THABANG ZULU: BRIDGING CULTURE AND CODE TO TRANSFORM AFRICA’S GAMING LANDSCAPE
Thabang Zulu is redefining African gaming through Glitch Portal, telling authentic African stories and inspire a new generation of tech innovators.
Glitch portal
Africa
Gaming
Technology
Innovation
Culture
Digital entrepreneur.
As Africa’s digital transformation accelerates, a new generation of innovators is using technology not just to solve problems but to tell stories, stories that reflect the vibrance, complexity, and creativity of the continent. At the forefront of this cultural and technological shift is Mr. Thabang Sizwe Zulu, the founder of Glitch Portal, a pioneering gaming studio based in South Africa that is reimagining the way African stories are experienced globally.
As a young CEO, Zulu has already made his mark as a creative technologist, digital entrepreneur, and cultural advocate. His work blends gaming, storytelling, and gamification to create immersive experiences that center African voices. His leadership recently earned him a place among Africa’s Top 40 Under 40 Performing CEOs, a recognition of not just his entrepreneurial success but his impact in shaping the continent’s creative economy.
In this exclusive interview, Zulu shares how his journey into game development began, what it means to build culturally-rooted tech in Africa, and why he believes young Africans must stop waiting and just start creating.
1. How has your journey with Glitch Portal reflected your vision for African, African representation in global gaming?
Okay, so how has it reflected my vision on African presentation? It kind of strengthened it after exploring a lot that the world had to offer, because my team and I and we have, we have showcased what it is. South African culture, unlike a global stage, it was, there were two places, right? One was in Portugal, and the other was in Brazil. They're all under the same thing called the Web Summit. And over there, there are just a lot of people from different places. It is just all international people. And the one thing that they appreciated was the South African culture, the South African spice that we brought in through our products. So, it did open and show that, okay, we have so much to work with within South Africa, and the world is very much ready for just a lot that Africa has to offer, not just South Africa, but what Africa has to offer. So yeah, this journey has just been its just been very How do I say this? It's been very beautiful. I know I am not using the right words, but then it has been very beautiful by means that it has strengthened what we do and our vision as a glitch portal, and just myself on why I'm here, like the purpose that I have within the gaming industry.
2. As a young person, how have you been able to navigate the challenges and harness these opportunities of crafting a distant African voice in interactive story study across Africa?
Again, we have, like a lot, that has not been explored, that has not been touched, and one of the things that a person would assume is happening in well, on the continent itself, Africa, it is starting. We have so many stories to explore. We have so much to work with. Well, within this country, well within this continent itself, not just the country, sorry, I'm just also just looking at South Africa now, but then within this continent itself, because there's something called gamification, right? So, within gamification itself, okay, it opens a lot for like, a game designer, to make anything, because gamification is just its's to give it. In short, you are creating a game. Well, you're making whatever you see as a game, right? So, with a lot of the storytelling that we have, there are so many game ideas that can be explored. There's so much representation that can be placed within a lot of these games. A lot of Africans will be able to see themselves as, hey, I can. I resonate with that. Oh, cool. This is something amazing. And, yeah, that's just one of the things that we have seen in glitch portal as a bit of a crack, you know, but not only as an opportunity, but also a challenge itself, because the world does not know a lot about Africa, so it is going to be something very hard to challenge. Pardon, go ahead. Go ahead. I'm listening. Oh, sorry, okay, cool, yeah. Like, a lot of challenges due to that, there's a lot of European culture that's also been explored with their storytelling and everything, and they, well, the world wants to see more, well, wants to see on that one. And the world also, including a lot of people within Africa itself. So yeah, we are sitting on a lot of gold that I will say, we are sitting on a lot of gold, and all these opportunities need to be tackled. So yeah, that is one of the things that I will say within, like, the space of the storytelling alone. Because, yes, there's so much, there's so much representation, inclusivity, and diversity that can be explored within Africa.
3. What role do you think the gaming industry can play in Africa's broader digital transformation and the creative economy? What role do you think they can play in this sector, in the larger the broader digital transformation and creative economy?
We so the like the role we can play is just, it's the bridge. We just must bring that bridge between us and the world. That's just it. That is the role we can play. Because we do have the resources, we do have all these things that we can work with. So yeah, we just need to act as a bridge, as you could say, translator towards the world, and so, and so the world can understand what we have. So that's our role. We are the bridge. Okay?
4. Given the infrastructure and funding challenge in Africa, how have you managed to build and sustain a tech-driven, creative business?
So, a lot of things like the struggles that we do have within Africa and challenges are not a lot of trust within, like, game development. It's still seen as a hobby. It's still seen as like, oh, this is doing it for fun. So yeah, it's like and with those challenges, funding has been very, very, very minimal, but slowly but surely, a lot of the people can see that, oh, this is a job. This is something that can be explored, explored within, within this can be something that can sustain and create a lot of jobs, and all that stuff. So, over here on the Glitch portal side, how do we do it? We just do a lot of grant programs. We look for different forms of investments and just funding opportunities through a lot of what is it game jams, or just, or just partnerships or collaborations with different people within the industry. And just, yeah, like, gosh, I'm trying to find the proper words to explain to you, butwe, we work a lot with just like, collaborating, you work a lot with just like partnering with. with different people within different spaces, and just work on that and just show that, okay, gaming, does have a space to be a job, gamification can open so many doors, not only for people. Within just my little, small hometown, or just South Africa, or Africa alone, gamification can open a lot of doors for so many things, for so many industries.
5. How do you promote, how do you foster innovation within your organization? What's your organizational culture when it comes to innovation?
We do a lot of mentorships within Glitch Portal. We do a lot of mentorships. We have a lot of internships, I mean, yeah, mentorships and internships to help grow the gaming industry itself and to let more creatives explore this, this industry itself. So yeah, within the glitch portal right now, as we speak, we do have two very excited interns. They have explored different parts in their journeys, from their studies, and just like playing around with different What is it with different industries? Some, some came from like a coding background. So, they're exploring more within software and that. Other ones came in from animation. They're also exploring those things. And those are those two things can also be explored within game development. So, bringing those people in, seeing how their creativity can also create something that is very much interactive. So, yeah, within the Glitch portal, we also want to expose that not only can a game developer, can just do game design, but anyone can do game design. You can be creative in any type of industry, and we just try to show that, yes, just juxtapose everyone together, and you can create a beautiful baby, which is a game that you have always wanted to explore. So yeah, that is a bit of our views on just bringing people in together from either mentorships or internships.
6. What advice would you give these young mentees and other people to be able to, you know, build games that will reflect their own culture and communities?
The short answer: just do it. Just do it. Because that is it, honestly, my short answer for a lot of the people who usually do ask me, what will I need to do to get into such an industry? What will I need to do to create games? It is just it. Just do it. The hardest part of building a game is development. Sorry, the hardest part of building a game is starting. That is what I see. The hardest part is, as soon as you start, it is not going to get easier. It is not going to get easier, but the dream is going to start for real. So, just do it. That's what I will always say to anyone who asks me. What do I Please help me. What do I need to do? Please help me, do I need to do one? No, just do it. And that is also just something that. Well, how I started, I had zero experience when it came to creating a business, zero experience when it came to, what is it working with a team, but the more we moved, there were there were failures all the way. But the more we moved, the better things got. The challenges that did get harder, but they became more possible than impossible. So, I will say, just do it. Just start. That's the easiest answer I can give you. You will, you will fail here and there, but at the end of the day, you will know where your failures are, and you'll know how to grow from that.
7. How does being listed among Africa's top 40 under 40 performing CEOs feel, and what does this recognition mean for the future of culturally rooted, homegrown content in the industry?
Reply: It's surreal. It feels like a dream. It feels like a dream, but also, also, again, it feels very amazing. Yeah, it feels it feels cool. It does feel cool. It's just beautiful to know that all the blood, sweat and tears from my past brought me here and it's just, it's beautiful, but also I just feel like I'm just the porn piece for the future kings and queens of the ones who are going to grow the industry much larger than Wade is I just feel like a beacon. I feel like I am a beacon that others will probably follow and say, Yes, okay, it can be done. It can be achievable, right? Because not a lot of people see people in game development doing a lot of big things. Again, as I said at the beginning, it's seen as a hobby, but I think one of my biggest missions is that I want to show that it is a business opportunity. It is something that can be seen as larger than just a hobby. So, yeah, I think that is my answer.
