Obama becomes minority owner, strategic partner for NBA Africa
Obama’s investment in the league will be used to support youth and leadership programming for the Obama Foundation across the continent, reports CNN
yahoo!news (by Biba Adams)
NBA Africa oversees the Basketball Africa League
yahoo!news (by Biba Adams)
Former President Barack Obama’s investment in Basketball Africa will be used to support youth and leadership programming for the Obama Foundation across the continent.
Former President Barack Obama has hit another milestone.
America’s beloved first commander-in-chief has become a strategic partner and minority owner in the National Basketball Association (NBA)’s African league — Basketball Africa.
U.S. President Barack Obama plays basketball during the annual Easter Egg Roll on the White House tennis court April 1, 2013 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images)
NBA Africa oversees the Basketball Africa League which has seen investment from former basketball stars, Dikembe Mutombo, Grant Hill, and Junior Bridgeman.
Obama’s investment in the league will be used to support youth and leadership programming for the Obama Foundation across the continent, reports CNN.
The exact terms of Obama’s investment have not been disclosed.
In a statement, the former president wrote, “The NBA has always been a great ambassador for the United States—using the game to create deeper connections around the world, and in Africa, basketball has the power to promote opportunity, wellness, equality, and empowerment across the continent.
“By investing in communities, promoting gender equality, and cultivating the love of the game of basketball, I believe that NBA Africa can make a difference for so many of Africa’s young people.”
The former president’s father was from Kenya on the east of the continent.
NBA Africa’s CEO Victor Williams reportedly wants to build corporate partnerships, expand content and media rights, and support local governments seeking to build new basketball arenas.
NBA Africa CEO Victor Williams (Photo: NBA Africa)
The league is currently made up of 12 teams and games are broadcast to 215 countries and territories across the continent.
According to CNBC, 55 players in the NBA are either native Africans or first-generation immigrants from the continent. The Basketball Africa League is being viewed as a new source for scouting and developing players.
Former NBA players Luol Deng and Joakim Noah are investors in the NBA Africa league via Helios Fairfax Partners Corporation which also counts NBA Commissioner Adam Silver and NBA Chief Operating Officer Mark Tatum on its board.
Silver shared a statement of glowing praise about the former president, writing, “We are honored that President Obama has become a strategic partner in NBA Africa and will support our wide-ranging efforts to grow the game of basketball on the continent.”
“In addition to his well-documented love for basketball, President Obama has a firm belief in Africa’s potential and the enormous growth opportunities that exist through sports. NBA Africa will benefit tremendously from his engagement.”
Former President Obama has long expressed his love for basketball, previously acknowledging that while he loved the sport, he did not possess the skills to go professional. Still, throughout his presidency, Obama often played basketball on White House grounds and even invited NBA stars like LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, Kevin Durant to go head-to-head with him.
Related Article: NBA Communication
Obama Foundation
NBA names Victor Williams CEO of NBA Africa
“Becoming CEO of NBA Africa is a compelling opportunity to join the NBA – a widely-respected and admired globally-oriented sports enterprise,” said Williams. “It allows me to blend my professional experience building businesses in Africa with my passion for the sport of basketball. I look forward to working with our colleagues in Johannesburg and Dakar to help grow basketball’s commercial and social impact in Africa and on the world stage.”
Official Release
NBA Communications
JOHANNESBURG AND NEW YORK – The National Basketball Association (NBA) today named Victor Williams CEO of NBA Africa, effective Aug. 17, 2020, it was announced by NBA Commissioner Adam Silver. Williams, an accomplished investment banking executive with extensive experience growing businesses across the U.S. and Africa, will be based in the league’s Johannesburg office and report to NBA Deputy Commissioner and Chief Operating Officer Mark Tatum.
In this newly-created role, Williams will oversee the league’s basketball and business development initiatives in Africa and will be responsible for continuing to grow the popularity of basketball and the NBA across the continent through grassroots development, media distribution, corporate partnerships, and more.
For the last five years, Williams served as the Executive Head of Corporate and Investment Banking (CIB), Africa Regions for Standard Bank Group, where he oversaw the strategy, execution and financial performance for Standard Bank’s business with corporate, sovereign and institutional investor clients in 19 countries across sub-Saharan Africa. In this pan-continental role, Williams was responsible for growing a wide range of business lines across Africa, including global markets, investment banking, and transactional products and services, and helped lead Standard Bank’s expansion into Côte d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, and South Sudan.
“Adding an executive of Victor’s caliber and experience is an important step in our continued efforts to grow basketball across the continent,” said Silver. “We look forward to Victor leading NBA Africa’s operations and helping to accelerate the use of sports as an economic engine across Africa.”
“Becoming CEO of NBA Africa is a compelling opportunity to join the NBA – a widely-respected and admired globally-oriented sports enterprise,” said Williams. “It allows me to blend my professional experience building businesses in Africa with my passion for the sport of basketball. I look forward to working with our colleagues in Johannesburg and Dakar to help grow basketball’s commercial and social impact in Africa and on the world stage.”
Williams joined Standard Bank in 2011 as Head of Corporate and Investment Banking for East Africa and subsequently led Standard Bank’s Corporate and Investment Banking business in Nigeria. Previously, he worked at Wells Fargo Securities in Charlotte, North Carolina, where he was a Managing Director focused on mergers and acquisitions. In this role, he executed more than $5 billion in merger and acquisition transactions and advised senior executives and boards of directors of corporate and private equity firms on mergers, divestitures, acquisitions, joint ventures, recapitalizations, and corporate defense.
Prior to Wells Fargo Securities, Williams was Vice President of Investment Banking at Goldman Sachs in New York City, where he provided strategic guidance to Fortune 500 companies in all aspects of merger and financing analysis and execution.
Williams, a dual citizen of Sierra Leone and the U.S., holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and bachelor’s degrees in applied math and economics from Brown University. He is a member of Harvard Business School’s Africa Advisory Board and has also served on the boards of publicly-listed companies and non-profit organizations in the U.S., Nigeria, and Kenya.
(Source: NBA Communications | Official Release | August 10, 2020)