2024 BAL Season (BAL.NBA.com) Continues Friday, April 19 with Nile Conference Group Phase in Cairo; 24 Players with NBA, NBA G League and NCAA Experience to Feature on Nile Conference Rosters; Tickets on Sale Now at BAL.NBA.com and Tazkarti.com; Fans Can Save Up to 35% On Group Packages.

Download document: https://apo-opa.co/4d5ATpa

The Basketball Africa League (BAL) today announced the 52 players from 11 countries across Africa, Europe and the U.S. who will compete in the 2024 Basketball Africa League’s (BAL) Nile Conference group phase, which will take place from Friday, April 19 – Saturday, April 27 at the Hassan Mostafa Indoor Sports Complex in Cairo, Egypt*.

The four teams (https://apo-opa.co/3T0x5w8) competing in the Nile Conference group phase feature seven players with NBA and NBA G League experience, 17 former NCAA Division I players, four current NBA Academy Africa prospects, two NBA Academy Africa graduates, six former Basketball Without Borders (BWB) campers, nine players who have participated in the FIBA Basketball World Cup, and 28 players with FIBA AfroBasket experience.

The opening game of the Nile Conference group phase will feature first-time BAL participants Al Ahly Ly (Libya) and Bangui Sporting Club (Central African Republic) facing off at 4:00 p.m. local time / 10:00 a.m. ET. In the second game, home team and defending BAL champion Al Ahly (Egypt) will begin its title defense against two-time BAL participant City Oilers (Uganda) at 7:00 p.m. local time / 1:00 p.m. ET.  The complete game schedule is available at BAL.NBA.com.

Tickets are on sale now at BAL.NBA.com and Tazkarti.com, starting at 75 EGP with up to 35% off single game ticket prices by purchasing group packages by emailing BalTickets@thebal.com.

Following the Nile Conference, the 2024 BAL season will continue with the Sahara Conference group phase, which will take place from Saturday, May 4 – Sunday, May 12 at the Dakar Arena in Dakar, Senegal, and feature 2022 BAL champion US Monastir (Tunisia), home team and 2023 BAL runner-up AS Douanes (Senegal), 2021 BAL participant Rivers Hoopers (Nigeria), and first-time BAL participant Armée Patriotique Rwandaise Basketball (APR; Rwanda). Tickets for the Sahara Conference group phase are available at Teewtickets.com, with up to 20% off single game ticket prices when purchasing packages for two, four or all 12 games.

Fans who purchase tickets will also have free access to BAL Fan Zones at the arena in each market.

FUS Rabat Basketball (Morocco; 3-1) and Petro de Luanda (Angola; 2-2) finished as the top two teams at the inaugural Kalahari Conference group phase in Pretoria, South Africa last month. The top two teams from each conference and the top two third-place teams from across the three conferences will travel to BK Arena in Kigali for four seeding games followed by an eight-game, single-elimination Playoffs and Finals from Friday, May 24 – Saturday, June 1. Ticket sales information for the Playoffs and Finals will be announced in the coming weeks.

The 2024 BAL season is reaching fans in 214 countries and territories in 17 languages through free-to- air and paid TV broadcast partnerships with the African Union of Broadcasting, American Forces Network (AFN), Canal+, NBA TV, Tencent Video, TSN, TV5 Monde, Visionary TV and Voice of America (VOA), and livestreaming on the NBA App (https://apo-opa.co/43eJtgR), NBA.com, BAL.NBA.com and the BAL’s YouTube channel (https://apo-opa.co/43gfoxt).

Linked here (https://apo-opa.co/4d5ATpa) please find select Nile Conference group phase player and coach storylines.

*Rosters are subject to change and will be updated in real-time on the team roster pages on BAL.NBA.com.

View Nile Conference Group Phase Rosters (https://apo-opa.co/3T0x5w8)

Basketball Africa League Season 4 Nile Conference Hype Video (Credit: Basketball Africa League) (https://apo-opa.co/4avTsAM)

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Basketball Africa League (BAL).

Contact:
Edwin Eselem
Basketball Africa League
+221 78 615 42 87
EEselem@theBAL.com

About the BAL:
The Basketball Africa League (BAL), a partnership between the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) and NBA Africa, is a professional league featuring 12 club teams from across Africa that will tip off its fourth season in March 2024.  Headquartered in Dakar, Senegal, the BAL builds on the foundation of club competitions FIBA Africa has organized across the continent and marks the NBA’s first collaboration to operate a league outside North America. Fans can follow the BAL (@theBAL) on Facebook (https://apo-opa.co/3IryMxW), Instagram (https://apo-opa.co/48G8a76), Threads (https://apo-opa.co/49zyG3f), X (https://apo-opa.co/3wLTzd4), and YouTube (https://apo-opa.co/43gfoxt) and register their interest in receiving more information at www.BAL.NBA.com.

RMB (www.RMB.co.za) one of Africa’s leading corporate and investment banks, has invested in Acre Export Finance Fund I which targets commercial debt tranches of Export Credit Agency (ECA) transactions supporting climate-aligned infrastructure in Africa.

The fund has announced its first close on 17th of April in which it has successfully raised an equity of ~$100m which will be used to part finance projects in four impact sectors: renewable power generation, health, food and water scarcity – as well as sustainable cities and green transportation.

Aymeric Perrin-Guinot, Senior Transactor ECA Finance at RMB London said: “By providing specialist funding for the commercial debt tranche and as a result unlocking the ECA guaranteed part of the transaction, the fund will enable the mobilisation of up to $2bln toward impact projects.”

“ECA finance, by enabling access to long-term debt for borrowers in emerging markets, is seen as a key contributor to the reduction of the infrastructure financing gap in Africa, which is estimated to be over $100 billion every year.”

Siyanda Mflathelwa, Sector Head of PPPs and Concessions at RMB noted that the fund fills a specific gap in the market which is the funding of the uncovered portion of ECA transactions, which has become increasingly difficult to fund. Thereby unlocking transactions that will have a multiplier effect on the economies of the countries where it is deployed.

The IMF has recently noted that for every $1m invested in infrastructure projects, between 8 and 30 jobs are created in low income developing countries.

“In addition, the fund is expected to have a significant positive social, environmental and economic impact, underlining RMB’s own ambitions in sustainable finance and our commitment to support Africa’s transition to a lower carbon economy in line with the Paris Agreement.”

Acre Export Finance Fund will align all its investments with the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and leverage industry-leading frameworks for impact reporting.

Perrin-Guinot added that RMB’s investment in the fund is a great example of African banks contributing to solutions to African problems.

Hussein Sefian, CEO of Acre Impact Capital said: “RMB’s investment in the Fund demonstrates the positive role that African financial institutions are playing in supporting the financing of climate-aligned essential infrastructure in Africa. We are pleased to have received commitments from premier African investors such as RMB.”

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Rand Merchant Bank.

TelCables West Africa, part of the Angola Cables global network (http://AngolaCables.co.ao), shared details of its innovative Partner Program at a recent event held at the Lagos Continental Hotel, Victoria Island, Lagos, Nigeria.

This initiative is designed to empower companies in West Africa to shape the future of digital connectivity, tap into the rapidly growing enterprise market, and expand their businesses internationally.

​The TelCables Partner Program enables telecommunication companies, operators, ICT integrators, as well as internet service providers to extend their influence in shaping West Africa digital ecosystem.

Multinational telecommunications company Angola Cables operates in the wholesale market, providing connectivity, IT solutions and services, as well as international data circuit capacity and IP transit via owned, high-capacity submarine cables, including SACS, Monet, and WACS.

“Leveraging the Angola Cables Partner Program provides a unique opportunity for us to help connect our partners’ businesses from West Africa to the world,” said TelCables Nigeria CEO, Fernando Fernandes.

“As the most connected network operator in Africa, our secure, low-latency direct routings Data Center to Data Center  from West Africa to the USA and South America, and from West Africa to London provide an immense advantage to our partners.​ Moreover, our presence across a number of Nigerian IP hubs such as Lekki, WACS CLS, Medallion DC, Rack Centre and others, and connections across Africa via the Djoliba network, means our partners have access to some of the most advanced digital infrastructure on the continent and our featured products to address secure connectivity and Clouds2Africa the most interconnected Cloud IAAS in Africa benefiting to our Global Network in more than 400 Cloud and Anti-DDoS secured nodes,” he added.

The Partner Program provides a comprehensive suite of management resourceful tools to support partners in their sales efforts. This includes portal, sales and marketing tools that enable partners to define product, commercial, and marketing strategies, as well as receive technical formation and go-to-market initiatives to streamline and accelerate their market offerings. The personalized program also adapts to the needs of each partner’s experience and market demand, ensuring mutual success. Additionally, tailored training and support are provided to each partner to help them achieve their goals.

Based in Nigeria, and with a global footprint in 20 countries on five continents, TelCables offers a wide range of internet exchange points, points-of-presence, peering, and related services.​ Current participants in the Partner Program include Microsoft, NEC, Juniper Networks, Ciena and Check Point Software Technologies Ltd., all benefiting from Angola Cables’ extensive, low-latency direct access connectivity, connecting to the largest Internet Exchange Points (IXPs), Tier 1 operators, and global content providers in Africa and around the world.

As part of the Angola Cables family, TelCables West Africa’s Partner Program is a testament to the company’s dedication to empowering businesses in West Africa to reach new heights in the digital age. Companies interested in joining the Partner Program and becoming part of a network that is shaping the future of digital connectivity in West Africa, can do so here (https://apo-opa.co/3vZKoFL).

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Angola Cables.

Professor Mehmet Asutay has been selected as the first-place winner of the 2024 Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) Prize for Impactful Achievement in Islamic Economics (www.IsDBInstitute.org) for his significant and influential contributions to the field of Islamic economics and finance.

The prize laureate is a Professor of Middle Eastern and Islamic Political Economy&Finance at Durham University, United Kingdom. He is an internationally recognised academic who produced pioneering and impactful scholarly works.

Professor Asutay was selected in recognition of his novel work on Islamic moral economy and the articulation of Islamic finance to be supportive of sustainable development and the welfare of human beings.

This year’s prize cycle aims to recognise, reward and encourage significant knowledge contributions in Islamic economics with the potential to solve major development challenges of IsDB member countries. The prize comes with a US$ 50,000 award for the first prize winner, US$ 30,000 for second prize, and US$ 20,000 for third prize. However, the second and third-position prizes are withheld this year.

Every year the winners of the IsDB Prize are selected by a different committee of experts from outside the IsDB Group, whose work is coordinated by the Islamic Development Bank Institute (IsDBI).

The winner of this year’s prize will receive the award during the IsDB Group Annual Meetings, scheduled for 27 – 30 April 2024 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

In his comments on this occasion, the President of the IsDB, H.E. Dr. Muhammad Al Jasser, congratulated the laureate for his impactful knowledge contributions and wished him success in his various endeavours.

Acting Director General of IsDBI, Dr. Sami Al-Suwailem, also congratulated the winner and extended his appreciation to H.E. Dr. Al Jasser for guiding the Institute towards the successful coordination of the prize.

Here is the full citation issued by the prize selection committee:

Professor Mehmet Asutay’s knowledge contributions emphasize reconstituting Islamic economics in the form of an Islamic moral economy by essentializing an extended stakeholder-based governance system to ensure the moral grounds of the economic system.

An overall theme of the multidisciplinary research of Prof. Asutay relates to the articulation of Islamic finance to be supportive of sustainable development and the well-being of human beings. His empirical research resonates with and articulates the conceptual and theoretical reconstruction he attempts in his research.

The original contributions of Prof. Asutay have tangible policy implications with practical applications in Member Countries and Muslim communities worldwide.

In recognition of his novel work on Islamic moral economy, the IsDB Prize Selection Committee decided to award the IsDB Prize for Impactful Achievement in Islamic Economics, Knowledge Contribution Category 1445H (2024G), to Prof. Dr. Mehmet Asutay.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Islamic Development Bank Institute (IsDBI).

Media contact:
Habeeb Idris Pindiga
Associate Manager, Knowledge Horizons
hpindiga@isdb.org

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About the Islamic Development Bank Institute:
The Islamic Development Bank Institute (IsDBI) is the knowledge beacon of the Islamic Development Bank Group. Guided by the principles of Islamic economics and finance, the IsDB Institute leads the development of innovative knowledge-based solutions to support the sustainable economic advancement of IsDB Member Countries and various Muslim communities worldwide. The IsDB Institute enables economic development through pioneering research and original economic analysis, human capital development, and knowledge creation, dissemination, and management. The Institute leads initiatives to enable Islamic finance ecosystems, ultimately helping Member Countries achieve their development objectives. More information about the IsDB Institute is available on www.IsDBInstitute.org