Helios Sports and Entertainment Group Receives Up to $50M To Invest In African Sports, Entertainment and Media
Image by BAL
Helios Sports & Entertainment Group is building an investment platform around Africa's growing sports and entertainment economy, backed by up to $50 million from two development finance institutions and a portfolio spanning sports rights, live events, infrastructure and hospitality.
The Fund - Africa's growing sports and entertainment economy
The investment vehicle, part of Africa focused private investment firm Helios Investment Partners, received up to $50 million in equity from the International Finance Corporation, a member of the World Bank Group, and Proparco, a subsidiary of the Agence Française de Développement Group, in July 2025. The financing comprises up to $30 million from IFC and $20 million from Proparco. The capital is intended to support investments across sports intellectual property rights, event management, infrastructure development, retail and hospitality. Rather than focusing on a single sports property, Helios Sports & Entertainment Group (HSEG) has been assembling businesses and assets across different parts of the sports and entertainment value chain.
The platform was launched by Helios Investment Partners in 2021 as a permanent capital vehicle focused on brands, companies and assets in Africa's sports and entertainment ecosystem.
Building beyond sports rights
Zaria Group provides one of the clearest examples of the strategy. HSEG acquired a stake in Zaria in June 2023 to support the investment and operation of African lifestyle real estate. The business combines QA Venue Solutions, a venue operator and event management company, with Zaria Court, a developer of multi purpose event and entertainment infrastructure. The model is built around the idea that sports infrastructure can serve multiple commercial purposes rather than operate solely as a venue for matches. Zaria Court Kigali, which opened in 2025, is a roughly $26 million development in Rwanda backed by Helios through HSEG. The project was co founded by Toronto Raptors president Masai Ujiri and is located within Kigali's developing Sports City district.
The complex combines an 80 room hotel with sports facilities, event space, retail, co working areas and a podcast studio. Its sports facilities include football pitches and a full size basketball court, while the wider complex is designed to host events and accommodate athletes, creatives, businesses and visitors. That combination makes Zaria Court more than a conventional sports venue. Hospitality, food and beverage, retail, workspace, content production and live events are incorporated into the same development. The investment provides a physical example of the type of sports and entertainment infrastructure that HSEG is looking to develop across African markets.
A wider sports portfolio
The strategy also extends into sports properties and intellectual property. In July 2024, HSEG established a joint venture with the Professional Fighters League to create PFL Africa. The business holds the commercial rights for PFL Africa and was established to develop a pathway for African mixed martial arts athletes into the PFL's global competition structure. HSEG's wider portfolio also includes NBA Africa and The Malachite Group, the company behind Afro Nation, giving the platform exposure to basketball, combat sports, music and live entertainment alongside its infrastructure investments.
This gives HSEG exposure to the commercial side of sports rights alongside its investments in physical infrastructure. The platform's approach spans the creation and commercialisation of sports properties as well as the venues and services that support them. That distinction is central to the investment strategy. Rather than treating infrastructure, media, events and hospitality as separate markets, HSEG is building exposure across the different businesses that sit around the sports and entertainment consumer.
The infrastructure gap
The IFC and Proparco investment comes against a backdrop of limited institutional capital for Africa's sports and creative industries. IFC estimates that Africa's sports economy could reach $20 billion by 2035. The institution has also identified a funding gap across sports infrastructure, talent development and intellectual property, limiting the industry's ability to create jobs in areas including event production, broadcasting, digital content and marketing. The development finance investment therefore gives HSEG additional capital to pursue opportunities in a sector where infrastructure and commercialisation remain uneven across the continent.
The investment thesis for Helios connects sports rights with venues, hospitality, entertainment, media and consumer spending. A basketball court can sit alongside a hotel. A live event venue can support hospitality and retail. A sports property can generate media and sponsorship rights. A content studio can support the wider entertainment ecosystem. Zaria Court is an early example of that model being applied through a physical asset.
From Kigali to a wider African platform
The next question is how far the model can scale. Zaria Group has already identified opportunities beyond Kigali, while HSEG's portfolio gives Helios exposure to multiple parts of Africa's sports and entertainment economy. The institutional backing from IFC and Proparco gives the platform additional long term capital to pursue those opportunities and the proposition for investors is increasingly becoming more about the infrastructure surrounding Africa's sports economy as much as the sports themselves.
As audiences grow and more international sports and entertainment properties seek African markets, the commercial opportunity is moving beyond broadcasting and sponsorship. It includes the venues, hotels, events, retail, content businesses and real estate required to support that growth. Helios is positioning HSEG around that broader opportunity, using institutional capital to build an ecosystem that connects sports and entertainment with the wider African consumer economy.
Recommended for you
