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AFD and NBA Africa launch inclusive Basketball Experience for students with disabilities in Kenya
The Agence Française de Développement (AFD) Group, in collaboration with NBA Africa, today launched the Disability Inclusion component of the ongoing Basketball Experience (BE) programme in Kenya at the Isinya School for the Deaf in Nairobi. The launch marks an important milestone in advancing inclusive youth development through sport in Kenya. The event brought together educators, development partners, and community leaders to highlight the role of basketball in empowering young people, fostering life skills and promoting social inclusion for children of all abilities.
Funded by AFD and the National Basketball Association (NBA), and implemented by Expertise France, in partnership with the Ministry Of Education, Kenya and the Kenya Red Cross, the Disability Inclusion component expands the Basketball Experience programme by integrating children with hearing, visual, and physical impairments into structured basketball and life skills training.
The initiative aims to ensure that every child regardless of ability can develop confidence, teamwork, discipline and leadership skills, both on and off the court. This builds on a previous Jr. NBA clinic hosted in Nairobi in April 2025 which engaged more than 200 participants, including young people with hearing impairments.
The launch event featured adapted basketball demonstrations and discussions showcasing how sport can be tailored to create safe, engaging, and empowering learning environments for children with disabilities. The program will be rolled out across Nairobi, Kajiado, Machakos, and Kiambu counties, benefiting 32 specialized schools for children with disabilities. It will equip coaches and educators with practical tools to deliver inclusive sessions that support holistic youth development and community impact. This new component builds on the broader Basketball Experience programme launched in July 2024 across 48 schools in Kenya. With this expansion, the total number of beneficiary schools will increase to 128 with an additional 48 Schools co-opted in the classic Component in 2026.
The event was attended by Hon. Fikirini Jackobs Katoib Kahindi, Principal Secretary, State Department for Youth Affairs and Creative Economy, H.E. Arnaud Suquet, Ambassador of France to Kenya, Ms Anne-Gaël Chapuis, AFD Director for Kenya, Michael Finley, Senior Director and Country Operations Lead, NBA Kenya, Mr Eluid Wambua, Assistant Director for Quality Assurance, Ministry of Education, Dr Ahmed Idris, Secretary General Kenya Red Cross, and Hon. Janet Sereu from Kajiado County Executive Committee Member – Vocational Training, Youth and Sport.
“The launch of the Disability Inclusion component of the Basketball Experience programme reflects our shared commitment to making sport accessible to all. Together with the NBA and our Kenyan partners, AFD is proud to support an initiative that uses sport not only to develop talent, but also to promote inclusion, confidence and opportunity for young people across Kenya,” said Anne-Gaël Chapuis, AFD Director for Kenya.