BK Arena is the biggest indoor arena in East Africa. On May 24, 2022, the arena's name was changed to the BK Arena after a six-year sponsorship deal worth $8 million with Bank of Kigali. It hosts sports competitions as well as cultural events.
Africa has become a major source of talent for European football leagues: over 500 African players are currently contracted across eleven prominent European leagues, according to KPMG data. Ujiri has championed investments in sports infrastructure and youth development through his Giants of Africa Foundation. The foundation uses basketball to educate and enrich the lives of African youth by providing high-quality facilities, equipment, and coaches to grow the game across the continent.
Drogba notes sports' immense possibilities and power to change lives."I recognize myself in all these children, all from modest backgrounds; sport, and soccer in particular, have enabled me to build the career that is mine," he said."Sport is a lesson in life: sport isn't just about people running after a ball, it also challenges our brains: it's important to learn, to educate yourself, to be able to read a contract.
In August 2023, Ujiri broke ground on an urban development project in Kigali marketed as a social, cultural and sports hub for the country's expanding middle classes. Nearby the BK Arena, Zaria Court is expected to open in early 2025. According to a press release, the project is"centered around an urban hospitality hub which reuses existing buildings and features an 80-room boutique hotel, restaurants, a rooftop lounge, a gym, wellness spaces, co-working spaces and a podcast studio.