By Atlanta Mahanta
In recent years there has been a steady increase in the risk capital scene in Africa, with a capital inflow from local and international investors reaching unprecedented levels. From 2015 to 2020, based on calculation figures, venture capital circulating in African markets have doubled or quadrupled. The artistic industries of the continent are still at a protracted stage of breakthrough, creating films, music and styles that have evolved to the maximum stages of streaming of services, the Billboards and New York pathways. Brands like Netflix and Universal Music Collective have been professional to Africa, seeking to tap into local audiences to satisfy rising global demand for African entertainment. While we mentioned everything regarding the development of sports and leisure was one huge business and cultural potential we overlooked in Africa.
Africa’s sport industry
In the last 5 years, Africa’s sports business underlying potential is best expressed in the NBA’s expansion in Africa which ends with the Basketball African League launch announcement in 2019 (BAL). From 2003 onwards, the NBA has been gradually expanding its footprint in Africa beginning with Basketball Without Boundaries as well as the primary production of the NBA Africa Academy and its youth outreach programme. In 2016, Econet Media signed a multi-year agreement with NBA and WNBA Sports, and in 2015, 2017 and 2018 the League played an all-star NBA Africa game in South Africa, broadcasting over 500 per season.
The 12-team BAL is an acknowledgment, as the NBA’s first professional league is owned and run outside the United States, that African sports and local talent markets will fuel the association’s required growth.
Adam Silver, Commissioner of NBA, said that the League “is committed to making a new economic engine in sports, media and technology opportunities throughout Africa” and in August he named Victor Williams, the investment banking company that is the new NBA Africa CEO. The middle class in the continent will cross 1,1 trillion with 690 m Smartphones in Sub-Saharan Africa by 2050, and more sports will be played in the future, filling unbuilt or underused stadiums at home.
Football remains the continent’s most popular sport as basketball continues to build a local fanbase. Many relevant French-R-Tied Teams qualify for the African Football Confederation (CAF) Cup in national leagues of course. But European football is still much more popular, amid local leagues. In 2018, the Rwandan President, Kagame, announced a contentious £30m contract with Arsenal aimed at improving local tourism and enhancing its global image, as a result of which the Chinese StarTimes has already announced the purchase of rights to the English FA Cup in Sub-Saharan Africa.
As those markets attempt to tap into Africa’s rising middle-class purchasing force, African influence on European and American sports markets tends to increase. The demand for regular sport practises such as swimming, walking, marathon running and motorcycling is rising with Africa’s formal market. Kenya has an upcoming recreation scene and a series of motocross competitions culminating in a national championship. South Africa’s Leisure & Outdoor eCommerce market has expected revenues of $429 million by 2020, with an approximate growth rate of 11,6% by 2024 per year. Though Kenyan and Ethiopian racers have dominated marathons worldwide for a long time, local marathons are becoming more common.
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In 2016 there were just 50,000 runners in the Lagos City Marathon, but the figure rose to 150,000 by 2020. The Union Cycliste International (UCI) declared outside the Union that Rwanda or Morocco would host one of the triple crown cycling races in the 2025 Road World Championships, making it the first African country to do that. The broader ecosystem surrounding athletic events offers enough potential to continue development – from incremental tourism to higher consumption expenditure on sporting equipment. As a hoster of the 2010 World Cup, South Africa has used essentially the world’s biggest athletic tournament to reshap its global name. This violated the tradition’s view that African countries are too under-developed to make significant sporting activities possible.
Besides the direct economic gains, including new infrastructure ventures and media agreements, the growth of the sports and recreational sector in Africa creates an avenue between African markets and other global hubs for stronger people.
These organisational partnerships should not be discounted by building upon mutual beliefs and interactions to encourage further investments to the continent. In the end, sports are another industry where African governments can allow their industries to be diversified, build local employment and improve their resilience. As the NBA pursues a new course of African market entry, we look forward to further growth.
References: News Agencies