NBA Kenya Director Michael Finley has tipped Kenya’s Junior NBA scene for explosive growth following the roaring success of the inaugural M-Pesa Jr NBA tournament.
Speaking after the curtain came down on the national finals at the Aga Khan Academy in Mombasa, Finley revealed the tournament had far surpassed expectations.
“We exceeded the target of kids we intended to impact. Our target was 10,000, but we were able to reach 15,000 kids,” Finley said.
A collaboration between NBA Africa and M-Pesa—powered by Safaricom, East Africa’s leading telco—the tournament was designed to nurture basketball talent while instilling financial literacy in youth.
Buoyed by the impressive debut, Finley is confident the tournament will unearth more young stars as organisers set their sights on expanding the programme’s footprint.
“The future of the junior NBA in the country looks very promising. We are now looking at reaching all eight regions in the country. We were able to traverse four regions during the inaugural tournament,” Finley said.
He emphasised the need to partner with the Ministry of Education to deepen grassroots access. “If we work with the Ministry of Education, we can get to all eight regions and access more young people,” he noted.
The national finals brought together regional champions from Nairobi, Mombasa, Eldoret and Kisumu. St. John’s Primary School from Korogocho clinched the boys’ title, while Olympic Junior School from Nairobi emerged as the girls’ champions.
Brenda Akinyi of Olympic Junior was named girls’ Most Valuable Player (MVP), while Moses Ochieng of St. John’s took home the boys’ MVP honours. Coaches Ezra Alenga (Olympic Junior) and Brian Lusaga (St. John’s) were crowned Coaches of the Year in their respective divisions.
The tournament has ignited excitement among Kenya’s youth, with more children now embracing basketball and aspiring to play on the national stage.
“We are now seeing more young Kenyans taking up basketball and wanting to compete in the Jr NBA tournament,” he noted.
Finley expressed optimism that the partnership with Safaricom would continue, as they aim to invest further in school facilities and expand financial education.
“We want to continue working with Safaricom to get to more young Kenyans and get more facilities in their schools as well as equip them with financial literacy skills,” he noted.
The initiative also included a
coaching development program, with
100 coaches trained this year.
