(Noam Galai/Getty Images for Global Citizen)The National Basketball Association (NBA), North America’s elite basketball competition, has announced that Rwandan lawyer and businesswoman Clare Akamanzi will become the new chief executive of its Africa business, NBA Africa. NBA Africa oversees the league’s growth and development on the continent, as well as the organization of the Basketball Africa League (BAL), Africa’s top-tier basketball competition. Akamanzi joins NBA Africa after spending more than six years as the chief executive of the Rwanda Development Board, during which the board signed several high-profile partnerships in sports including with the BAL, as well as European soccer giants such as Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich. I’ve seen firsthand how sports can positively impact businesses, families, and communities in Africa, and the NBA and the BAL are a perfect example of that. NBA games are broadcast in all 54 African countries by broadcast giant beIN Sports in North Africa, and sub-Saharan Africa on a combination of ESPN, Canal+ Afrique, and its own NBA TV service, as well as the South African Broadcasting Corporation in South Africa.

Source: The North Africa Journal January 02, 2024 14:58 UTC