Forest Whitaker and Dr. Dambisa Moyo recently joined National Basketball Association (NBA) Africa as strategic investors.

The Academy Award-winning actor along with the Zambian global economist and best-selling author has joined forces to help boost economic growth across the African continent through the league’s expansion, the NBA revealed.

Forest Whitaker And Dr. Dambisa Moyo

The renowned figures are each jumping on board with prior humanitarian experience. Whitaker is the CEO of the Whitaker Peace & Development Initiative (WPDI), which has aided in developing communities that face conflict and violence. His efforts for change are also intertwined with the global impact of sports under WDPI’s Peace Through Sports program.

“I’m thrilled to become a strategic investor in NBA Africa as it plans to grow basketball’s presence across the continent,” Whitaker shared in a statement. “The game of basketball is incredibly inspirational, and my decade working in Africa has shown me how sports can be a transformative method of helping to foster peace, as well as an economic engine for socioeconomic development in areas of conflict. I deeply believe in the league’s commitment to youth empowerment and am so excited to work alongside the NBA Africa family.”

Along with being a New York Times best-selling author, Moyo’s achievements include serving as a consultant for the World Bank and a research economist and strategist at Goldman Sachs.

“I have loved sport all my life and I am hugely grateful for the opportunity to support basketball in Africa at an elite level,” said Moyo. “Basketball has a great capacity to be a positive force for communities across this amazing continent.”

Investor Group

The new additions to NBA Africa will be alongside fellow investors such as “Tunde” Folawiyo, Chairman and CEO of Yinka Folawiyo Group, and Helios Fairfax Partners Corporation (HFP), led by Co-CEO Tope Lawani, according to the NBA.

NBA Africa

Earlier in 2021, NBA Africa was formed as a commitment to impacting the lives of African youth by growing Africa’s basketball ecosystem.

Shortly after its formation, the entity tapped former President Barack Obama to serve as a strategic partner to advance the league’s social responsibility efforts across the continent, AfroTech previously reported.