Chante Butler and Dia Martin believe that beyond the fanfare, intrigue, and excitement basketball brings; the game can be a force for a positive impact in communities.  The sports investors tell AMAKA the backstory behind the creation of their team and the importance of building the basketball infrastructure in South Africa.

After the Cape Town Tigers won the South African national championship in its debut season, it became glaring that the professional team was focused on its goal of playing in the Basketball Africa League (BAL).  Since its inception in 2019, the championship team has been on a winning streak, consecutively reaching the BAL qualifiers.

The club is owned by New York-based company Severus, LLC; a gender-diverse African American sports ownership group focused on building basketball from the ground up in South Africa.  As part of the business vision, the founding partners are using Cape Town Tigers to bring high-calibre basketball expertise, strategic business acumen, and thoughtful philanthropy to establish and grow a world-class club to help develop the game in South Africa.

At the heart of this vision are two Black American women, Chante Butler and Dia Martin, who co-founded this spectacular club and brand that positively impacts communities, Cape Town, and the entire country through the beautiful game.

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What inspired you to establish the Cape Town Tigers?

Butler:  Dia and I have known each other for over 30 years, we've been friends since we were young women in college, and before this investment opportunity, both of us have been talking about doing something together.  The journey to creating the team began after William McFarlan informed us that the National Basketball Association (NBA) Africa was starting a league called the Basketball Africa League (BAL) and that they were looking for investors and partners in South Africa. 

This information prompted four of us - Raphael Edwards, who has been involved in professional basketball for years, both on the court and as a trainer, Dia; a financial services professional; William, also a former professional basketball player, and I  - to grasp this as an opportunity to be a part of something to build from the ground up. 

Having a basketball team was exciting for us, Dia and I are basketball fans.  We grew up admiring the Detroit Pistons, Raphael and William are lovers of the game and have been involved in professional basketball for many years.  But we also saw the bigger picture of using the basketball business to spur academic and community empowerment and development.  We also wanted to empower women and be examples for women to pursue their business dreams.

Martin: As someone with a background in investment banking, I saw the chance of starting a basketball team in South Africa as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. The idea of an African-descent partnership group investing in South Africa was personal to me from the social impact side and as an African American woman. 

The key is that this is an African-descent partnership group, and investing as a diasporan is extremely powerful and essential; that's what this opportunity represented.  When Raphael talked about us all coming together as partners, he said he was excited about working with Chante and me.  He spoke about his daughter growing up and realising that he was working with two Black women.  His words reflect the fabric of our team.  We want to go beyond basketball to invest significantly in early development programs for the youth.

What about South Africa attracted you to invest in the country?

Dia Martin:  South Africa is an amazing country; this is where the opportunity presented itself for us.  As an African American woman, the country's history speaks to me on so many layers.  When I look at the history of the country, the connection that many African Americans feel to South Africa and the movement to loosen the shackles of apartheid all add up to something fascinating. South Africa is also a beautiful country with rich diversity and having the beautiful city of Cape Town as a backdrop to the team was a fantastic idea.

Has South Africa been welcoming to your investments?

Butler:  Running a new business is always challenging, so it's essential to understand how things operate in any country or city.  But we've overcome these challenges by involving the community and getting their support.  For instance, we've partnered with local basketball legends, and one of our coaches is a former South African national champion.  Also, our current coach is the former South African national coach; this has helped us navigate some of the challenges we've gone through.

Cape Town Tigers won the South African national championship in its debut season, and since then, the team has continued to record strings of wins on the court.  So what is the secret behind this outstanding winning streak?

Martin: First, our strength is our focus.  We are a team intentionally and specifically created to participate in the BAL.  Second, the strength of our partnership group has been instrumental to the success of the Cape Town Tigers.  Our partner Raphael has great enthusiasm.  His desire to make things happen has been integral to building and training the team. 

Raphael's background as a former professional basketballer has also been crucial in pushing the team to win championships.  He and BJ (William) have used their professional experience and recognition in New York to mould the team in South Africa and build momentum, publicity, and branding around the club.  Having capable partners aimed at a common goal of creating a premier brand basketball team in South Africa focused on community empowerment has been critical to our success.

What are the key elements for starting a successful basketball business?

Martin: A successful business should have a diversified and reliable revenue stream for growth, with a firm grip on financial management.  We have studied the construction of different sports and the diversification of their revenues.  Our business is focused on revenue diversification and branding the image of the Cape Town Tigers. 

 This is why whenever you see Cape Town Tigers endorsements or merchandise, there's a focus on branding and getting the name and the image of the team to create a lasting impact.  Focussing on branding will help us build our fan base for sustainable business and grow our revenue over time. Building a solid fan base is essential to the growth of any sports team.  Also, part of our strategy is to build that infrastructure to make our brand last so the business can continue growing.

Butler: The operation side and internal organisation structure are also essential to run a successful business. Our partners have defined roles, responsibilities, internal policies, processes, and procedures to run our business. Having clear lines of human communication, ownership, commitment, and accountability is the lifeblood of a business.

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How has Cape Town Tigers helped to promote gender diversity in sports in South Africa?

Martin: The Cape Town Tigers is actively supporting NBA Africa and the BAL initiative around the gender diversity of women.  These associations have laid an excellent foundation for the league in general, and it perfectly aligns with our mission and goal.  The BAL has a group called BAL for her which focuses on gender diversity in the league and sports.  We've been able to leverage that to guide what we're doing from the club to the community level.

Butler: We also promote gender diversity by serving as mentors and participating in those activities in BAL for her.  As a team, we host women's events and plan to continue to do that to highlight other women in the sports business.  In addition, we provide exposure to young women in South Africa whenever the opportunity arises. Part of our vision is to highlight women in entrepreneurship and support those businesses, especially South African women entrepreneurs.  While other businesses see these activities as corporate social responsibility, we have incorporated these activities into our regular operations as part of who we are.

What does the South African cultural economy stand to gain from basketball?

Butler: The cultural economy in South Africa has everything to gain from basketball and the Cape Town Tigers.  The NBA is all about culture so we can bring the professional experience of Raphael and Williams into South Africa.  The lessons learned from the NBA can be woven into the basketball story for economic empowerment in South Africa.  Basketball in South Africa is a catalyst for economic development, economic empowerment, and the fashion and music accompanying the game.  From a club level, we are building the infrastructure to make basketball a viable and profitable sport that can spur economic activities in the country and also focus on building communities.  So the South African cultural economy has much to gain from basketball.

Martin: Cape Town Tigers is a team that is part of the country's fabric, and it's our mission to engage and empower the community outside of basketball.  When we were at the BAL playoffs earlier this year, someone from South Africa told us how proud they were to see a team from South Africa.  So we've been intentional about making inroads in the community and building that infrastructure to raise the level of the game.  As our way of giving back to the country, our partner Raphael has been instrumental in developing and building local South African players and raising their level of play so that, hopefully, if they go to different teams, they can internally build that basketball infrastructure within South Africa.