When Talent Meets Opportunity- SISU Africa On A Mission To Uplift African Football Through Fully-funded Scholarships for Talents in Africa

“There are so many talents out there but have very limited chances to be exposed and when they are exposed, the opportunities to get tapped are limited” - Lindi. Launched in South Africa, in 2022 Uburu Africa has been involved in providing unique opportunities and securing the future of young Africans in the football industry by tracking and monitoring young African talents and providing them fully funded scholarships to pursue their dream of football and have access to education.

Recently, Uburu Africa, led by Co-Founder Lindi Ngwenya, acquired the signatures of two rising talents in Southwestern Nigeria with the opportunity of fully funded scholarships that cover every expense including transportation, medications, training, and living expenses for both awardees as they seek to push further in their football journey.

Besides an unalloyed focus on career development, partners at Uburu also recognize the importance of education, which is why awardees of Uburu scholarships can worry less about expenses because the Uburu initiatives oversee - Education to Football.

An intern from SISU Africa, Mahbubat Salahudeen, interviewed one of the awardees by the name Eludipo Oluwatosin, from Nigeria, who shared her thoughts on receiving such a unique opportunity.

 Scholarship awardee Tomisin and the Uburu Africa Team

“At first, I was skeptical about the offer when I heard about it from Doeju Momolu Goodluck, but upon further research, I realized it was genuine.” Being the award recipient from Nigeria, she further emphasized her intention to optimize this rare opportunity and serve as an inspiration to younger generations of football players in Nigeria. “I look forward to playing excellently well, scoring goals, and making it to the Nigerian National team.”

As an initiative, Uburu Africa is not simply concerned about players on the field but instead focuses on providing opportunities for untapped talents in undeserving markets. “Our goal is to ensure that talented athletes who are underprivileged have access to sport and education,” said Goodluck.

“Then in the long run, we're looking at the industry from a broad perspective; compared to the European sports industry, the actors responsible for driving the sports industry in Europe are athletes but in Africa, it's a different case. So we want to ensure athletes have access to proper education and in the long run, they become more useful to the system.”

The African continent holds an array of potential superstars who have little chance to be exposed to opportunities to groom and bloom their talents and when they do get the chance, there is limited access to education. Hence, Uburu Africa prioritizes opportunities for athletes while providing opportunities for education through fully sponsored scholarships.

Also, beyond making connections in today's interconnected world, the entire community at Uburu (SISU) is taking strategic steps and redefining what it means to win. A win for a talent is an inspiration to the next generation of talents across Africa and beyond.