Rwanda’s RSSB Tigers were crowned winners of this year’s Basketball Africa League Championship, capping off a record-setting season that looks set to buoy investor interest.
Basketball, which for years has languished in football’s shadow, has gained a foothold on the continent since the NBA-backed BAL was founded in 2019. Matches drew record crowds this year and a whopping 1.1 billion views on social media, according to the league.
Investors are responding accordingly, banking on Africa’s young population and growing incomes. The International Finance Corporation and Proparco have announced plans to invest $50 million in Helios Sports and Entertainment, an African private equity fund focused on sports and entertainment.
Industry leaders are hoping that interest will grow: Sport “constitutes a strategic industry, a growth accelerator, and a tremendous lever of opportunities for African youth,” Côte d’Ivoire’s minister of state said last month at a BAL investor event.