Basketball: Giants of Africa to advance the development of sports across the continent

Giants of Africa, the not-for-profit co-founded by Vice Chairman and President of the Toronto Raptors Masai Ujiri has hosted a sports business forum and
basketball court unveiling ceremony in Kigali to recognize the emerging sports ecosystem in
Africa and its increasing ability to propel the continent forward.
Taking place in conjunction with the 2022 Basketball Africa League Playoffs and Finals, the
‘Moving Sports Forward Forum’ brought together prominent sports, business and government
leaders to discuss the pivotal role of sports infrastructure investment, governance and franchise
development, and its impact on the emerging population of African youth. Chinelo Anohu, Senior
Director of the Africa Investment Forum, Luol Deng, two-time NBA All Star and South Sudan
Basketball Federation President and Amadou Gallo Fall, BAL President, took the stage in an
interactive panel discussion.
To close the event, President Paul Kagame underscored the importance of developing the sports
industry. “My feeling is that of pride and happiness that we have done something and it has
materialized,” he said. “It is going to have impact for our young people and the development of
talent on our continent.”
Giants of Africa unveiled a newly refurbished basketball court at Club Rafiki as part of the
organization’s continent-wide, 100-court infrastructure investment that has introduced new
facilities in Kenya, Tanzania, Nigeria, Burkina Faso and Ivory Coast since its September
announcement.
“Our investments have the power to transform generations to come, and sports infrastructure is
the foundation,” said Ujiri during the unveiling ceremony. “It fosters togetherness and can
empower our youth everywhere– just like the young men and women we see here at Club Rafiki.
My hope is that we can come together, across all sectors, united as one continent in a shared
vision for the future of sports.”
The ceremony also included remarks from NBA Africa CEO, Victor Williams, Minister of Sports,
Aurore Mimosa Munyangaju and Stephanie Alamba, Club Rafiki administrator. The event
concluded with a youth basketball and life skills clinic was held in conjunction with NBA Africa
for young boys and girls in the community.