representation. He also serves as the International Game Developers Association (IGDA) Special Interest Group Lead for Southern Africa, strengthening the connection between Southern African talent and the global game-development ecosystem.
His academic journey reflects his grounding in technology. Edwin pursued studies in Cyber Security at Zambia University College of Technology (ZUCT) and has developed his professional capabilities through additional learning and certifications, including leadership credentials from HarvardX. His path demonstrates how knowledge from one field can contribute to innovation in another — a cybersecurity background leading into technology-driven industry, entrepreneurship, creative media, leadership and game development.
Edwin's work has received recognition beyond Zambia. He has represented Zambia and African creative technology interests on international platforms, including participation as a keynote panelist at Creative Week Euro in Russia, where he engaged conversations around the intersection of culture and gaming. In 2022, he was recognised as the Best Game Developer in Africa at the IGAs — a statement that African talent can receive global recognition and that you do not have to leave Africa to prove that African talent is capable of excellence.
For aspiring founders, Edwin's journey presents an important truth: you do not need to build something ordinary simply because ordinary is what you see around you. You can build in emerging industries, create new categories, combine culture and technology, and take an idea that seems unusual and turn it into a company. When he founded Chroma Pixel Games, the deeper question was not simply whether there was already a mature Zambian gaming market — it was whether one could be built. That is the founder's mindset: founders do not only enter markets, sometimes they help create them.
Behind Edwin's work as a game developer and technology entrepreneur stands Chroma Pixel Games itself — a pioneering, award-winning video game development and publishing studio headquartered in Lusaka, Zambia. But Chroma Pixel Games is more than a company that makes games. It represents a different way of thinking about what African technology can create. At a time when much of the global digital entertainment industry is built around stories, characters, environments and experiences created elsewhere, Chroma Pixel Games is helping demonstrate that African heritage, African creativity and African imagination can become the foundation of globally relevant digital products. The studio specialises in developing culturally grounded titles inspired by African heritage, traditions, childhood experiences and storytelling — creating interactive experiences that allow culture to move beyond books, museums and oral tradition and into the digital worlds increasingly shaping how the next generation learns, plays and connects.
One of Chroma Pixel Games' defining characteristics is its commitment to African-centred storytelling. Rather than treating African culture as merely an aesthetic addition to technology, the studio places heritage, tradition and local experiences at the heart of its creative process. Africa is not only a market for technology created elsewhere — Africa is a source of stories, ideas, characters, experiences and intellectual property capable of contributing to the global digital economy. Its projects demonstrate how elements of African life and creativity can be reimagined through interactive technology, preserving elements of cultural identity while presenting them through formats that resonate with digitally connected generations. For young Africans, this carries a powerful message: you do not have to leave your culture behind to participate in the future of technology — you can build the future from where you are.
The studio's flagship project, Toys All Race, is a mobile racing game inspired by a distinctly African childhood experience — the tradition of making toy cars from materials such as wire and other locally available resources. The concept takes something familiar and transforms it into an interactive digital experience, also drawing from Zamrock music culture to bring together childhood creativity, racing, music and African cultural identity. With multiplayer features and vehicle customisation, Toys All Race illustrates a defining dimension of Chroma Pixel Games' philosophy: innovation does not always begin with something completely new — sometimes it begins by looking at something people already know and asking what else it could become. A childhood memory can become a game, a traditional activity can become intellectual property, a local story can become a global product, and a cultural experience can become technology.
Chroma Pixel Games' creative portfolio extends well beyond a single title. Its body of work includes projects and collaborations such as Kanairo 101, Stamp Out, Saharan Sands: Heroes' Showdown, alongside various 3D artistic and software concepts. Together, these projects reflect a studio exploring the possibilities of interactive entertainment, digital art, game mechanics and technology-driven storytelling. This diversity matters because the modern gaming industry is not built around one discipline — game development requires programmers, artists, animators, designers, writers, musicians, storytellers, project managers, marketers, entrepreneurs and business developers. In that sense, a game studio can become a meeting point for an entire generation of creative and technical talent.
The studio's work also extends beyond entertainment. Chroma Pixel Games explores the use of mixed reality, EdTech and game mechanics to support areas including digital literacy, environmental sustainability and regional storytelling — reflecting a broader understanding that games can entertain, but they can also teach, simulate, communicate, preserve stories, introduce complex ideas in accessible ways, create communities, and give young people an opportunity to learn by interacting with digital environments rather than simply consuming information passively. For an emerging generation of African innovators, this creates an important lesson: technology is not the destination — technology is a tool, and the question is what we choose to build with it.
Perhaps one of the most significant dimensions of Chroma Pixel Games is its involvement in the wider technology and creative ecosystem. The studio is a member of NVIDIA Inception and is connected to the International Game Developers Association (IGDA) Special Interest Group for Southern Africa. Through this ecosystem engagement, Chroma Pixel Games participates in efforts to strengthen game development and support independent studios across the SADC region — because industries do not grow through individual companies alone. They grow through communities, networks, knowledge sharing, mentorship, infrastructure, investment, partnerships and opportunities. A particularly significant ecosystem initiative associated with Chroma Pixel Games is the Zambia Game Developers Connect (ZGDC), an annual platform that brings together government representatives, private-sector leaders, educators and young creators for conversations around the growth of Zambia's technology and creative industries.
Chroma Pixel Games also works within a network of global technology and industry partners, including ecosystems such as Microsoft for Startups, Xsolla, AWS and NVIDIA. These relationships are significant because access to global-standard infrastructure and services can be a major barrier for emerging developers. By connecting local development activity with global technology infrastructure, Chroma Pixel Games contributes to creating pathways through which African developers can build products for audiences beyond their immediate markets. The ambition extends beyond simply creating games in Zambia — it points toward creating games from Zambia for the world.
Another important dimension of Chroma Pixel Games' work is its engagement with young people. Through workshops, university engagements, keynote sessions and student sponsorships — including engagements connected to initiatives such as WorldSkills and local institutions — the studio contributes to exposing young people to areas such as game development, animation and robotics. A student who believes they are 'just' an artist may discover opportunities in game art. A student interested in computers may discover game programming. Someone passionate about storytelling may find a place in interactive media. Someone interested in engineering may explore robotics. Someone who loves African history may discover new ways of preserving and communicating culture through technology. That is the broader potential of creative technology — it creates intersections between disciplines that young people may otherwise experience as separate.
Chroma Pixel Games represents an increasingly important idea for Zambia and the African continent: a technology company can be innovative, commercially ambitious, culturally grounded and globally connected at the same time. It can build products, develop talent, create intellectual property, participate in international ecosystems, engage universities, connect government and industry, preserve culture, inspire young people, and contribute to the emergence of an entirely new industry. The story of Chroma Pixel Games is ultimately not just a story about video games — it is a story about possibility. What happens when African creativity meets technology? What happens when culture becomes digital? What happens when young people stop seeing themselves only as consumers of technology and begin seeing themselves as its creators? The studio offers a powerful message to the next generation: you can build from Zambia, you can create for Africa, you can compete globally, you can turn imagination into intellectual property, and you can build an industry where one did not previously exist.
At THE FOUNDERS' CONFERENCE 2026, Edwin will deliver a live demonstration of African game development — showing delegates, in real time, what young African creators are capable of building. His presence represents the possibility that a student can turn an interest into a career, that a programmer can become a founder, that an artist can become an entrepreneur, that a storyteller can become an intellectual-property owner, and that a Zambian company can build for the world.
