Maths game creator inspires UK and US children to enjoy the subject

Maths board game creator (@BeGenioCity) competes in US on @Amazon

• Educational games company BeGenio forecasts £350,000 worth of sales for its debut product on Amazon US

• With four new games set to be launched before Christmas, international sales account for 70% of BeGenio’s annual turnover

• The Department for International Trade (DIT) gave the company financial and packaging advice so it could access the US e-commerce market

UK educational games company BeGenio is expanding in the US with sales from its debut award-winning Race to Infinity maths game set to reach £350,000 over the next five years through Amazon US.

The business successfully applied for Amazon US Launchpad membership following a profitable distribution partnership with Amazon UK for the game, where children complete fun maths challenges as they race to the centre of the board.

Founded in 2016 by former investment banker Grace Olugbodi, 70% of the London-based business’s annual turnover comes from international sales.

Four new games will be launched in time for Christmas, and an augmented reality app allowing players to see themselves in 3D versions of all the games, is planned for early next year.

The Department for International Trade (DIT) gave the company financial and packaging advice so it could access the e-commerce market and sell successfully on Amazon US.

BeGenio Founder    Grace Olugbodi said:

“My dad created fun games for me to play during the summer holidays and one year when I went back to school, I came first out of 300 children to win a maths competition.

“After volunteering in schools whilst at university I saw how fearful some children were of learning maths, after testing Race to Infinity with my two children, I created a fun and engaging way for children and parents to practice maths.

“Selling on Amazon US is going really well and my adviser at the Department for International Trade has been amazing at helping me create an export strategy, including licencing agreements and sorting out trademarks during lockdown which was challenging.”

Race to Infinity is manufactured in the UK and generates half of its global sales online, the game is currently sold in 12 countries with the US being BeGenio’s largest export market.

Latest national statistics show that the proportion of UK retail sales carried out online in September was 27.5%, compared with 20.1% reported in February.

Head of E-commerce at DIT Jamila Saidi said:

“BeGenio’s online success shows how important it is to have a good e-commerce strategy.

“Crafting an international online presence is crucial to succeed when selling abroad; so is researching important aspects such as, knowing who your customers will be and understanding the applicable tax rules and regulations.

“DIT has e-commerce advisers on hand to help UK businesses navigate the cross-border e-commerce landscape and enter countries such as the US, our largest trading partner, as well as other international markets.”

The fifth round of talks in UK-US Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations started week commencing 19 October and if an FTA is agreed after all rounds have completed, it could lead to more trade and investment with the UK’s largest bilateral trading partner.