QTech Games wins innovation award at BiG Africa

QTech Games has secured the Best Innovator title, also known as the Shining Savannah Award, at the 2026 BiG Africa Summit Awards held in Gaborone, Botswana. The emerging-markets distributor received the distinction during a gala ceremony staged at the Grand Palm Hotel Casino and Convention Resort, overcoming competition from BetConstruct, Skilrock and GlobaLab.

The annual summit recognises companies shaping the African igaming and sports betting landscape. The Best Innovator accolade is reserved for organisations that demonstrate “groundbreaking innovation and technological innovation” over the previous 12 months, alongside measurable user engagement and sustained commercial growth within the region.

Recognition At A Key African Industry Event

The BiG Africa Summit gathers operators, suppliers, regulators and technology specialists active across the continent. Each year, its awards programme highlights advancements across several verticals, spanning operating excellence, regulatory leadership and technical development.

The 2026 ceremony again focused on those delivering locally adapted products and services for Africa’s expanding online gaming sector. Judges reviewed nominations from a broad field of contenders before selecting QTech Games as the overall winner in the Shining Savannah category. According to the judging panel, the competitive standard remained high throughout the evaluation process.

The panel stated: “This year, the calibre of nominations was exceptional, making the selection process extremely competitive. Being recognised not only as a finalist but also the market leader in Africa for its relentless innovation in our prestigious Shining Savannah category, highlights the outstanding impact and achievements QTech Games has made within the industry.”

QTech Hybrid Drives Retail And Digital Integration

Central to QTech Games’ award recognition is the rollout of QTech Hybrid, a software solution that connects retail betting environments with online operations. The system links the company’s AI-powered casino lobby, branded as QTech Play, to a land-based management framework and an integrated Agent Management System (AMS). Through this structure, operators can oversee retail outlets and agents while extending services into digital channels.

QTech Hybrid allows customers to move between in-store and online play. Players can deposit, withdraw and access games either at physical locations or on personal devices. The platform’s recent deployment across Soccabet’s 200 retail outlets in Ghana marked a significant step in its African expansion strategy. By combining AI-driven game personalisation with agent management and retail oversight tools, the company aims to enable brick-and-mortar operators to broaden their reach without abandoning established physical networks.

The award also reflects QTech Games’ broader focus on emerging markets, where it positions itself as a specialist aggregator delivering localised content. Alongside QTech Hybrid, the company has advanced initiatives such as QTechLabs, which it cites as part of its ongoing development efforts in the region.

Executive Reaction To The Award

Following the announcement in Gaborone, CEO Philip Doftvik commented on the recognition. He said: “We’re delighted to have bagged another notable award for the best overall innovation in Africa over the past 12 months. Being shortlisted in such good company was already a feather in our collective cap, but victory provides the ultimate coup, validating our huge and ongoing growth in Africa with innovations like QTech Hybrid and QTechLabs.”

Doftvik added: “This win is testimony to our diligent team at QTech, and to the ever-evolving group of innovative suppliers that our offering represents. It’s a real team effort. We’ve made our name as the go-to aggregator for emerging markets and we remain committed to rolling out top-class content and retail innovation that drives new revenues for our worldwide partners across Africa and beyond.”

He further stated: “Being recognised for our innovation, impact and bottom-line results – to name just a few of the key judging criteria – will only embolden our expansive African mission. It’s also indicative of QTech’s broader strategic direction across emerging markets, where we are setting the gold standard and defining the future of the online casino industry, with an established reach throughout and outside of Africa.”

The 2026 award adds to QTech Games’ presence in African markets, where the company continues to focus on integrated retail-digital solutions and aggregator services tailored to local conditions.

Source: QTech Games wins Best Innovation at the 2026 BiG Africa Summit Awards, QTech Games press release, 17 February 2026.