Dakota Whyte learned at an early age the importance of paying it forward.
Whyte told AFROTECH™ that she was raised in a small town by a single mother who had her at 19 years old. Despite the challenges, she supported Whyte and her brother in sports and provided them with equal opportunities. Her mother held the role of events director at the Starlight Starbright Children’s Foundation for most of Whyte’s childhood, and was instrumental in introducing Whyte to the world of philanthropy.
“I was volunteering at a very young age. I was at toy drives every Christmas for all the cancer patients that she was doing events for,” Whyte told AFROTECH™.
“I would like to say that my brother and I were mini event planners with her, making sure that kids our age and their parents were able to enjoy events and experiences that would make them smile. So at a really young age, I knew the importance of ensuring that you can live to serve and give back,” she continued.
Whyte became a Division I basketball athlete at the University of Wisconsin, earning a bachelor’s degree in nonprofit, public and organizational management, according to her LinkedIn. She was also a youth Olympian and played professionally between 2016 and 2017, representing Sweden, Greece, and Canada. But her higher calling was never far from her mind, she told AFROTECH™.
“As I continue to learn about the inequity that exists within the world, and I think from a young age…I wanted always to make sure that I utilize my platform to be able to speak to certain things that would allow for more equity in the future,” Whyte said.
PS43 Foundation
Whyte retired from professional basketball at 21. She spent some time working in retail, was involved in sports, branding, and community engagement at Nike. Her time at Nike showed her the significant impact that can be made in communities where she lives, and she realized that even more can come from that, she told AFROTECH™.
In 2020 she started an MBA program at Toronto Metropolitan University. During this time, she created a mentorship platform to connect athletes with youth. Whyte pitched the idea to an adviser, and was told to meet with Cameroonian NBA All-Star, Pascal Siakam. The pair connected in 2020, and the following year, Siakam established PS43 Foundation, a nonprofit organization aimed at creating opportunities in STEAM for the youth and students of Canada in grades K-12. Its target areas also include financial literacy, sports, and life skills.
Whyte onboarded as a project manager and, since 2024, has served as PS43’s executive director.
“It was pretty special just knowing that we were both athletes and both wanting to do the same thing…It really started off with me learning his personal story about his father, how invested he was, who he was in the in the community and all around very passionate about leveraging sport, but nothing could ever take away your education,” Whyte recalled.
“And when Pascal told me that story, it reminded me a lot of my mom. And right away I knew that I was willing to join his mission, and one that I knew was close to my heart in believing that education can change the future of our youth,” she continued.
Resources
According to the PS43 Foundation website, the organization has distributed at least 500 computers to help close the digital divide. Its programs include “Data Dunkers,” which serves students in grades 5-12 and merges data science, mathematics, and computer science with sports. According to information on the foundation’s website, students can access open data from the NBA and WNBA to investigate and communicate results. Whyte told AFROTECH™ that the program has reached 85 schools in Canada and more than 3,000 youth.
“We wanted to make sure that we definitely took a solid position on technology, knowing that it would be the future… So the STEM and tech background comes from the fact that the world is changing, but also making sure that we are able to inject tech and digital literacy and STEAM programming to these marginalized youth to be able to bolster their future,” she explained.
The PS43 Foundation also hosts “Skills Academie,” a three-day camp in Douala, Cameroon, which exposes participants to elite basketball training and educates them on leadership and resilience. Its umbrella also includes “Unbreakable,” a digital learning program that equips youth with digital safety skills to detect online threats and practice mindfulness with their digital footprints.
The foundation also helped established a scholarship for Cameroon students at the University of New Brunswick, which contributed to Siakam being awarded an honorary degree from the institution in September 2025, according to CBC.
The PS43 Foundation also supports North American organizations and startups with a shared interest in the next generation through grant opportunities. Additionally, startups can benefit from the Siakam Edtech Engine, a 12-week accelerator for those improving outcomes in the education sector. Participants work alongside entrepreneurs, industry leaders, and education professionals, and can compete for a grant pool of $30,000, $15,000, and $5,000 during Demo Day.
Looking ahead, Whyte said building a sports and technology school in Douala will be the foundation’s “north star.”
“Hopefully, some years from now, we have a school and it’s operating in Cameroon. That’s going to be one of our north stars for the PS43 Foundation, and we are looking forward to the pipeline of Africa to North America, and North America to Africa, and how we can impact learning in that way,” Whyte said.
