Design a Monetisation Strategy for a Lagos-Based Indie Game Studio

Mobile gaming is one of the fastest-growing entertainment categories in Nigeria, yet most indie studios either collapse within a year or pivot entirely to work-for-hire. The core tension: building original IP costs time and money, but Nigerian audiences are accustomed to free-to-play experiences, and payment rails like app store billing are unreliable for a large share of the population. Your task is to design a monetisation strategy for a fictional studio, Ẹnu Studio, that has just shipped its first game: a 2D puzzle-platformer set in Benin City with 40,000 downloads in its first month and near-zero revenue. The studio has a team of four and a six-month runway. Produce a written strategy document (8-12 pages or equivalent) that covers: which monetisation model fits the game and audience, how to handle payments given Nigeria's fintech landscape (think Paystack, USSD, airtime billing), what a 12-month revenue target looks like with assumptions spelled out, and what the studio should avoid. Include a one-page financial model showing projected revenue under two scenarios. Good work will show that you have actually thought about Nigerian player psychology and payment infrastructure, not just copy-pasted a Western free-to-play playbook. The best submissions will identify at least one non-obvious revenue lever specific to the West African context.