Former US President Barack Obama joins NBA Africa as a strategic partner

Last updated on September 11th, 2021 at 07:56 am

The NBA league announced that former US President Barack Obama has joined NBA Africa as a strategic partner and will take a minority equity stake. The statement says Obama will help advance the league’s social responsibility efforts across the continent, including programs and partnerships that support greater gender equality and economic inclusion.

Since the league is focused on expanding the NBA’s presence in African markets, deepening the league’s engagement with players and fans across the continent, thus, Obama’s associations will enhance and multiply the growth of the basketball ecosystem in the continent.

Obama expresses that he intends to use his stake to fund Obama Foundation youth and leadership programs in Africa. A spokesperson from NBA points out that they intend to create deeper connections around the world and in Africa.

Basketball has the power to promote opportunity, wellness, equality, and empowerment across the continent and by investing in communities, promoting gender equality, and cultivating the love of the game of basketball, NBA Africa can make a difference for so many of Africa’s young people.  

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Looking in the recent past, in 2019 NBA announced they will partner with FIBA to form the Basketball Africa League by collating 12 pre-existing teams across the continent to create a unified league supported by the NBA’s various resources. In between the ongoing strong season, Adam Silver, who is the NBA commissioner Adam Silver announced that NBA Africa will be a broader entity to handle standalone business operations and accelerate the basketball ecosystem of a growing market.

Among the initial investors were past NBA players Grant Hill, Dikembe Mutombo, Junior Bridgeman, Joakim Noah and Luol Deng. And after Obama takes ownership of an entity, the value which was earlier $1 billion, will be furthermore increased.

President Obama asserts that he has been impressed by the league’s commitment to Africa, including the leadership shown by so many African players who want to give back to their own countries and communities. He further adds that he is proud to join the team and looks forward to a partnership that benefits the youth of so many countries.