The Basketball Africa League (BAL), on Monday, announced a multi-year partnership with Flutterwave which conferred on the payments technology company the status of the associate partner of the BAL.
This was as the inaugural BAL season got underway at the Kigali Arena in Kigali, Rwanda, with 12 teams from across Africa competing in the new professional league that would round up on Sunday, May 30.
The Chief Commercial Officer, Flutterwave, Ifeoluwa Orioke, in a statement on Monday expressed her excitement that Flutterwave was able to team up with BAL in its inaugural season.
Nigeria’s Flutterwave named “Pioneer” on TIME’s 2021 list
“As a lifelong Basketball fan, I am excited that we are able to team up with the BAL as it tips off its inaugural season.
“There’s progress going on in Africa and this is the time to tap into the enthusiasm of young people to unite the continent and open doors for young Africans through sports,” she said.
The BAL President, Amadou Gallo, noted that technology played an important role in basketball.
“Technology plays an important role in basketball; it enhances our ability to make our content and products accessible and convenient for fans to consume.
“This partnership also reflects our ambition to play a role in the industries that will shape the continent’s economic growth, facilitate entrepreneurship and strengthen the continent’s position on the global stage,” he said
The partnership will leverage their shared commitment to driving economic growth across the continent through the launch of a digital campaign that will provide select African entrepreneurs and small businesses with the opportunity to travel, connect and engage with other African markets.
Champions from the national leagues of Angola, Egypt, Morocco, Nigeria, Senegal and Tunisia earned their participation in the inaugural season.
The remaining six teams from Algeria, Cameroon, Madagascar, Mali, Mozambique and Rwanda, on the other hand, secured their participation through BAL’s qualifying tournaments conducted across the continent in late 2019, by the Africa Regional Office of the International Basketball Federation (FIBA).
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Flutterwave is a payments technology company that helps businesses all over the world expand their operations in Africa and other emerging markets, through a platform that enables cross-border transactions. (NAN)
