Over 150 Rwandan youth and local entrepreneurs are set to benefit from a weeklong professional development program and immersion into Africa’s sports industry that kicked off on Monday May 23. The development marks a new partnership reached between the Basketball Africa League (BAL) and Entrepreneurial Solutions Partners (ESP), an initiative investing in entrepreneurs and working towards sustainable transformation through the deployment of scalable and innovative solutions. Dubbed ‘Sports Business Future Stars Camp’, the program is expected to provide youth and entrepreneurs in Rwanda with learning, development opportunities, basketball training and life skills sessions. “We are very excited to partner with ESP, who share our commitment to inspiring, empowering and developing the next generation of entrepreneurs and business leaders in Africa,” said BAL President Amadou Gallo Fall. A group of young Rwandan entreprenuers who are expected to benefit from the program engaging with instructors. Ultimately, our goal is to build the BAL into a world-class professional basketball league that will be an anchor for the robust sport business industry we want in Africa, he added. Fall said he was also confident that the BAL’s impact is felt far beyond the court, and the Sports Business Future Stars Camp will be a great platform to use the transformative power of basketball to bring together young leaders from different backgrounds and provide them with the tools to excel. ESP CEO Eric Kacou echoed similar sentiments, citing that his organization’s ultimate goal was to develop a new generation of sports leaders for Africa. “Rwanda has made significant strides in launching its sports industry, and this immersive program in sports training will unleash the potential of youth to secure dignified jobs in the industry,” said Kacou. The partnership comes at a time this year’s playoffs and finals are underway in Kigali, for the second time. As it stands, four teams including Cameroons F.A.P which plays against Angola’s Petro de Luanda on Wednesday, and Egypt’s Zamalek which will play Tunisia’s US Monastir later on the same day, are the only teams left in the tournament. Results of Wednesday’s game will see the best two teams tussling out for the trophy that is slated for Saturday, May 28.
