{"id":2000125659,"date":"2026-09-10T17:07:04","date_gmt":"2026-09-10T15:07:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/?p=2000125659"},"modified":"2026-09-10T17:07:06","modified_gmt":"2026-09-10T15:07:06","slug":"sportsbiz-africa-shifts-to-year-round-platform-to-close-africas-sports-investment-gap","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/sportsbiz-africa-shifts-to-year-round-platform-to-close-africas-sports-investment-gap\/","title":{"rendered":"SportsBiz Africa shifts to year-round platform to close Africa’s sports investment gap"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Christian Gakwaya, Chief Executive Officer of Rwanda Events Group, announced the shift as the third SportsBiz Africa Forum opened in Kigali on September 10, arguing that Africa needs to move beyond discussions about sporting talent and trophies to capturing more of the economic value generated by the sector.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt’s time for a shift,\u201d Gakwaya told delegates at the Kigali Convention Centre.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The event, which runs from September 10 to 11, is bringing together policymakers, investors, sports administrators, business leaders, entrepreneurs, athletes and development partners to discuss investment, innovation, governance and business opportunities in sport.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gakwaya argued that Africa has long supplied talent, coaches, stories and other resources to the global sports industry, while much of the economic value has been captured elsewhere.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He challenged stakeholders to consider who owns the media rights, intellectual property and data generated by African sport, as well as who manufactures the apparel, technology and other products used by athletes and fans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWho owns our needs? Who owns the media rights to our needs? Who owns the intellectual property in the sports sector on the continent?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
The two-day SportsBiz Africa Forum brings together policymakers, investors, sports leaders, entrepreneurs and athletes to explore ways to grow Africa\u2019s sports economy.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The new SportsBiz Africa Platform is intended to address some of these gaps by focusing on investment facilitation, business development, market intelligence, entrepreneurship, policy engagement, talent development and cross-border participation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unlike the forum, which brings stakeholders together for a few days each year, the platform is designed to operate throughout the year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cA forum brings people together. A platform will help them to do something together,\u201d Gakwaya explained. \u201cA forum can last three days… But we want a platform that will create value throughout the 365 days.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The initiative will seek to connect startups with investors, leagues with technology companies, brands with communities and African athletes and entrepreneurs with global opportunities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gakwaya acknowledged that significant barriers remain, including limited sports data, difficulties commercialising sports assets and events, and inadequate access to structured financing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cToo many promising ideas remain disconnected from institutional investors and markets that can help them grow,\u201d he noted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Rwanda’s Minister of Sports, Nelly Mukazayire, also called for a stronger focus on the commercial side of sport, arguing that Africa’s share of the global sports economy remains disproportionately small despite its large pool of talent and young population.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mukazayire estimated the global sports industry at between $2.3 trillion and $2.65 trillion, while Africa accounts for about 0.5% of the sector.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She identified data, people and the commercialisation of sport as three areas requiring greater attention if Africa is to close the gap.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The minister called for more African-owned data on athletes and sports markets, greater investment in athletes’ physical and mental wellbeing, and stronger commercial structures around broadcasting rights, merchandise, manufacturing and sports infrastructure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She also argued that sports facilities should be designed as broader commercial and community hubs rather than simply venues for talent development.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBy building pitches you’re creating community. By adding all those services you’re creating value,\u201d Mukazayire said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Minister Mukazayire estimated the global sports industry at between $2.3 trillion and $2.65 trillion, while Africa accounts for about 0.5% of the sector.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Her remarks echoed the broader objective of the SportsBiz Africa Platform, which is to create an ecosystem around sport rather than focus solely on competition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dr Decius Hikabwa Chipande, Coordinator and Head of the African Union Sports Council, backed greater collaboration between governments, the private sector, sports organisations and development partners to expand the continental sports economy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He urged participants to move from dialogue to investment and measurable outcomes, noting that sport can contribute to youth employment, entrepreneurship, innovation and social development.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

F\u00e9licit\u00e9 Rwemarika, an International Olympic Committee member, similarly stressed that Africa’s sporting potential will require investment in organisations, skills and people alongside physical infrastructure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She pointed to the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games as an example of how major sporting events can leave a legacy through skills development and professional training.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meanwhile, Sir Paul J. Foster, President and CEO of the Global Esports Federation, urged African stakeholders to build stronger connections between local talent and global markets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He argued that technology can connect African creators, entrepreneurs and intellectual property to international audiences and capital, but warned that connectivity alone is insufficient without the systems and infrastructure to support it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Sir Paul J. Foster, President and CEO of the Global Esports Federation, urged African stakeholders to build stronger connections between local talent and global markets.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The SportsBiz Africa programme also includes a Dealroom designed to match investors with sports-related ventures, alongside a career fair, Gamers Garage and the SportsBiz Africa Esports Cup.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gakwaya said the ambition is for the platform to demonstrate measurable progress by the time stakeholders reconvene next year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe want to make sure that next year, around the same date as we host SportsBiz Africa again, we will be able to say that we have constructed an ecosystem,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
The third edition of the SportsBiz Africa Forum opened in Kigali on Thursday, September 10, 2026.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Christian
Christian Gakwaya, Chief Executive Officer of Rwanda Events Group, told delegates that Africa needs to move beyond discussions about sporting talent and trophies to capturing more of the economic value generated by the sector.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Rwanda Events Group, the organiser of the SportsBiz Africa Forum, is seeking to turn the annual gathering into a year-round platform connecting investors, entrepreneurs, athletes, governments and businesses across Africa’s sports economy.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":131,"featured_media":2000125653,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[151],"byline":[192],"hashtag":[],"class_list":["post-2000125659","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports","tag-editors-choice","byline-wycliffe-nyamasege"],"bylines":[{"id":192,"name":"Wycliffe Nyamasege","slug":"wycliffe-nyamasege","description":"","image":{"id":2000122456,"url":"https:\/\/cdn.igihe.com\/en\/2026\/08\/WhatsApp-Image-2026-08-14-at-11.58.47-AM.jpeg","title":"WhatsApp Image 2026-08-14 at 11.58.47 AM","mime_type":"image\/jpeg"},"user_id":131}],"contributors":[{"id":192,"name":"Wycliffe Nyamasege","slug":"wycliffe-nyamasege","description":"","image":{"id":2000122456,"url":"https:\/\/cdn.igihe.com\/en\/2026\/08\/WhatsApp-Image-2026-08-14-at-11.58.47-AM.jpeg","title":"WhatsApp Image 2026-08-14 at 11.58.47 AM","mime_type":"image\/jpeg"},"user_id":131}],"featured_image":{"id":2000125653,"url":"https:\/\/cdn.igihe.com\/en\/2026\/09\/WhatsApp-Image-2026-09-10-at-4.46.32-PM.jpeg","alt":"Christian Gakwaya, Chief Executive Officer of Rwanda Events Group","caption":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","width":1080,"height":864,"sizes":{"thumbnail":{"url":"https:\/\/cdn.igihe.com\/en\/2026\/09\/WhatsApp-Image-2026-09-10-at-4.46.32-PM.jpeg","width":1080,"height":864},"medium":{"url":"https:\/\/cdn.igihe.com\/en\/2026\/09\/WhatsApp-Image-2026-09-10-at-4.46.32-PM.jpeg","width":1080,"height":864},"medium_large":{"url":"https:\/\/cdn.igihe.com\/en\/2026\/09\/WhatsApp-Image-2026-09-10-at-4.46.32-PM.jpeg","width":1080,"height":864},"large":{"url":"https:\/\/cdn.igihe.com\/en\/2026\/09\/WhatsApp-Image-2026-09-10-at-4.46.32-PM.jpeg","width":1080,"height":864},"full":{"url":"https:\/\/cdn.igihe.com\/en\/2026\/09\/WhatsApp-Image-2026-09-10-at-4.46.32-PM.jpeg","width":1080,"height":864}}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2000125659","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/131"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2000125659"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2000125659\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2000125660,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2000125659\/revisions\/2000125660"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2000125653"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2000125659"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2000125659"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2000125659"},{"taxonomy":"byline","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/byline?post=2000125659"},{"taxonomy":"hashtag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/hashtag?post=2000125659"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}