NBA Africa (www.NBA.com) and Agence Française de Développement (AFD), France’s inclusive public financial institution committed to financing and technical assistance for projects that improve the lives of people in developing and emerging economies, today announced the launch of the Jr. NBA & AFD Basketball Experience in Nairobi, Kenya.

Basketball Experience is a youth development program that will feature weekly basketball and life-skills sessions to educate Kenyan youth about the importance of physical and mental health and wellbeing. 

The initiative builds on NBA Africa and AFD’s existing Basketball Experience programming in greater Casablanca, Morocco and Lagos, Nigeria, and aims to use basketball as a platform to promote social inclusion and inspire secondary school children as change makers in their local communities. 

To celebrate the announcement, NBA Africa and AFD today unveiled two refurbished outdoor basketball courts at Kenya Academy of Sports (KAS) in Nairobi and hosted a basketball clinic for 150 boys and girls ages 16 and under.  The refurbished courts are expected to benefit more than a thousand boys and girls from the surrounding communities.

The unveiling was attended by French Ambassador to Kenya Arnaud Suquet, AFD Kenya Country Director Bertrand Willocquet, NBA Kenya Senior Director and Country Operations Lead Michael Finley and NBA Africa Director of Basketball Operations Kita Matungulu.

“At AFD, we are team players.  We strongly believe that greater impacts can be reached when we work together and connect,” said Willocquet.  “The NBA was our first partner in the field of sport for development.  Together, we have launched the Jr. NBA & AFD Basketball Experience program that seeks to promote youth empowerment and improve access to sport for all.”

“The launch of Jr. NBA & AFD Basketball Experience reflects our commitment to making basketball more accessible to Kenyan youth and teaching them about the importance of a healthy, active lifestyle,” said Finley.  “Our selection of the KAS as the venue also speaks to our commitment to developing elite talent in Kenya.  We thank AFD for sharing that commitment and look forward to positively impacting the boys and girls who participate in this program in the months and years to come.”

The Jr. NBA, the league’s global youth basketball participation program for boys and girls, teaches the fundamental skills as well as the core values of the game at the grassroots level in an effort to help grow and improve the youth basketball experience for players, coaches and parents.  Last year, Jr. NBA programming directly reached more than 170,000 youth across Africa.