By Alvin Lansana Kargbo
Africell Sierra Leone has on Friday December 6, 2025 officially launched a groundbreaking partnership with NBA Africa, marking a historic expansion of the global basketball brand’s youth development initiatives into Sierra Leone for the first time. The collaboration, unveiled as part of the broader Africell Group–NBA Africa framework, positions Sierra Leone as a rising hub for basketball talent in West Africa; unlocking transformative opportunities for thousands of young athletes.
The partnership builds on the achievements of the Africell/NBA Africa programme introduced in Angola in 2022, which has since provided world-class training, competitive structures and improved facilities to young basketball players. With Sierra Leone now added to the initiative, the country joins Angola, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and The Gambia in benefiting from NBA Africa’s expanding development footprint.
A symbolic signing ceremony was held at the NBA’s global headquarters in New York City on 23 September 2025, where Africell CEO, President and Founder, Ziad Dalloul, and NBA Deputy Commissioner and Chief Operating Officer, Mark Tatum, signed the expanded agreement. The moment underscored a shared mission: to use sport as a platform for youth empowerment, community development and social transformation.
The introduction of NBA Africa programming promises to elevate the standard, visibility and reach of basketball nationwide. The partnership will roll out a comprehensive suite of youth-focused interventions, including:
- High-quality training programmes and clinics led by qualified coaches.
- Talent exposure opportunities, including a major Africell-supported 3-on-3 tournament in early 2026, with professional highlights to be shared directly with NBA Africa scouts.
- Creation of training academies to support long-term development of promising young athletes.
- Refurbishment and upgrade of basketball courts to improve access to standard playing surfaces.
- Support to strengthen existing local basketball structures, helping expand grassroots participation.
These components are designed to cultivate the next generation of basketball stars while aligning with broader national goals for youth development, education and social growth. The initiative is expected to advance Sierra Leone’s position within Africa’s rapidly developing basketball ecosystem.
The collaboration resonates strongly with the Africell Impact Foundation’s strategic pillars: sports, health, education and community wellbeing. Through basketball, Africell hopes to inspire values such as teamwork, professionalism, discipline and healthy living among Sierra Leone’s youth.
“It is difficult to overstate the magnetic pull that the NBA brand enjoys in Africa,” Africell CEO Ziad Dalloul remarked. “The NBA represents excellence and aspiration; qualities that deeply inspire young Africans. Extending this collaboration to Sierra Leone reflects our ongoing commitment to youth empowerment and we are excited to see the long-term impact this partnership will have across communities.”
NBA Africa CEO, Clare Akamanzi, echoed those sentiments, noting that the success of the collaboration in Angola demonstrated the powerful role that basketball can play in shaping lives.
“Expanding into Sierra Leone, where Africell has deep community roots and where passion for sports runs high, gives us an opportunity to foster meaningful and lasting youth development,” she stated.
The partnership aligns with NBA Africa’s efforts to broaden its programmes across the continent, including its flagship projects under the Basketball Africa League (BAL). With vibrant youth demographics and a rising interest in sports, Sierra Leone stands to become a valuable contributor to Africa’s growing basketball story.
Africell is one of Africa’s fastest-growing telecommunications companies, providing reliable, affordable mobile and digital services to nearly 20 million customers across Sierra Leone, The Gambia, Angola and the DRC. Through the Africell Impact Foundation, the company supports initiatives in sports, health, education, entrepreneurship, arts and culture—aimed at narrowing opportunity gaps and empowering communities.
NBA Africa is the African regional affiliate of the National Basketball Association (NBA), focused on expanding the league’s footprint and growing the sport across all 54 African countries. Its work spans youth development programmes, social impact initiatives, partnerships, media distribution and the management of the Basketball Africa League (BAL).
