KATHY BEHRENS: Good morning, everybody. Good morning. Welcome to this year's NBA Newsmaker Breakfast. I'm Kathy Behrens. I'm the NBA's President of Social Responsibility Employer Programs.
(Applause.)
KATHY BEHRENS: I thought for sure the applause would be louder since we brought breakfast back to the event, but I'll take it, I'll take it.
It is also great to have All-Star back here in Salt Lake City, and it's been wonderful the last couple of days to see the Utah Jazz family and the NBA family giving back so meaningfully to the community. So I want to thank everybody for their participation yesterday in our Day of Service and all the other events that we've been doing.
And the best is yet to come. This weekend, the greatest players will gather for All-Star Weekend, and we will celebrate the increasingly global nature of our game.
And that is what we hope to do this morning as well. As we gather for our Newsmaker conversation. This event always gives us a chance to listen, learn, and understand about the stories, the challenges, and the opportunities in our interconnected world.
Today and through the weekend, we're focused on the continent of Africa, which is a place rich in talent, on and off the court, and brimming with opportunity. We've assembled a panel of true leaders and people who will help us understand the promise of the continent and what is needed to help it achieve that promise.
And as always, there is no better person to lead that conversation than the NBA's great friend, Gayle King.
(Applause.)
GAYLE KING: Hello, hello, hello. Welcome, welcome, welcome. Thank you, Kathy. I don't know about you guys, but I am so excited. Last week we were all in Phoenix, or a lot of us were in Phoenix, for Super Bowl, and that was great. That was great. That was a -- we all had a blast there. But nothing to me compares to NBA All-Star Weekend. Nothing. Nothing.
(Applause.)
GAYLE KING: I am a basketball junkie. When I was in high school, I was a basketball statistician for the boys team because I liked it so much. And I've been coming to NBA All-Stars since my favorite son, Will, was a sophomore in high school. He is now 35 years old. So he's a grown-ass man. And we're still coming. He's now potty-trained and employed, and we're happy to be here. I love, love, love coming.
But I'm really excited about this conversation because I think, you know, I have to confess, when I was younger, going to Africa wasn't on my bucket list. I wanted to go to Italy, I wanted to go to France, I wanted to go to Greece.
And it wasn't really until Oprah opened her school in Africa, and I've since been several times, that I go, wow, this is an amazing place. The NBA and Adam Silver have discovered that long before I did, and that's why we're having this conversation.
So before we start, I want to know how many people have been to Africa? I know this is a very sophisticated crowd. How many people have not been to Africa?
Well, good news for you today because Patrice, who's on our panel -- let me tell you a little something about Patrice. Dr. Patrice Motsepe is named by "Forbes Magazine" one of the greatest living business minds in the world, along with Bill Gates, Warren Buffett, Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, which means he's quite wealthy. He's offering to take all of you who have never been.
(Laughter.)
GAYLE KING: How do you get to go on Patrice's dime? Sign up with Adam Silver, he's not doing anything this weekend, and we'll figure out a way to get you there.
But we're really excited. I asked everybody on the panel, I always think -- just to give you a sense of who these guys are, they're all -- and women, they're all bad-asses in their respective fields, but I said it would be nice for the crowd to get a little sense of who you are if you would tell us your theme song, your mantra, your philosophy of life.
So I'll make the introduction first, and then they can tell you what their theme song, their mantra, their philosophy of life is.
My theme song that I think describes me pretty well is "Walking on Sunshine" because I think I'm just so happy to be on the freaking planet. I can also tell you that none of the theme songs are "Bitch Better Have My Money" --
(Laughter.)
GAYLE KING: -- Rihanna's opening at the Super Bowl. Rihanna was knockout at the Super Bowl. Knockout. But I thought she was gonna open with "Shine bright like a diamond," and when she started with "Bitch better have my money," I thought: Way to go, RiRi. I like it. I like it.
Masai Ujiri. You all know him. He's the vice chairman and president of the Toronto Raptors, the co-founder of Giants of Africa. Originally from Nigeria, Masai's career has touched all parts of basketball, from player to scout to now president of the Raptors, who were, as you guys know, world champions in 2019. Okay, Masai.
(Applause.)
GAYLE KING: Just share with the class your theme song, your mantra, your philosophy. Doesn't have to be long.
MASAI UJIRI: I think a lot of people here have been to Basketball Without Borders, but if you haven't, I'll teach you. I told Adam I was going to do it. When I say "Pa-pa-paaa," everybody has to say "Paaaa." So the people that have been to Basketball Without Borders, please teach them: "Pa-pa-paaa"
EVERYONE: "Pa-pa-paaa."
MASAI UJIRI: Okay. Come on.
(Laughter.)
MASAI UJIRI: So I'll do it one time. "Pa-pa-paaa," and you guys go "Paaaa."
GAYLE KING: Okay, okay, we can do it. Okay. Do it again. Sorry. Do it again.
MASAI UJIRI: Are you listening?
GAYLE KING: I'm listening. I'm listening. I'm listening. I'm listening.
MASAI UJIRI: "Pa-pa-paaa."
EVERYONE: "Paaaa."
GAYLE KING: I don't know what that means...
MASAI UJIRI: I'll tell you. I'll tell you.
GAYLE KING: I don't know what that means...
MASAI UJIRI: My mantra: Win. Win on the court, and win off the court. And when you do, you bring people along.
GAYLE KING: Okay, I like that. I like that.
(Applause.)
GAYLE KING: Raj Shah, I'm going to go to you next. The former head of USAID. My dad worked there back in the day. I know that organization. I lived in Turkey as a kid, and he worked for them.
He is now the president of the Rockefeller Foundation, a Detroit Pistons fan -- we won't hold that against you -- and while not a pro, he plays basketball in what his staff refers to as a "dad league" in New York, which means you have dad jeans.
What's your mantra, your philosophy, or your song, please, sir.
DR. RAJIV SHAH: All right, well, so you already said I'm from Detroit, so I have a fight song, which is "Lose Yourself" by Eminem. But my mantra is really "Beautiful Day," because --
GAYLE KING: Oh, I love that too.
DR. RAJIV SHAH: -- you know, it's a beautiful day and because, when you think about all the things Bono's gotten involved in and made a difference in, it's kind of proof that you can be amazing at what you do day-to-day, but then also give yourself fully to making the world a better place in other respects.
And that's, I think, much of the theme of why we're all here. Adam Silver is a great example of that. He serves on our board at the Rockefeller Foundation. And just thrilled to be a part of this.
GAYLE KING: Yes, talk about global, that is certainly Bono.
Chiney -- I know I said -- let me make sure I get it right, and she went "Chiney Ogwumike," she said it rhymes -- is a two-time WNBA All-Star for the Los Angeles Sparks, full-time multi-platform ESPN commentator, we've all seen you in action, and an NBA analyst.
She also is a dual citizen of U.S. and Nigeria, and she's engaged to a great guy. So I think you're walking on sunshine too. But, Chiney, what is your theme song, your mantra, your philosophy?
CHINEY OGWUMIKE: So I'm going to be inspired by Rihanna and sort of -- typically when I'm on panels, I tend to be the only woman representing. So I'm going to switch from Rihanna and Super Bowl and go to "Okay, ladies, now let's get in formation." Okay, where are the ladies at? Where are the ladies at here?
(Laughter and applause.)
CHINEY OGWUMIKE: So I love that. I'm from Houston. And then also a "Diva is a female version of a hustla," right? So I know we've got a lot of divas out here that are hustling for the NBA and beyond and in basketball.
But lastly, before I play, whenever I touch the court or before I go on the air, as you know, Gayle, there are things that we do. We have practices.
GAYLE KING: Yeah.
CHINEY OGWUMIKE: And I always say the Serenity Prayer, and that is: God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things that I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.
GAYLE KING: I love that too.
CHINEY OGWUMIKE: And so that's what I say before --
GAYLE KING: Thank you, Chiney. Nicely done.
(Applause.)
GAYLE KING: Tope Lawani is a Nigerian national. He's co-founder and managing partner of Helios Investment Partners and co-CEO of Helios Fairfax Partners, along with being a strategic investor in NBA Africa.
Hello, Mr. Lawani. Your theme song, your philosophy, your mantra is?
TEMITOPE LAWANI: Yeah, so I'll start with a little bit of a Yoruba lesson. Yoruba is my language. So my name, my full name, is Temitope, and it means I have enough to be grateful for.
And I feel, you know, I certainly have always lived my name. And so my mantra, favorite song is, you know, not "Beautiful Day" but "Lovely Day" by Bill Withers.
GAYLE KING: Bill Withers, yes.
TEMITOPE LAWANI: And I think it's -- you know, to me it's about -- it's about perseverance, it's about gratitude, and it's about optimism. And I, you know, like to think of myself as a fairly optimistic person. I think you need to be optimistic to do what I do. And I think that that song really captures it.
GAYLE KING: Yes. Yes, yes. Captures it beautifully. Bill Withers, no longer with us.
Last, but certainly not least, we have a brilliant living mind on the stage. I love that you're described that way, one of the most brilliant living geniuses on the stage. Dr. Patrice Motsepe is a South African founder and executive chairman of the African Rainbow Minerals and the president of Football in Africa and vice president of FIFA or, as we say in this country, soccer.
(Laughter.)
GAYLE KING: Your mantra, your philosophy, your song?
DR. PATRICE MOTSEPE: Well, Masai was singing. My wife said if I want to sing, I must do it only to her and not in public. So I'm not going to sing. But the key issue for us is there's a wonderful song, "The Sky is the Limit."
GAYLE KING: Yes.
DR. PATRICE MOTSEPE: It's very inspirational. And from an African and a developing economy perspective, it's key to inspire the youth to pursue their dreams, to believe in the potential to realize their dreams. And the mantra, the song of "The Sky is the Limit" embodies those essential inspirational qualities.
GAYLE KING: Yes. Yes, yes. I believe that too. The sky is the limit.
A couple of things, guys, worth pointing out about Africa. Please, can we all just agree -- we all know this, this is a sophisticated audience -- that Africa is not monolithic. Quite often the images we see about Africa are sad, they tell a very depressing tale, cue the sad music, cue Sally Struthers talking. This panel wants you to know that Africa is vibrant, and it's thriving. All of us have been there many, many times.
Africa, there are 54 countries -- 54 countries -- 2,000 recognized languages, hundreds of different cultures. Did you know that it is the world's fastest growing continent?
Did you also know this? That 70 percent, 70 percent of the population in the continent of Africa are under the age of 30? In the United States, the average age for us is 38.5, 38 1/2. It has the highest entrepreneurship rate in the world.
And Africa is a source -- we all know this -- of notable talent. More than 50 current players in the NBA are of African descent.
Masai, I want to start with you because I love, as a little boy, while many of your friends were playing soccer, you were dreaming about basketball and Hakeem Olajuwon. Tell us about that growing up.
MASAI UJIRI: You know, I've been so fortunate to be blessed on this journey of incredible game. And we all started with soccer. We grew up in the continent and found basketball and had this dream come to America to play basketball.
And, honestly, like the journey has been incredible. The people that have helped, I think, get here, from the Amadou Falls to the Coach OBJs to Hakeem Olajuwon, I really want to mention Hakeem Olajuwon, Dikembe Mutombo, and Manute Bol.
They set the pace for us, right?
(Applause.)
MASAI UJIRI: Yeah, so with the emotions, Dikembe Mutombo is sick, and I want to give him a shout-out, you know, like all of us pray every day for Dikembe Mutombo.
(Applause.)
MASAI UJIRI: He will get better. But we will go further, you know, like all the other guys, a lot of them in the room here -- Joakim Noah, Luc Mbah a Moute, all these guys, Luol Deng -- that carried it and got us to where we are now. And now we see the vision of great people like Adam Silver putting the Basketball Africa League on the continent and --
GAYLE KING: We should point out that that -- you know, outside of the United States, the NBA doesn't have another league.
MASAI UJIRI: Exactly. The NBA --
GAYLE KING: Only in Africa.
MASAI UJIRI: Yes. And that is the chance that it has given me in sports and the chance that I have had as a youth. There are so many, so many -- Africa's biggest resource is its people.
GAYLE KING: Yeah.
MASAI UJIRI: Yes, is its people. People don't -- a lot of people don't know that. It's its people. In every --
GAYLE KING: What is it about the people?
MASAI UJIRI: Well, look at this weekend, whether it's entertainment, whether it's the real estate industry, the business industry, the sports industry, Africa is not rising. Africa has rose. Africa is here. Yeah. It is -- I'm telling you, it is big now.
(Applause.)
MASAI UJIRI: Yeah. Enough of -- like you said, enough of all those pictures with flies and all the little kids and --
GAYLE KING: And the distended bellies.
MASAI UJIRI: Yeah. No, nobody is doing that anymore.
GAYLE KING: Yeah.
MASAI UJIRI: Yes. So we like charity, we like you to come and help with charity and all the things we do, yeah, but let's think investment. Let's think future. Let's be visionaries here.
When you look at these players in the NBA, you look at Giannis -- and by the way, Giannis is Nigerian. I don't care what any of you say. He is Nigerian. Okay?
(Laughter.)
MASAI UJIRI: I have not seen a Greek guy that walks around like several foot, that big, that strong, and you tell me that guy is Greek. That guy is Nigerian. Okay? So let's get it straight.
(Applause.)
MASAI UJIRI: Sorry, Adam, I just got to go there.
GAYLE KING: Masai is like, Don't get it twisted.
MASAI UJIRI: Yes, don't get it twisted.
GAYLE KING: But we talk about the beauty of the people, Tope, but I think it's important for people to know about the huge investment opportunities and business opportunities that I don't think people understand. You know all too well. What do you see that others don't?
TEMITOPE LAWANI: Well, look, I think there are a few things. I mean, you mentioned the demographics, which those statistics are of course very interesting, but I think what we should then realize is if you have a continent where 70 percent of the growth -- it's a different 70 percent from the one you said -- of the growth in the world's population of young people is going to come from, it means that everything that young people do will have to come from Africa.
So, you know, if it's music, if it's sports, if it's entertainment, all innovation, anything that's done by young people will be done by Africa by just force of demographics. So this is not a will it happen? Might it happen? It will just because demographics are an unstoppable force.
So for us I think if you look historically in Africa, I mean it's not today that -- you know, big businesses have been growing in Africa, but it's been natural resources. You've got oil companies, mining companies. Patrice has several businesses that are very large in these sectors. So traditionally that's been our primary export.
I think going forward our primary export will not be minerals and crude oil, et cetera. I think it'll be talent. And I don't mean talent in the form of a brain drain, I mean talent in the form of whether it's intellectual property, it's players playing here, and, of course, sending remittances back home to invest in businesses on the continent, et cetera.
But there are many -- but also I think because we have the many advantages that Africa have, there are many disadvantages that we have, but we're in a moment now globally where there is just a flourishing of innovation, right, technology-wise.
So the cost of innovation has come down. You don't need to go and buy like giant servers in a server room, you just rent space with Amazon Web Services. You don't need actually to be a great programmer to create an app. There are lots of programming tools off the shelf.
So that has democratized the creation of technology, and so you're having that innovation take place in lots of places. So we're leapfrogging. You look at financial services, 30 percent -- less than 30 percent of adults have bank accounts. More than 70 percent have phones.
So all the innovation in mobile payments, in money transfer, using your phone, we're way -- we're much further along in Africa than, frankly, anywhere else in the world.
GAYLE KING: You include the United States in that?
TEMITOPE LAWANI: I certainly include the United States in that. We're miles ahead of the United States by that measure. I think Europe is further ahead of the United States, and we're miles ahead of Europe. So that's, you know -- so investing in Fintech businesses is something that we do a lot of, and I think that opportunity is still there.
GAYLE KING: I hear what you're saying, but that doesn't appear to be the perception, you know, that Africa is miles ahead. Why not?
TEMITOPE LAWANI: Well, I think, unfortunately, you know, I hate to point fingers, but I think the media, you know, plays a role. I think you're not going to sell newspapers. I mean, how many people --
GAYLE KING: That Wolf Blitzer.
TEMITOPE LAWANI: How many people are going to buy -- you know, you're not going to buy a newspaper headline that says, you know, growth in Cameroon hits 5 percent, right? You might buy a newspaper that shows, you know, pestilence and death and everything on the cover.
So I think, you know, look, there's a desire to sort of attention grab, and I think that's part of it. But I think also the truth is this moment in time is actually different from history, right? Demographics didn't start on Tuesday. It's been a trend that's been building for some time.
But this is the first time that that demographic trend has intersected with massive technological innovation. And I think that's what's giving rise to a lot of opportunity now in a way that has never actually existed before.
GAYLE KING: Mm-hmm. Chiney, listen, you are a superstar athlete and certainly very good on television, but your background, you have a tie to the state of Utah. Can you talk about that, your journey from -- to get from here to where you are?
CHINEY OGWUMIKE: It was quite ironic when Utah was announced as an All-Star city because I was telling my parents -- they always know where I go all the time. African parents, they keep a pulse on you. And they're like, "Oh, you're going back home." And I was like, "What? What are you talking about?"
I always knew that my parents graduated from Weber State. But my parents both emigrated from Nigeria around the age of 16. They didn't know each other then. But the first place they came to was Greeley, Colorado, and then they went and they got their diplomas. You know how we do, we roll deep. All of my mom's siblings and my dad's siblings graduated from Weber State. And so about 30 miles from here, they were married.
And so coming to Salt Lake City, it's really full circle for me and my family because, obviously, you mentioned the brain drain, and there were so many hopes and aspirations for Africans to really be -- realize their potential. My parents were a part of that narrative.
GAYLE KING: Yeah, when they came, what were their dreams for you?
CHINEY OGWUMIKE: Their dreams were, honestly, first, I think they planned to go back home. But then life happened. You pop out three, four girls -- my sister, I'm not sure if she's here right now. But, you know, they really laid the foundation for us to dream and us to believe.
Always say that being Nigerian American is having the best of both worlds. You have that Nigerian determination that anything is possible. Typically, Nigerians are what? Doctors, lawyers, engineers --
AUDIENCE MEMBER: (Indiscernible.)
CHINEY OGWUMIKE: Oh, yeah, thank you. Thank you.
(Laughter.)
CHINEY OGWUMIKE: And so to be a basketball player, you're sort of underachieving. And when you have a big sister that's an MVP, little sisters that are literally doctors and about to get a Ph.D. in Poli Sci, I'm like the, you know, one that sort of sticks out a different way.
But just them having that foundation of letting us know that, hey, we're here, America has great opportunities, but that indomitable spirit that you have as being African, you can make something happen.
But, you know, we don't really listen to our parents. You hear it. And I think it really transformed my mind when I got to Stanford University. I was fortunate. I was a super nerd. On my official visit -- you know most people go to like -- no offense -- Kentucky and they see Drake and all these cool, amazing things when you're getting recruited.
Instead, at Stanford, I was running to Chief Justice John Roberts and former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, which was an amazing experience.
GAYLE KING: Yes, that's one of your mentors.
CHINEY OGWUMIKE: I was that geeky nerd. And when I got to Stanford, it sort of started to really make sense, that idea of opportunity, because I realized, okay, we can do more than what is expected as athletes. And I think everyone here has a connection and a resonance to sports.
And, lastly, I'll just say this. I'll never forget, when I was at Stanford, it's very difficult to get time off, to miss a quarter of school. And we had just lost in March Madness. And so that's the hardest thing to go to my Hall of Fame coach, Tara VanDerveer, and say, "Oh, so my major requirement as an international relations major means I have to go study abroad." I was like, "She's going to say I can't do it."
She said I could. And that was because of my major advisor, Dr. Condoleezza Rice, said, "Chiney, as hard as you go on the court, you can go off the court." And it all clicked, understanding the duality of power, existing in both places. We have amazing businessmen, businesswomen here that have the ability to transform lives. We can do both at the same time.
GAYLE KING: Yes.
CHINEY OGWUMIKE: And so that sort of -- now I know I'm living --
GAYLE KING: You can do both at the same time, and you are doing both at the same time.
CHINEY OGWUMIKE: Well, I appreciate it. And I literally am living my ancestors' wildest dreams. You see that on T-shirts. But it really started with them having the courage to dream and to empower young women --
MASAI UJIRI: Gayle, can I add something? I want to cut you off now. Can I add something on this girl right here?
GAYLE KING: Yes.
MASAI UJIRI: So she knows I'm going to call her out now.
GAYLE KING: Should we be scared?
MASAI UJIRI: Yes, be scared a little bit. So many years, many years ago I'm doing my basketball camps in Africa, in Nigeria, and we select all these kids. Sorry, guys, two seconds. We select all these kids to come into the camp, 15, 14, 16-year-olds, the Giants of Africa camp.
Kick a hundred kids out, select fifty. We kick, always kick 200. Kick this one particular kid out, and he promised that he would come and do better and he will be better. We tried them out. He didn't make the camp.
Came back the second year, made the camp. Was very good. Selected him for NBA's Basketball Without Borders. He came to South Africa, Basketball Without Borders. Okay? He was one of the very best there.
We selected him, came to school in the States, okay, to high school, went to University of Miami.
GAYLE KING: I hope this is going to tie to Chiney's.
MASAI UJIRI: Had a gruesome injury.
GAYLE KING: Yes.
MASAI UJIRI: Okay?
GAYLE KING: Yes.
MASAI UJIRI: Gruesome, gruesome injury.
GAYLE KING: Yeah.
MASAI UJIRI: Ankle turns, breaks.
GAYLE KING: Yes.
MASAI UJIRI: This kid plays basketball, college basketball, University of Miami. Plays football. Graduates, mechanical engineer. Okay? Okay? Last year --
GAYLE KING: Who is it?
MASAI UJIRI: Last year, last year --
GAYLE KING: Yes.
MASAI UJIRI: -- in All-Star we're at an event, Tech Summit. She calls me to the green room, and she says, "Look who my new boyfriend is."
GAYLE KING: Ohhh.
(Applause.)
MASAI UJIRI: And she's engaged to him now.
GAYLE KING: Ohhh.
(Applause.)
MASAI UJIRI: I know he's here. Where is he? Stand up. Where are you?
GAYLE KING: I saw him backstage.
MASAI UJIRI: Stand up. Giants of Africa. Basketball Without Borders. There he is.
(Applause.)
CHINEY OGWUMIKE: Without Masai's efforts with Giants of Africa and Basketball Without Borders --
MASAI UJIRI: She would not have a husband. Thank you. Thank you, guys. Thank you.
(Applause.)
MASAI UJIRI: You're welcome. Sorry, Gayle. I had to tell that one.
CHINEY OGWUMIKE: My parents say thank you.
GAYLE KING: Yes, don't be sorry because I want a husband too.
(Laughter.)
GAYLE KING: What can you do?
MASAI UJIRI: I'll work on it, Gayle. I'll work on it.
GAYLE KING: I never ask you for anything, Masai. I never ask you for anything.
CHINEY OGWUMIKE: Matchmaker.
GAYLE KING: Patrice -- and let me tell you, he did a good job too, Chiney. He did a very good job.
Patrice, your career has been based on entrepreneurship. You were considered one of the best in the business. Can you tell us the difference between the entrepreneurs in Africa and what we're accustomed to here? Or maybe there isn't a difference.
DR. PATRICE MOTSEPE: Well, I've met so many people, young men who've been immensely attracted to you, but they were scared to approach you.
(Laughter.)
GAYLE KING: You know I'm not scary. Stop it. You know I'm not scary.
DR. PATRICE MOTSEPE: They said your standards may be way, way too high. And your expectations may be very high.
GAYLE KING: Actually, they're not.
(Laughter.)
GAYLE KING: No, go ahead. Go ahead, Patrice. Go ahead.
DR. PATRICE MOTSEPE: But, I mean, just listening to --
GAYLE KING: Sorry, Will. My son is cringing, so --
(Laughter.)
DR. PATRICE MOTSEPE: But just listening to what she said and to what Masai said and Tope, that's what excites me, gives me confidence about the future of the continent.
I mean, we invested $5 billion over the last few years in Africa, started new businesses, new investments. We'll be investing another $5 billion over the next few years, and simply because Africa is one of the most exciting places to do business.
We've got investments in America, in Asia, in South America. But what people don't often recognize is when you take an investment decision, and that's why I like what Masai said, they always think of Africa as the place for philanthropy, for aid, for donations.
GAYLE KING: Yes.
DR. PATRICE MOTSEPE: If your investment opportunity on the continent is not as competitive as an investment opportunity in America, or anywhere else in the world, then you shouldn't even consider it.
But there's a huge amount of enthusiasm, excitement. Many of the young entrepreneurs studied in America. America will continue to inspire young people. We watch American TV, we watch American movies. They dance to American music, and what I like is it inspires original African music.
So the future looks at Africa, as we are talking about basketball today, the potential for -- you know, when they watch an American movie or even sing American songs, basketball features often and more often than not. So there's a huge excitement, a huge support for basketball.
But just specifically in terms of entrepreneurship, we're excited. There's about 400 million young people in Africa between the ages of 15 and 24.
GAYLE KING: I had no idea the age limit, the age was so young in Africa. I had no idea. I'm blown away by that statistic.
DR. PATRICE MOTSEPE: That's what we call a demographic dividend, but it's potentially also a demographic time bomb. Because if we don't educate -- you know, you spoke about technology. Technology has leapfrogged.
Africa, there's about 700 million cell phones on the continent. What Tope was saying in terms of the financial tech, the research, some of the smartest investors, technologists in Silicon Valley are, in some instances, even much more optimistic about Africa than many Africans themselves are, because we -- you know, our experience has shown us both the bad and the not so good.
So just in conclusion, I think that the future of the continent is exciting. There will be challenges in Africa, the perception that you will see a dictator tomorrow taking over government or diseases or illness in certain parts of the world, those will be forthcoming, like in many other parts of the world. But overall, Africa is very exciting, and the future looks exceptionally bright.
GAYLE KING: Raj, I want to bring you in this conversation because you've been working on the continent in various capacities with the Gates Foundation, USAID, and now of course the Rockefeller Foundation, for over 20 years, so you know your stuff as well. Where have you seen progress over the time, and what areas do you still think need focus?
DR. RAJIV SHAH: Well, the area -- you know, I love this conversation because it's so hopeful about the future, and it's so true to the reality that, you know, just statistically it's indisputable that Africans are the most entrepreneurial continent on the planet. That's just statistically true.
And before COVID, 6 of the 10 fastest growing economies in the world were in Africa. You were talking about 5 percent in Cameroon, but Ethiopia has grown at 7 1/2 percent for 15 years. You've seen so much significant poverty reduction and human development over that time frame. It's been extraordinary.
And part of the story has been big, bold efforts to transform some of the persistent issues around hunger, around poverty, around health.
You know, when President Bush started the PEPFAR program 20 years ago, we are now -- to address AIDS in Africa, I would travel through rural communities in Kenya, where you would see more coffin makers selling product on the side of the road than any other business because it was horrific.
25 million lives saved. AIDS is no longer a death sentence in Africa or pretty much anywhere else around the world.
(Applause.)
DR. RAJIV SHAH: And that's not just because of charity, that's because of science, that's because of healthcare workers being trained. It's because of businesses distributing antiretrovirals across the continent.
And some of the next-generation health technologies, as you point out, are coming from Africa, whether it's telemedicine, new ways to treat malaria, new ways to treat tuberculosis. So I think we have to recognize that.
What I'm most hopeful about -- I run the Rockefeller Foundation. You would say, well, that's a charity, and it is. Our single biggest project is we looked around the world and we said, well, where can science and technology really transform the lives of hundreds of millions of people?
And Patrice has been doing this for decades, very successfully. It's around -- we think it's around energy technology.
There are 400 million people in Africa that actually don't have electricity. It's unbelievable. And so you'd say, okay, you have the most entrepreneurial people, the most resilient people, some of the most extraordinary natural resources and the fastest growing global market -- 42 percent of the world's population in 2030 will be -- of the young population will be African -- and then you leave 30, 40 percent of the population without electricity?
How far would we have gotten just getting to breakfast this morning without electricity?
What's the good news? The good news is there's new battery technologies, new smart metering technologies, new mobile phone payment technologies, cheap solar panels, all of which can be produced on the continent.
And so we pulled together an $11 billion partnership. We put $500 million of our own resources in. And it's not charity, we invest, but we're willing to take a low return. We're even willing to, frankly, lose money so that commercial investors can actually make commercial investments. And right now we're building 10,000 rural solar grids throughout rural Nigeria.
I've visited these grids in communities across the continent and elsewhere, and I'll tell you, you go to a community that hasn't had electricity or they have electricity for a couple hours a day and then it goes off -- and actually I was walking through one with my daughter, who's here, 14-year-old daughter who's here, and the electricity goes off, and all of a sudden the town just shuts down. And about 30 seconds later the Rockefeller-supported mini-grid, which is a solar installation, starts power up again, and everything is lively.
And you talk to businessowners, and they're like, Hey, now I can invest in power tools for my carpentry shop or I can keep a girls school open at night so girls can safely come back and forth to a school and learn in the evening.
I mean, we have the capacity to transform the human condition using technology in Africa more than anywhere else in the world. It's a movement being led by Africans, and I really believe, if we were here in 2050, the story will be the renewable energy transformation was most consequential at lifting the human condition in Africa because of the things we're doing together right now.
(Applause.)
GAYLE KING: There's still, though, Tope, a lot of ignorance and skepticism about what is going on in Africa and the beauty of Africa. What do you say to that? What do we need this audience to know?
TEMITOPE LAWANI: Yeah, look, I think it's a great question. I think Patrice made a comment earlier about this. So I'm an investor. Investing is what I do, and I invest for -- on behalf of global pension funds, including some American pension funds, some family offices, endowments, et cetera, and they're looking for financial returns. Right?
I may have my own personal reasons for doing what I do, which are maybe not financial related, but that is, you know -- but that's what the capital that's been entrusted to us to do is looking for.
So what I would really encourage everyone here to think about, and this is the comment Patrice made, is really do not think about investing in Africa from a position of sacrificing. You know, I'd like -- I mean, we should all do good, but it's not about, well, I'll take a lesser return or I'll maybe just -- you know, just to help these people out. It's not a charity case.
I think you should be willing to subject investment opportunities in Africa to the same standards that you would subject an investment opportunity in Kansas City, and I'm quite sure that you will find that there are -- there's any -- there's just a huge number of opportunities there.
But maybe try not to take all of your information and limit your learning to sort of the general interest media. I think if you want to learn, there are people, you know, many people on this panel, many people in this audience, I think, who are very knowledgeable about the continent, for better and for worse. We're not trying to create the impression that it's all a bed of roses.
GAYLE KING: Yes.
TEMITOPE LAWANI: But I think -- you know, I do think spending the time to really dig deep and find out the reality, I think that's what I would recommend.
MASAI UJIRI: Also --
TEMITOPE LAWANI: Yeah, go for it, Masai.
GAYLE KING: Go ahead, Masai.
TEMITOPE LAWANI: No, no, yeah, and just -- you know, and I would just say that what you will actually find is that, you know, the one truism in investing is the less money that's going somewhere the better the returns are going to be. And so if no one's doing it, you might want to start thinking about it.
MASAI UJIRI: I think, Gayle, we should think about like leadership too. I think slowly the leadership is getting better in Africa and young leaders maybe. We should think about that like going forward. So couple countries are changing that.
I also think people think of Africa as a country, not a continent.
GAYLE KING: Yes.
MASAI UJIRI: Yes. And I think we should really, like -- we should really, like, think that through. The borders hinders us a lot. And if the borders opened up in Africa to free trade, to movement, and we looked at it more of even like a United Africa in some kind of way, that's going to come at some point. It's going to come at some point, and it's going to change, it's going to really change the scope of Africa and how people do business everywhere on the continent.
Leadership is a key. And I think great leaders like President Kagame, Marquis [phonetic], those guys are moving the continent in a way now, you know, like that other leaders are looking and seeing you know where this is going.
GAYLE KING: That's such a good point you made about most people think of it as a country, not a continent. Because, you know, even on the news, Chiney, people will say, "Oh, he's from Africa," which really doesn't say anything really, don't you feel?
CHINEY OGWUMIKE: Yeah, I agree. I think that even --
GAYLE KING: If a player is playing, yeah.
CHINEY OGWUMIKE: Yeah, absolutely. Because I'm Igbo, and a lot of people think of Nigeria as predominantly three, Igbo, Hausa, Yoruba, but then there's so many different dialects and tribes within that that are so complex and beautiful, and you negate that narrative that there are so many things that make us different, that are our superpower, that are our strength.
And going on based on what the conversation has been, what I truly love, and when we're talking about investing in different ways, one of my mottos or mantras is by the Pan-Africanist Kwame Nkrumah, and he says: I'm African not because I was born in Africa but because Africa was born in me.
And I really believe that anyone here that cares or is curious about knowing how they can help, my mom also says: Tiny drops of water make a mighty ocean. And there are so many ways that these tiny drops of water can really create huge impact.
And I'm grateful also because I don't necessarily -- I'm in the WNBA, y'all know our salary is a little different.
GAYLE KING: Yes.
CHINEY OGWUMIKE: And my guy, big bro, Unc Masai, you know, what he's done with the Raptors and also just creating a platform -- I mean, we know how many courts you've built all across the continent. We typically, as women, we don't have equitable opportunity, but we have to still find a way to transform. And now we're finding so many allies that are committed.
And so I'd always say that, you know, if you find someone that knows a little bit and can help you do a little, it will go a long way.
I'm an Adidas athlete, and we've had these conversations for years. And now we're announcing that my sister and I, through our partnership and our ally with Adidas, we're building a court, our first court. Yay.
GAYLE KING: Yes.
(Applause.)
CHINEY OGWUMIKE: In Lagos. I left you on red. I know we were trying to do it. We're going to continue our courts later on with Giants of Africa.
But finally to have a partner step up to the table and say, "Hey, there's something special happening right now on the continent, and you and your sisters are quite visible. I know we know the Antetokounmpos, we know the Siakams, we know the Noahs and everyone here, but also tell the story of the Ogwumikes and the young women that are also hoping to dream and to have a court in Lagos near a flagship store that is opening.
It's all about allyship and understanding that maybe -- it's a half court, but guess what? That half court allows 100 percent of young girls to feel seen, to realize that their dreams are valid.
And that's what I think the essence is. There's so many different, diverse areas that can be neglected unless we open our eyes to it. And visibility matters.
(Applause.)
GAYLE KING: Patrice, when we talk about the young population, in terms of both of a pipeline, some people say for culture and ideas, that, you know, when you think about the young people, some say, well, do they really have the experience to know what they're doing?
And you have really put a face on that to show the beauty of the young entrepreneurship that's happening in Africa. Could you talk -- I'm talking to you, Patrice.
DR. PATRICE MOTSEPE: Oh, sorry.
GAYLE KING: I'm talking to you. I'm talking to you.
DR. PATRICE MOTSEPE: I thought when you said a beautiful face --
(Laughter.)
DR. PATRICE MOTSEPE: Well, I mean, just --
GAYLE KING: Patrice got jokes. I like it. I like it.
(Laughter.)
DR. PATRICE MOTSEPE: Well, I mean, just there's a lot of exciting things happening. And the panel is a reflection of the promise and the opportunities.
About 25 years ago, Aliko Dangote, about 20, 25, one of the most successful entrepreneurs in the continent, we were in a meeting with the CEOs of the hundred largest companies in the world, and Aliko said to me, "Patrice, do you realize it's only the two of us here from the continent?"
Not the same anymore. In these meetings with some -- the CEOs run the most successful, largest companies in the world, many of them are from America, C Africa is -- and, of course, the young Africans, I mean, yourself and others, are part of these discussions.
And I think the biggest advantage, if anybody is looking at investing in Africa -- and the same principle applies, whether it's India, whether it's Brazil, whether it's in Europe -- your success is almost dependent if not influenced by your local partners, and because they --
GAYLE KING: Who? By who? Say again? Sorry.
DR. PATRICE MOTSEPE: Your local partners.
GAYLE KING: Partners. Okay, got it.
DR. PATRICE MOTSEPE: And, you know, partnering with Tope and Masai, and you're also an entrepreneur quite apart from, we all have to reduce our overdraft, so it's good that you're partnering with young women entrepreneurs because they know the local environment and the local opportunities, significantly reduces your risk.
In those countries where we've done very well, it's because we had great partners. And the opposite is also true. Where we've not done well or lost money is because the partners were not as good as should have been.
But as I said, young entrepreneurs on the continent, hugely inspiring. And I was happy when your son told us that he's been to Africa because they become ambassadors for the continent.
GAYLE KING: Yes, yes, yes.
DR. PATRICE MOTSEPE: And you and Oprah have done exceptional work on the continent.
GAYLE KING: No, you know, when you think about the NBA Africa, I wonder, because I met someone yesterday who said, "Well, we have, you know, five LeBron James walking around." I go, "Five? Five?"
(Laughter.)
GAYLE KING: So when you think of in Africa --
MASAI UJIRI: Gayle, Gayle, Gayle, Gayle.
GAYLE KING: Yes.
MASAI UJIRI: A hundred.
(Laughter.)
GAYLE KING: A hundred. Well, I questioned him when he said five. You say a hundred.
MASAI UJIRI: I say a hundred. I say a hundred because --
GAYLE KING: Because I'm wondering, is NBA Africa a feeding ground for the NBA, or are we trying to boost the NBA in Africa, or is it both?
MASAI UJIRI: So I'll tell you. Why we say a hundred is because there's so many kids that walk around and there's no facilities.
GAYLE KING: No facilities.
MASAI UJIRI: Yes. And the infrastructure is slowly getting better. Now we have a Kigali arena where Adam Silver can come and play or a Dakar arena that we can come and play basketball, Africa League.
And this is going to grow. This is going to enhance now. When you think about all this youth, all these women, all these young, young youth who want to play sports, and there's nowhere to go play, now you start to build infrastructure. Okay. And now there's a Basketball Africa League.
We say it again. The NBA has not invested or built any -- in any place in the world a basketball league except --
GAYLE KING: Outside of this country.
MASAI UJIRI: Outside of this country except Africa. It tells me --
GAYLE KING: And there's a reason for that.
MASAI UJIRI: There's a reason for that. And the reason for me, the reason is there is talent. The talent is something that you go to Congo, you go to Senegal, you go to Nigeria, you go to Cameroon, you go, you see the hundreds of LeBrons we are talking about walking around. But a lot of them, some 50 years old, some 13 years old, some 12 years old, some 30 years old, this is what I mean, there's a hundred of them, some of them never even touched the basketball. But they have that physique, right? They never saw the game because of a lack of infrastructure.
But I tell you what, what Amadou Fall is doing now, what Victor, what these guys are doing, NBA Africa and the Basketball Africa League and what Adam has seen, I tell you we are going to grow, and it's going to be big.
The question you ask is the league is going to be in Africa. Patrice is doing the same thing in football.
GAYLE KING: In Football.
MASAI UJIRI: Yes. Everybody, you go in the World Cup, I think there was only one team that did not have an African on it. I think. Everybody had an African. Someway or the other, they had an African on their team. And France had about 40.
(Laughter.)
MASAI UJIRI: Let's be real. They almost won -- Africa almost won two World Cups, correct?
(Laughter.)
MASAI UJIRI: Yes. We almost did. Yeah. So I'm telling you, it's coming. Yeah, it's coming. It's coming on the continent.
I'll say this one last little story, Gayle.
GAYLE KING: Yes.
MASAI UJIRI: Pascal Siakam on my team, okay, chosen to go to Basketball Without Borders, only went to South Africa after I think Luc Mbah a Moute chose him. He wanted to go see his sister, okay, in South Africa. Oh, I lived there for six years, yeah, I didn't see her. He was already admitted into pastoral school and was going to go out and be a pastor.
He decided to go to South Africa because he wanted to see his sister that he hadn't seen for six years. Went to Basketball Without Borders. Played in it, excelled, came to school, came to the NBA. Two-time NBA All-Star. Two-time All-NBA, world champion. 200 or $150 million later, Pascal Siakam.
(Applause.)
MASAI UJIRI: Opportunity is what we're talking about, okay? We're talking about, like, opportunity. Yeah. The Embiids of the world, all these guys, the Ians of the world, the Joakim Noahs of the world, the Chineys of the world, women, women, women in Africa, growing, just need opportunity.
GAYLE KING: That leads me to my question I was getting to about opportunities for women and girls. Who can address that, Patrice? Tope? Anyone on the panel. Opportunity for women and girls?
CHINEY OGWUMIKE: Obviously, yeah, I think it's really special.
GAYLE KING: I don't think it's obvious for you. I wasn't directing it --
CHINEY OGWUMIKE: Oh, no, no. Absolutely not. Just anyone that also wants to speak out, I'll let --
GAYLE KING: No, but you go first.
CHINEY OGWUMIKE: Okay. Thank you, thank you. You know, it's really truly special, and it's transformative. I told this story yesterday, you know, Nigeria, Africa, don't want to limit, but my experience through Nigeria has been truly a patriarchal place. We're very bound by tradition, we're bound by culture. It's beautiful, but at times it can hinder.
And even though I was born and raised in Houston, Texas, everyone knows when you're born in a place with African parents, that home is African.
And so growing up there, I'll never forget the day that we had -- I always tell people we fell into basketball, but we fell in love with it. My parents did not have plans for us to be professional athletes. I say "us." I have three sisters. We all were DI. Three of us made it to the WNBA, my sister and I No. 1 picks. Yeah, it's been great. I love it.
But when we -- we had no idea that basketball would transform our lives, the same way that Pascal had no idea. And for women, you know, everyone says you have to work twice as hard to get half as far. It feels like African women have to work 10 times as hard because that infrastructure is not there yet.
Now, it's getting there, and that's one thing I love to have learned with Basketball Africa League and Amadou about how there are always inclusion in the aspects of what they're building out. You know, whenever it's a camp, it's a unisex thing.
But even when I was growing up that was not the case. Even in Houston, Texas. I'll never forget going to my parents' friends' home, and we came from basketball practice. We were wearing our jerseys. Mind you, we always, you know, handle our business as young girls. All A's in school. That's the standard. You guys know that.
And we came to our parents' friends' house who had all the kids running around. We came in our jerseys. And I'll never forget the face that they made when they saw us in jerseys. Just, you know, unfortunately, like disgusted, surprise, like why are your girls wearing that?
That traditionalist norm that women or young girls are not capable or should not be doing that because that's unexpected, you know, we felt that. As a kid, you don't know what that is.
GAYLE KING: Yeah.
CHINEY OGWUMIKE: But, you know, I look back --
GAYLE KING: But you know it doesn't feel good.
CHINEY OGWUMIKE: I knew it didn't feel great. But my parents, and that's why I thank them a lot, they saw so many essential characteristics that sports brought: teamwork, camaraderie, but also my dad, being a girl dad, realizing that no matter who's in front of you, you can achieve.
And so having that foundation has allowed me to feel like any room, any setting that I walk in, I have that inner confidence.
How can we deny that to young girls on the continent just because it's built for the men? And I think that's why, you know, having the infrastructures for success.
Young girls care about the game. I'll never forget when I went and worked the Access 2 Success Foundation in Benin City, Nigeria. Going there, I was in college. This was when I did my study trip abroad at Stanford. Going there, I'll never forget that I walked to a court. The court was not -- it was an outdoor court. It wasn't great.
Thousands of people were out there. And even young girls. No shoes. Obviously, we know, but the women didn't have sports bras. They didn't have spandex. They didn't have the necessities for feminine health. They didn't know how to do it. But the guys could just sort of run out to the court and feel comfortable.
We have to remove those limitations, the patriarchal notions that hold young girls back that we may not even be aware of. And I think changing the narrative of inclusion by creating courts and making sure, okay, we have locker rooms. We need a changing room for young girls because it's different for women to change.
Just having women involved in the conversation changes the narrative, creates opportunity, allows us to not feel unseen, unheard and not valued.
And I love that basketball is a meritocracy. If you got game, you got game. You touch the court, you go out there and you can hoop. You know? And I think that's where we are, and that's exactly what's going to change the narrative.
Everyone sitting here and everyone, you know, a part of this movement understands that. And that's why I feel like there are not going to be young girls that felt that way when I saw that look anymore. There are more people that are carrying us along.
(Applause.)
GAYLE KING: I like that, Chiney, if you got game, you got game. That's so true. Patrice, can you speak to --
DR. PATRICE MOTSEPE: I can't agree more with you. But I think -- and she's 100 percent correct, but there's a lot of excellent, excellent, good things that are happening. The key to the realization of Africa's socioeconomic development and growth is the development, education, provisional of skills and expertise, to young girls and to allow women to realize their full potential.
Now, she is correct when she says a lot of our cultures are very patriarchal, but, you know, but the women are smarter than the men. They said go ahead and --
(Applause.)
GAYLE KING: That deserves applause, the women are smarter than the men.
DR. PATRICE MOTSEPE: The point I was going to make is, you know, I come -- you know, we are from a royal family. Very patriarchal. But my father knew that my mother was in control. And she told me: If you want to be happy in life, just follow your wife. Let her be in control.
So from a pure commercial perspective, so you do still find that there is indeed still a lot of work to be done, but there's a hell of a lot of excellent progress that's taking place. And particularly in the private sector. Because in the private sector, meritocracy is critically important. In basketball. In football.
So I just want to conclude by saying there's a lot of great -- Oprah. I mean, I went to some of Oprah's events, you and Oprah, the incredible work that she's doing in South Africa with the schools for young girls. And those young girls are ambassadors. They motivate society. They motivate the country.
GAYLE KING: But you know what happens? They come to the school, they thrive here, but they want to go home. Many of them want to go home, and they want to bring back to their communities, which is always very fascinating. Raj.
DR. RAJIV SHAH: I want to add just one thought because everyone in this room, and certainly my fellow panelists and absolutely you, Gayle, have extraordinary voices that everybody listens to in this country and around the world. And the NBA is the leader in social activism in a way that inspires young people and creates change.
And if you look at girls' opportunity and education in Africa, the biggest positive movement happened between 2002 and 2006 when we all came together as a global community and heads of state agreed to something, and I apologize for being technical, called the Highly Indebted Poor Country Initiative.
But they basically said we're going to forgive a tremendous amount of bad debt that has been accumulated by African governments and other governments if you use the proceeds to invest in girls. And all of a sudden you saw 60 million girls around the world start going to schools. You saw countries drop school fees. You saw countries pay for uniforms and books.
And it was a movement. You know, if I said something about Bono or Leon, Bono got started doing this by leading that effort. It was called the Jubilee Movement back then.
And I don't think aid or debt forgiveness or those things are the future, but right now there are 12 African countries that are facing a fiscal crisis because, frankly, when our interest rates go up by a point or two here, they go up 3 to 4 times that for public borrowing in countries.
And the first things all countries cut, that's as true in America as it is in Africa, is access to education and health for girls.
So the more you can use your voice to kind of amplify this story that Africa is the continent that determines whether our future planet is sustainable, is safe, is inclusive, and is hopeful. Now is the time to really elevate Africa on the global stage in that context as well.
GAYLE KING: I'm going to open it up to Q&A.
(Applause.)
GAYLE KING: I would like to open it up to Q&A, but I want to -- if you could leave the Q&A for us for a second, Tope, about how people here can engage in a meaningful way. I guess they're putting microphones in the audience. But how can people here engage in a meaningful way?
TEMITOPE LAWANI: Yeah, look, maybe I'll answer that with reference to this last topic that we're discussing, which is around opportunities for, you know, for girls and young women.
I think the point, you know, which has been made is education is the key. But what you find is that there are many -- even when girls get into school and are making good progress and they can afford it, there are many obstacles along the way.
So, for example, I'm very active on a board that's focused on neglected tropical diseases. So, you know, parasites and things of that nature. What you find, especially in rural communities, is that the moment there's an interruption in the well-being of the family, it's the girl that suffers.
So maybe the mom has an illness, a disease of some sort that means she can't go to the market or do whatever she does for a living, or the father has a has an issue, first thing, girl drops out of school, is taken out of school so that she can help around the house. She's, you know, 14 years old, she gets pregnant, that's basically the end of the -- you know, of that path.
So I think that there are some things around public health that if ultimately education is what you're interested in and if ultimately education for girls and keeping girls in school is what you're interested in, then I think that there are ways of playing that, even from this country, right, in supporting programs that just, at the end of the day, have the result of keeping girls in school, in school for longer.
GAYLE KING: Questions from the class.
TEMITOPE LAWANI: Wolf Blitzer has got a question there.
GAYLE KING: I see someone in the back with a microphone. Yes.
ROLAND MARTIN: Roland Martin. Glad to see all of you here.
GAYLE KING: Hi, Roland.
ROLAND MARTIN: Hey, Gayle. You mentioned media and the power of media and with these perceptions, what we have. Ghana has done an amazing job with the Year of Return of really telling the stories.
To the panelists, which African countries do you believe are telling their best story, inviting American media in? Because it's one thing to say how beautiful it is, but you actually have to show it. You have to actually tell the story. So which countries you think are doing a very good job of exporting that story to then attract eyeballs, attention, and investment?
GAYLE KING: Good question.
MASAI UJIRI: Oh, we're going to go into jollof rice now, huh?
(Laughter.)
DR. PATRICE MOTSEPE: Let me respond to that quickly. I was at a meeting a few months ago with -- Chatham House Rule applies, so I can't specifically indicate, but a head of state of one of the largest economies in Europe in the meeting said: You see, I am marketing Europe. I'm not marketing the country I come from. Because our success as a country is intimately interlinked to the success of Europe, the EU.
So to that question, I think we are marketing Africa. And for basketball, I mean, the excitement is not just in those countries that have got tall Africans, it's in those countries that have got Africans who are not so tall. Because they also watch basketball.
So in terms of identifying which country specifically, I can tell you in North Africa they do an incredible work. In West Africa, Nigeria, Senegal, I mean, the list goes on. And the same applies in East Africa, and the same applies in South Africa.
But our focus is, you know, there's this African Continental Free Trade Area, this agreement that will realize in excess of $3 trillion, in excess of $3 trillion of trade amongst African countries in the next five to ten years.
So the focus was, is in relation to that question, is to market the continent in its totality. Market Nigeria. Market Ghana. Market Morocco. Market Algeria. Market Kenya. Rwanda. I see the Minister from Rwanda is here. Incredible work. And the same applies to every one of the 54 nations on the continent.
GAYLE KING: Lately there does seem to be a lot of publicity around Ghana, you know?
MASAI UJIRI: I think it's the focus of -- sorry, Gayle -- it's the focus of sometimes the leaders, right? I think it's the leaders of the country that really like move this forward. And I think the President of Ghana has done a good job. I think Kagame has done a good job.
We are going in through sports, and that's what we're blessed with, right? And sports, like Nelson Mandela said, speaks for everybody in the world, and it brings people together.
GAYLE KING: No, he said exactly: "Sports has the power to change the world, has the power to inspire, has the power to unite people in a way that little else does."
MASAI UJIRI: Yes.
GAYLE KING: So right.
MASAI UJIRI: Yes. And that's -- we're blessed that way that sports has given us this opportunity. So there is not -- like Patrice said, there's not one country or one place. Yes, there are places that are more talented than the others, but they are all -- they also have their talent in other ways.
And this is what I say, the NBA is doing a great job, and all these players that represent us, because they tell a story of Africa. They tell a story of these different regions in an incredible, incredible way for us.
GAYLE KING: It would be nice if more and more people saw Africa the way I see the United States. Because just because you've been to New York doesn't mean you've been to America. You know, you get such a different feel when you go to New Orleans, when you go to the South. That Southern hospitality thing is no joke. When you go to Montana, for instance. You still get very different feels. It's all the United States of America, but you still get -- and California. You still get very different feels about what this country is.
That's one thing that always makes me proud about living here, frankly, that you can live in one section of the country but get many different experiences. And I don't think people look at Africa that way. Do you?
TEMITOPE LAWANI: If you don't mind, I'll just make one point about this on this continent versus country thing, which is I think the thing that's also lost in a lot of people is just the sheer size of Africa. Right?
So I remember several years ago, you know, there was a public health issue in Sierra Leone. There was an Ebola outbreak. And there were conferences getting canceled literally in Cairo, in Cape Town. And literally it's like San Francisco to Atlanta. To imagine if there's a problem in Atlanta and you said, well, actually, you know what, I'm not going to go to San Francisco.
(Laughter.)
TEMITOPE LAWANI: And really it's just -- it's really important just to visualize what's happening. So I think to the point that --
GAYLE KING: Such a good point.
TEMITOPE LAWANI: -- that came out earlier, when you read a headline that says there's some unrest in some part of Africa, maybe just look at that on a map and try to visualize where that might be.
(Laughter.)
GAYLE KING: Back in school we did have these things called maps. Boy, we did. Any other questions, guys?
TEMITOPE LAWANI: Wolf Blitzer.
GAYLE KING: Oh, Wolf Blitzer is here. Hi, Wolf. Wolf, I was only kidding when I said "That Wolf Blitzer."
(Laughter.)
GAYLE KING: I did not know you were in the room, sir. And Chris Licht too. The big cheese at CNN. It was just a joke, guys, just a joke.
WOLF BLITZER: Well, I just want to say thank you to all of you on behalf of everyone here. I think we've all learned a lot in the course of this conversation, and I'm grateful to all of you for sharing your thoughts and getting personal and really teaching us a little bit more about Africa.
I've been to Africa many times. I love Africa. I've been throughout the entire continent. Been to so many countries, and I've met so many wonderful people. Masai and I are very good friends over the years. He lives in Toronto. I come from the Sun and Fun capital of the United States, not too far from Toronto, Buffalo, New York. And I'm just grateful for everything that all of you have done.
But you did complain, and, Gayle, you did as well a little bit, about the media's coverage of Africa. So I'm willing to hear that and get some guidance from you guys. What more or less should we be doing in covering Africa?
MASAI UJIRI: It's a great question, Wolf. I think we are quick to jump on what Tope and everybody has said, you know, like when there is negativity and there's not so positive news, and maybe it's from a tiny little pocket.
You know, like, honestly, like I'd love for them, for the media, to celebrate, you know, like a lot of the things that we do like, like what Adam and Mark Tatum Amadou and Victor, these guys are doing.
The Basketball Africa League is going to be huge for us. You know, like let's promote the good things of -- like, look at these players. Like the stories are not told of like the Embiids and the Pascals. And it's not told to everybody. People don't know where these guys come from.
Yeah, we focus on just something here, and the game is global. The game is global. These guys have put us on a unique, unique platform. I'm so pissed off that there was no social media when Hakeem and Dikembe and Manute Bol -- you know, because those guys were it. Yes, those guys were big.
What Hakeem Olajuwon did, yeah, not many people are going to do for a long time. Right? And kids don't know many of those things.
So, Wolf, I'm telling you, it's like the stories, yeah, the great stories. What Giannis is doing. Yeah, what Giannis is doing is incredible. And we don't tell those stories as much. Chiney. Yeah. Women in sports. You know, like what she's doing, ESPN, and then she goes and plays. How many women do it? Yeah, let's be real. How many women do it?
(Applause.)
MASAI UJIRI: We don't tell enough of these incredible, incredible stories. And that's what we want, you know, like the positiveness of our continent and how it's going to rise and continue to rise. We truly, truly, truly need it because it would help us immensely.
GAYLE KING: Look at something as simple, Masai, as afrobeats is the entertainment at halftime with Burna Boy.
MASAI UJIRI: There's nothing bigger. Tope, please.
GAYLE KING: Yes.
MASAI UJIRI: Please tell me, what is bigger than the Nigerian artists, than the African artists in the world right now?
GAYLE KING: Harry Styles.
MASAI UJIRI: Selling out everywhere.
CHINEY OGWUMIKE: Thank you.
(Laughter.)
MASAI UJIRI: Yes.
GAYLE KING: I love me some Harry Styles, I'm sorry. But I like Burna Boy too, but I do think it's interesting. I do think it's interesting that the NBA halftime is Burna Boy.
MASAI UJIRI: Everybody is --
GAYLE KING: And afrobeats.
MASAI UJIRI: Everybody is listening to it. I go to my Pilates class, there is 29 white women and me. Yes.
(Laughter.)
MASAI UJIRI: And the instructor doesn't even know who I am. They're playing afrobeats. You go to the airport, you go everywhere, it's afrobeats. Yes. Tomorrow you will see. Tonight you will see. Go to Madison Square Garden, you will see.
Go everywhere, you see. Wizkid, Diamond. Yeah. You want me to name all of them? Davido. Keep going. We can play the music. Kathy, do we have some music here?
(Laughter.)
MASAI UJIRI: Let's go. We'll turn this place into a party. Quickly.
GAYLE KING: NBA is always a party.
MASAI UJIRI: Yeah.
GAYLE KING: Chiney?
CHINEY OGWUMIKE: Before I get to my answer, Harry Styles, Album of the Year, though? I'm like, I don't know, Harry Styles? Okay, it's okay.
GAYLE KING: Harry Styles.
CHINEY OGWUMIKE: He won Album of the Year. I was like, Oh...
GAYLE KING: Harry's House, oh, I love it. I love that song.
CHINEY OGWUMIKE: To talk about how the media can really help reshape narratives --
GAYLE KING: Look at you dumping on Harry Styles.
CHINEY OGWUMIKE: I'm straight Burna. I'm straight Wizkid. I'm straight Davido. Everyone knows my playlist. All right, how we doing? Okay, yeah, there we go. I really do think that when it talks about reshaping the media narrative.
GAYLE KING: Yes. That was a great question.
CHINEY OGWUMIKE: Small things go a long way, you know? I think oftentimes our culture gets watered down. For example, my name is Chinenye Joy Nena Ogwumike, but I go by Chiney. And Chiney is the more palatable way to say my name.
It doesn't feel great, but it is the truth. And that's sort of a truth that a lot of Africans experience. You go to class, and oftentimes you go by your English name and not your true given name.
And my name is special to me. Chinenye means God gives. My middle name is Joy. And my mom always says: Be careful what you name a child; that's what you become. So even as we have conversations, we can reshape the narrative by taking the time to understand that what is foreign to you, you don't have to be fearful of it. It's not just words. It's also food. It's music.
Oftentimes we feel like our culture, we're so protective of it, you know, especially in America, because we know that diversity is inevitable. But for Africans, you know, we are here to experience, we're here to elevate, and we're here to celebrate. And that starts with our name. That starts with how we communicate.
And so starting with, I think, just little things, those unconscious biases that we have each and every day, that makes us feel seen, and it makes us feel like our culture has something to provide that is not being watered down.
DR. PATRICE MOTSEPE: Just one quick point. I think, Wolf, you guys do a great job.
CHINEY OGWUMIKE: Absolutely.
DR. PATRICE MOTSEPE: CNN does excellent work, has a program that's focused on Africa. And I think Africa is multicultural, multiracial, multiethnic. Elon Musk was born in South Africa. Spent the first 20 years of his life in South Africa.
So I think we should continue indicating, telling, focusing on the good things, but of course we should also focus on those things that are not so good. Because there's no place in the world where there are no challenges and problems and weaknesses.
And that's why I'm just saying, I think, in conclusion, American media, and CNN in particular, really does a very, very good job. And may you guys continue.
DR. RAJIV SHAH: Can I say something about that, though. When I'm in Europe, CNN's coverage of Africa is very much like the panel today. It's diverse, it's exciting, it's real, it connects to business leaders and cultural leaders, and it's very hopeful.
And when I'm in the U.S., and this isn't just for CNN, but everyone's coverage of Africa, is really much, much, much more narrow. And I don't know enough about why that's different, but the content seems like it's in the system, but it doesn't seem to be as much in the United States for sure.
GAYLE KING: We have time for one last question. Yes, please.
QUESTION: (Indiscernible.) Burna Boy is great. Harry Styles is significant. But don't forget the --
GAYLE KING: Beyoncé, Renaissance.
QUESTION: Don't forget the world historical magnitude of The Queen.
GAYLE KING: Yes, Beyoncé, Renaissance, I know.
(Laughter.)
QUESTION: Put some respect on Beyoncé's name. So speaking of Beyoncé, one of her friends, President Obama, I'm curious as to the global impact, but especially the African impact of having had Obama, an African from Kenya, as President of the United States of America. Did it shift any perceptions? Did it change any beliefs about what Africa's capacity was?
DR. PATRICE MOTSEPE: Two things. My wife and I went to Barack's first inauguration. We are from South Africa. We do business in 40 countries in Africa, but we grew up in South Africa. It was a deeply emotional experience for us. We both cried.
The second inauguration, we said, We are not going to cry. Same thing. Because it was a hugely significant moment of immense pride, not just for African Americans, but for Africans in the diaspora and for many people. And the diaspora includes -- I mean, I got calls from people in Brazil, I got calls from people in South America.
So I hosted Barack with the Mandela Foundation about three years ago. We had about 30,000 people. We could have had 100,000. And hugely inspirational. Immensely, hugely -- immensely inspirational. And we always thought that Barack could play a much greater role, a much more significant role.
I was in Davos a few weeks ago, and we had many American senators and congressmen, and one of the congressmen, whose name I won't mention, we had a similar discussion.
GAYLE KING: Give us initials.
(Laughter.)
DR. PATRICE MOTSEPE: ZZ.
(Laughter.)
DR. PATRICE MOTSEPE: So the point I want to make is we will not give up on Barack because Barack is -- represents something unique. And not just for the people of Africa, for the people of the developing world.
I mean, American music inspires young people all over the world. We were inspired by the civil rights movement. I mean, one of the first things Mandela said when he came out of jail is: I want to go to America and thank all of the people who were supporting during the -- whilst he was in jail.
So we need to continue, and that's why these meetings are immensely important, and expose more young Americans, both black and white, Jewish Americans, non-Jews, Muslim, Catholic, Christian, and continue to focus on partnerships, working together.
And, of course, trade is very important, but we share so much in common in relation to values, the democracy that America stands for, freedom of speech, the realization of and the fulfillment of the dreams of individuals.
So just, you know, we will continue engaging Barack because I think -- and that's why for him to be this patron of the good work that Amadou and others are doing, very, very important.
MASAI UJIRI: Well, he's an investor. Barack Obama is an investor in the Basketball Africa League. And, honestly, like I think I'm biased, but he's -- he gave a lot of us hope in this world, you know, like even as leaders, you know, like, in places --
GAYLE KING: And still does.
MASAI UJIRI: Yes, and still does. Incredible. Incredible. We've all been blessed to work with him and be part of him and the travel to Africa too with him and open the basketball court in Kenya with Barack Obama.
And, honestly, like he continues to be an incredible, incredible leader. We all know with these kind of people, sometimes, it's just limited in sometimes where they can be and what they can do. If that guy could be here right now, he would be, yeah. That's how his mind works. And we are absolutely lucky that he loves basketball in an incredible way. Yeah.
CHINEY OGWUMIKE: And I'll say, just simply to answer, what we saw with his experience as President goes back to visibility. You cannot be what you cannot see. And that visibility transformed the lives. No one missed that moment. No one missed that opportunity to hope.
And it's not just the Baracks, it's the Michelles, it's the Ungazi Unkundro Uwalas [phonetic]. It's those women that are in positions, too, that are leaders.
And I truly, firmly believe that that changed the scope of what people believe with their blood and their background and the possibilities, how small things can transform our perception of the world.
GAYLE KING: I just want to say, you know, hopefully you all helped us see today. You know, when they first told me that the panel was going to be NBA Africa, I went, "Adam, I don't know, are you sure? Are you sure?" He goes, "I'm very sure. This is a very important conversation."
Adam Silver, you were right again. You helped us all see today. And I'm hoping that some of us, most of us walked away learning something today. Bravo, panel, bravo. Enjoy the rest of your day.
(Applause.)
MASAI UJIRI: Adam is coming out.
GAYLE KING: Oh. Oh, Adam is coming out. Oh. Sorry. Take your seat. Take your seat. I didn't know --
ADAM SILVER: All right. That's all right.
GAYLE KING: Sorry, I didn't know you were coming out.
ADAM SILVER: All right, no, no, no, no. You know what?
GAYLE KING: Adam Silver.
ADAM SILVER: Gayle --
(Applause.)
ADAM SILVER: Thank you. Thank you very much. Yeah, I thought you were going to start by asking me what my theme song was. So because I'm controlling the production, I figured I'd just play some Burna Boy and come out with my theme song, "Last Last," just come right out with it.
And for those -- and he is part of our halftime show at the All-Star Game. So we turn it into a party, Masai, like you said.
So, Gayle, I appreciate your comments, and I thought it was fantastic. Thank you, all. And we thought it was an opportunity for everyone here, I mean, you know, a sophisticated group, though, to learn more about Africa.
And I think what you've all pointed out, and this could have gone on for hours more, is how complex the issues really are in Africa. I mean, you know, for Patrice and Tope talking about the economic opportunity there, the innovation that's coming, the true entrepreneurial spirit that we see in Africa, and at the same time, as Raj pointed out, you have 40 percent of the people who don't have power.
And so there's real need, and there's real opportunity. And one of the things we've always realized is the role that sport can play, I think, frankly, both in lifting the spirit, as Nelson Mandela, the famous quote, Gayle, that you read, but also through economic opportunity. And that's something we see here in the United States as well.
I think it's also worth pointing out this through line in the sort of NBA community of building a relationship in Africa over many decades. And, of course, we lost Bill Russell this past year. My first All-Star without him. He was always a fixture courtside.
And one of the things that wasn't pointed out when he passed, despite these incredible eulogies and obituaries, was that he began the movement in Africa for the NBA. In fact, like long before anyone was talking about, even defined as good works or charity or anything, of what we could be doing there.
After he won his second championship in 1959, he went on a State Department mission to Africa. First NBA player that we're aware of that ever did that.
And, in fact, he was so inspired by what he saw in Africa -- and his daughter Karen, this is something she's talked about a lot with me -- that he went back and bought property in Liberia and actually became a businessowner for many decades in Africa as well and led a movement for many years of other players over to Africa.
And I think that is something, of course, and then David Stern was there for Nelson Mandela's inauguration as part of a mission from the United States. And ultimately we opened an office in South Africa, and then we've continued to grow from there to the point now where, you know, as Masai has pointed out, there's this incredible movement of basketball players.
And, Chiney, I don't know the statistic for the WNBA, I know it for the NBA, but in the NBA, 10 percent of our players were either born or one of their parents was born in Africa. Think about that, 10 percent of our entire league.
And so this opportunity we have there now, and Masai is at the focal point of it with this Basketball Africa League, to develop talent and economic opportunity as well on the continent.
And we feel what we can do is be this multiplier because, frankly, our business is not that big compared to -- by the way, I mean, one of the things Gayle and I talked about before that there are over -- I don't even know what the exact number is because the data is a little old, but there are clearly more than 500 businesses in Africa that generate over $1 billion of revenue a year.
So there's an enormous economic engine in Africa, but part of what we see we can do through this huge footprint we have in the NBA is, frankly, through programs like this to open people's eyes to the opportunity.
Yeah, there's opportunities to do good works, but I think what we see sort of in the NBA is that both through economic opportunity you can touch people's lives and inspire them and build business and create sustainable business there. And that's what we're doing.
You know, one of the last things I wanted to mention is -- fortunately, our production people are fantastic, because I wasn't planning to show this, but, Tope, when you were talking at the end about this misnomer about the size of Africa, this -- this -- every time I see this presentation of the map, it always shocks me.
So I wanted to show it to all of you. If you guys could bring up for me this map.
And so what I'm about to show you, the one -- you know, I heard you, Gayle, about don't -- shouldn't we all just look at maps. But the kind of one-dimensional map we all grew up looking at distorts, frankly, the size of Africa.
And what I'm going to show you, I think for most people who haven't seen this before, will, frankly, shock you.
So you're about to see the following countries that fit within the continent of Africa, as they were saying. And remember, Africa, there are 54 countries that represent Africa.
So first I'll take the United States. Right? Then I'm going to take China, India, Japan, Mexico, and most of Europe. All fit within the continent of Africa.
So that's when -- and then sort of Gayle had some of these numbers in the beginning. And so population estimates now are by 2050 a quarter of the world will live in Africa.
So that's why we're focused on Africa. And as Masai always famously says, Africa is now.
And so, Gayle, thank you. Thank you, all the panelists. This was fantastic. It was educational.
And just lastly, I want to thank Salt Lake City. Some of the representatives are here. Mayor Mendenhall, Governor Cox have just been fantastic in welcoming us to the city and state.
And please enjoy the weekend. Thank you, everybody.
(Applause.)
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports