NBA hires Investment Lawyer to lead Its Africa business

Bloomberg | The National Basketball Association (NBA) has named a top investment lawyer to oversee the sport and its business on the African continent.

Clare Akamanzi, who headed the Rwanda Development Board (RDB) for six and a half years until she was replaced in September, will become NBA Africa’s chief executive officer on January 23, according to a company statement Wednesday. She will replace inaugural CEO Victor Williams, a former investment banker at Goldman Sachs Group Inc., who joined the NBA in 2020 to oversee its expansion into Africa and stepped down on December 31 2023.

Akamanzi joins NBA Africa at a time when several other senior leaders have left. In her role, she will be responsible for the NBA’s business and basketball development efforts in Africa and “continuing to grow the popularity of basketball, the NBA and the Basketball Africa League across the continent,” according to the statement.

While Akamanzi headed the RDB, the agency implemented several business policy reforms and initiatives such as partnerships with the BAL – the NBA’s first professional league outside the US – Arsenal FC and Paris Saint-Germain FC, which led to significant investment and development for Rwanda, the statement said.

NBA Africa has offices in Senegal, Nigeria, Egypt and South Africa, and opened a new one in Kenya last month.

In 2021, under Williams, it struck a deal for a stake in the African operations that valued NBA Africa at US$1 billion. Private equity firm Helios Fairfax Partners Corp. and former NBA players such as Dikembe Mutombo, and Junior Bridgeman took part in the deal. Former US President Barack Obama is also a minority owner.