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AWS Backs NBA Math Hoops Expansion To 10,000 African Students
Amazon Web Services (AWS) is committing AI and cloud technology to support the expansion of NBA Math Hoops. This basketball-based education programme aims to reach 10,000 students across five African countries by the end of 2027.
The partnership with nonprofit Learn Fresh will use AWS technology, infrastructure and technical expertise to expand the programme to students aged 8–14, including 1,000 learners in South Africa. The initiative builds on a three-year pilot that has trained more than 100 educators in South Africa, Botswana and Mozambique.
NBA Math Hoops combines basketball with mathematics, allowing students to solve algebra problems using real NBA and WNBA player statistics while developing problem-solving and social-emotional skills.
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AWS will support the programme through its $100 million Education Equity Initiative, providing technology designed to help Learn Fresh scale the programme across different countries and languages.
Amazon Bedrock will be used to personalise maths challenges based on students’ learning levels and pace, while Amazon Translate will localise content in English, Arabic, French and Swahili. Amazon Quick will provide real-time visibility into student engagement, learning outcomes and educator performance.
The programme is targeting South Africa, Kenya, Nigeria, Senegal and Egypt, with the first regional tournaments planned for the first half of 2027. Continental tournament participation is planned to be linked to the Basketball Africa League Finals by 2030.
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The expansion comes against a significant education challenge. UNESCO estimates that nearly 90 percent of children aged 6–14 in sub-Saharan Africa do not achieve minimum proficiency in numeracy.
Learn Fresh’s programme has previously demonstrated measurable results. A randomised controlled trial conducted by WestEd found that students gained four to five months of mathematics learning after 17–24 hours of programme exposure.
“AWS exists to help organisations build solutions that improve lives, and NBA Math Hoops is exactly the kind of program we want to see succeed,” said Francessca Vasquez, Vice President of Frontier AI Engineering and Services at AWS.
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Clare Akamanzi, CEO of NBA Africa, said the partnership would combine basketball’s appeal with technology and proven educational tools to equip young people with skills needed in school and beyond.
Students will access the programme through NBA Africa’s network of offices, partners, community organisations and schools, while educators will undergo structured training before introducing the programme to learners.
Calvin Sibert, Chief Mission Officer at Learn Fresh, said the partnership would allow the organisation to deepen its collaboration with NBA Africa and build on its work in South Africa and across the continent.