How Lagos Life turned a viral game into an ad business
This is Follow the Money, our weekly series that unpacks the earnings, business, and scaling strategies of African fintechs, financial institutions, companies, and governments. A new edition drops every Monday. Between October 1 and 9, 2026, Lagos Life, the city-based simulation game, went from an overnight project to a business claiming more than $170,000 in earned […]
Lagos Life, a life-simulation game based in the Nigerian city of Lagos, has transformed from an overnight project into a profitable business generating over $170,000 in revenue. Founder Shalom Rayhamen developed the game in just eight hours, and now, the game generates real income through advertisements and virtual billboards. The game is free to play, but businesses pay to reach its audience.
TechCabal counted 244 advertisements across 40 virtual billboards in Lagos, Port Harcourt, and Abuja, totaling ₦61 million ($45,870) in advertising for a week. One billboard, Billboard 1 in Lagos Life, displays 43 ads, generating ₦10.75 million ($8,083) in revenue per week. The game's earning power comes from selling ad space to multiple advertisers, with players encountering businesses through rotating ads or tapping billboards to view listings.
To sustain this monetization loop, advertisers must pay enough to justify their weekly ₦250,000 ($188) cost.
Written by urgent.news from TechCabal's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
