IN THE VALLEY 14. Shaping Africa's Sports industry
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Disclaimer : This episode is for informational and entertainment purposes only, no content of the conversation should be considered as investment advice.
This episode is powered by the Global Sports Summit. During the summit, our host, Ibrahim Sagna, welcomed on stage ;
- Amadou Gallo Fall, President of the Basketball Africa League
- Paxton Baker, Minority Owner of the Washington National
- Osi Umenyiora, former NY Giants, founder of the Uprise Academy
5 BIG IDEAS DISCUSSED WITH AMADOU GALLO FALL, OSI UMENYIORA & PAXTON BAKER
1. "We are following the path of the NBA"
Osi Umenyiora explained in our previous episode that he saw the works of Amadou Gallo Fall and the NBA Africa as the blueprint for what the NFL Africa aims to accomplish. Both speak on the importance of collaboration within the sports industry in Africa and how exchanging best practices across disciplines can yield positive results and impact for young people.
2."There is a clear appetite for African-American investors to look at sports as an asset class in Africa."
Paxton Baker has seen the Basketball Africa League (BAL) grow from an idea to a full-fledged competition. He explains how the NBA's expertise has led the BAL to become such a high-level experience everyone involved in such a short amount of time. After the announcement that he had joined the Cape Town Tigers' investors group, he received solicitation from several high-profile figures of the entertainment industry (in this episode, he announces that Verdine White is joining him as an investor in the Cape Town Tigers). Amadou Gallo Fall also speaks to the attention the BAL has received from investors in the US notably at the All-Star Game.
3. "The number one resource Africa has is its human capital"
Amadou Gallo Falls talks about replicating the student-athlete model that first emerged in the US in order to establish pathways of opportunities for young African athletes. His organization, SEED, has created opportunities for young people : the latest NBA finals saw two SEED alumni from Senegal, Remy Ndiaye and Dethie Fall, compete as members of the coaching staff of the Miami Heat and the Denver Nuggets respectively. Osi Umenyiora explains how the SEED model has inspired his own Uprise initiative which has already led twelve young men to find their way to the NFL or football scholarships.
4."It's important for us to export our products and push it in front of the diaspora eyeballs"
Osi Umenyiora notes that it has now become "cool" to be African. Amadou discusses the importance of bringing the BAL products outside of Africa : this summer the BAL participated in Globl Jam in Canada and Quai54 in France. To him, the lifestyle element of a sports brand is a key component that allows the product to reach an audience beyond sports fans. Paxton Baker talks about his tourism experiences in Rwanda which he enjoyed on the sidelines of the basketball competition - he talks about the importance of having such experiences and being able to share them on social media to encourage more African-Americans to travel to Africa.
5."When a tree falls in Africa, people in the United States now hear about it."
The media industry's innovation has made it possible for sports competition to be broadcasted around the world. Amadou mentions that the BAL counts media partners such as ESPN, Canal+, BeinSports, Tencent). Paxton Baker recognizes that the media plays a key role in allowing African talent to be detected early, he believes that Joel Embiid winning the 2023 NBA MVP will lead to more interest for African talent.