Nestlé makes Milo an official NBA partner, with Nigeria and Ghana among launch markets

Image by Nguyen Duc Toan

Nestlé has signed a multi-year international marketing partnership with the NBA that makes Milo, Nescau and Nesquik Official Partners of the league, with Nigeria and Ghana among the 21 markets covered. Nestlé called it its largest international brand collaboration to date, and for the NBA it opens a route into West African households through one of the region’s most familiar consumer brands. The agreement takes effect on 1 January 2027. It covers 20 markets from launch, including Australia, Brazil, Indonesia, Mexico, the United Kingdom and the United States, with the Philippines joining from October 2027. Ghana and Nigeria are the only African markets on the list.

Global Marketing Platform

Nestlé said the deal reflects a strategy of concentrating spend on fewer, larger global marketing platforms that can be run consistently across markets while staying locally relevant. Activation will run through the NBA’s youth programmes, including Jr. NBA/Jr. WNBA, NBA Basketball School, the Jr. NBA/Jr. WNBA Coaches Academies, Her Time To Play and NBA 3X, and extend to NBA Global Games and NBA House. Retail is the other half of the deal: on-pack promotions carrying NBA branding, with consumers able to win tickets, merchandise and other prizes.

“For decades, our brands have believed in the power of sport to bring out the best in people,” said Liberato Milo, SVP Head of Confectionery & Snacking Strategic Business Unit at Nestlé. “From Milo and Nescau sports programs to Nesquik athlete partnerships and initiatives, we have seen how sport can energize people, build confidence and create healthy habits. Together with the NBA, we will use the power of basketball to connect with consumers at scale, create locally relevant experiences and inspire more young people and families to get active and enjoy the game.”

“Nestlé is one of the world’s most recognizable brands and has a longstanding connection to consumers across the globe,” said Julie Morris, NBA Senior Vice President of Commercial Development and Media. “We look forward to leveraging Nestlé’s reach and local market presence to connect with fans in new ways and support the continued growth of basketball around the world.”

Nestlé in West Africa

In West Africa, Milo carries this deal. Nescau is a Brazilian brand and Nesquik’s presence in the region is modest by comparison. Milo also arrives with a basketball property already built. Nestlé Nigeria’s Milo Secondary Schools Basketball Championship began in 1999 with about 500 schools and now reaches more than 10,000 schools a year. Its 26th edition wrapped this year, with ₦3 million going to the champions. Nestlé has bankrolled Nigerian school basketball for over two decades without the NBA’s name attached. The obvious move is to bring NBA branding into a competition it already owns, though neither party has said whether the championship will be folded in.

The value sits on the shelf for the NBA. Morris pointed to Nestlé’s reach and local presence, and in Nigeria and Ghana that reach runs through supermarkets, open markets and roadside kiosks. Pay-TV penetration limits how many people watch the league on television. On-pack promotions put the NBA logo directly in front of consumers who will may never subscribe to League Pass.

South Africa, home of NBA Africa, is absent, as is Senegal, which hosts the NBA Academy Africa. The agreement is also with the NBA itself rather than NBA Africa, the separately capitalised business that runs the Basketball Africa League, and the announcement makes no reference to the BAL If Nestlé Nigeria puts NBA branding on the 2027 school championship, the league could gain one of the largest youth basketball platforms on the continent.