After a change of owner and a shift towards collaborating with world-class partners, NAVI is now one of the most successful esports clubs in the world. Ukrainian businessman Maksym Krippa, who purchased NAVI, spoke in an interview with Forbes Ukraine about the potential he sees in the esports market.
Maksym Krippa bought NAVI in 2018. In his own words, he was a hardcore gamer from childhood, building gaming PCs and setting up networks at computer clubs. When he found out that the club was for sale, he was consumed by the idea of buying it. At the time of the deal, NAVI wasn’t generating any profit, and needed $1.5 million in subsidies each year.
Now, Krippa claims, it has become a multi-game esports company, generating millions of dollars in net profit every year, in particular the share of revenue coming from tournament operators. NAVI is one of the top 5 clubs in the world in terms of number of viewing hours. In the future, the businessman expects the esports market to grow to the level of traditional sports over the next few years.
«The esports audience is growing by 30-40% annually», Krippa noted.
In 2018, NAVI had 30 employees. It now has 200. Since then, an office has been opened in Kyiv, as well as two bootcamps in Berlin and Barcelona.
Following Russia’s full-scale invasion on 24 February 2022, the club’s management took the principled decision to exclude representatives of the aggressor country from the team's line-up.
At the end of the day, this decision has given a major push to the club’s development, enabling it to attract international companies as sponsors.
Maksym Krippa owns property in Ukraine and the UAE, and recently purchased the «Ukraine» hotel and Parus business center in Kyiv. He also owns the company GSC Game World, which holds the rights to the game S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2, as well as the esports streaming studio Maincast and a number of IT startups.
Materials posted in the "Company News" section are press releases. The editors are not responsible for the content of materials posted in this section.
Read also
Public consultations and restoration. What is Shulyak talking about behind the scenes
Ukraine's Recovery: How to Change Critically Low Citizen Engagement Indicators?
The future has already arrived: blockchain technologies in the global economy and everyday life
