Altenar’s Jacob Portelli Outlines Africa Growth Strategy Focused on Localization and Partnerships
Often, conversations around the iGaming market in Africa focus on growth figures, mobile adoption, and untapped potential. But listening to Jacob Portelli at SiGMA Africa 2026, it became clear that Altenar’s approach is less about chasing headlines and more about building something sustainable.
Portelli, recently appointed Sales Manager for Africa at Altenar, shared in his conversation with iGaming AFRIKA that the company plans to expand its footprint across the continent through localized technology, trusted partnerships, and long-term market development. He added that Africa has been on Altenar’s radar for some time, and the company is now increasing its focus on key markets including South Africa, Kenya, Ghana, and Nigeria. “Africa has been on our radar for some time now. We are committed to shaping our presence across the continent, including South Africa, Kenya, Ghana, Nigeria, and other beautiful countries,” he said.
Across many African markets, mobile devices remain the primary gateway to online gaming. Connectivity quality can vary significantly between regions, payment preferences differ from country to country, and user expectations are shaped by local habits rather than global templates. What works in one market may not automatically translate to another.
This is where Altenar believes localization becomes critical. A core part of the company’s strategy is delivering a highly configurable sportsbook platform built around a widget-based system. According to Jacob Portelli, the product is designed to be easy to integrate, simple to use, low latency, and optimized for mobile users, priorities that carry particular weight across African markets. In practical terms, products originally built for Europe do not automatically work in Kenya, Nigeria, Ghana or any other African market. Jacob added that understanding local market realities is essential to long-term success, suggesting that suppliers willing to adapt to each market will be better placed to grow sustainably.
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“I think the best approach is to learn from the people here, having the boots here on the ground, seeing their pain points, seeing what they require, seeing what problems they are facing, and how we can essentially help and shape our offering to their needs. So that’s first and foremost. It brings the trust, you educate the people and they will recognize that you are on their side, it’s not about essentially selling, it’s scaling together, building the business together, and that’s what we are trying to achieve in this market,” Jacob emphasized
Another major area of focus is payments and localization. Portelli noted that technology providers entering African markets must adapt solutions to local user behavior and payment preferences rather than relying on one-size-fits-all global models. “Everything needs to be localized, everything needs to be for the people here,” he said.
