Mohamed Abdel Motaleb, vice president of NBA Africa and head of NBA Egypt: Each week, My Morning Routine looks at how a successful member of the community starts their day — and then throws in a couple of random business questions just for fun. Speaking to us this week is Mohamed Abdel Motaleb (LinkedIn). Edited excerpts from our conversation:

My name is Mohamed Abdel Motaleb, but I’m better known as Tolba. I’m the vice president of National Basketball Association (NBA) Africa and head of NBA Egypt. I’m a civil engineer with an MBA from Maastricht School of Management. I used to play basketball in Al Ittihad Alexandria Club and I was also the captain of the national team. I played in the 1988 Olympic games and the 1990 and 1994 world cups. I then became the Egyptian Basketball Federation vice president, a commission member of the International Basketball Federation (FIBA), and I was the deputy secretary general of the Egyptian Olympic Committee.

My job is leading NBA’s operations in Egypt. I oversee the leagues, the businesses, and the development initiatives — including grassroots programs and ecosystem development for youth players as well as professional, elite players. A lot of our programs are youth-focused and focus on scouting talent for Egypt’s national team and for our sporting programs. I’m also responsible for our relationship with current and potential media and merchandise partners, as well as everything related to social responsibility.

The NBA first came to Africa in 2010 and set up an office in South Africa as part of its global expansion. Then in 2019, the NBA decided to officially launch NBA Africa as a company with a market value of almost USD 1 bn, focusing on developing the ecosystem and improving programs in Africa, scouting talent, and growing the business in terms of sponsorships and marketing.

Operating in Africa comes with a list of challenges. The main challenges are the lack of accessibility for the game, the insufficient number of players and participants, as well as the general lack of resources and infrastructure in Africa as a whole. We lack the arenas, the courts, the basketballs — all the tools and equipment needed for the game. We’re also very much a football continent, in terms of both viewership and fans as well as players. Our mission is to try to increase the fandom and interest in the game as well.

Egypt is a little different: The ecosystem is there, the infrastructure is developed, the tools to increase the number of players are there. What remains is the awareness, the fandom, and the love for the game — that’s what we’re trying to work on by making the game more popular, and making it more accessible for people. NBA Egypt is also the only office in North Africa and the only one for Arab-speaking African countries. In that sense, it can function as the hub for Arab-speaking countries in the continent.

We recently started a league in West Cairo that’s specifically for non-registered players — so, anyone who wants to play basketball. We received around 1.6k requests for participation and we found a lot of talented players that the big clubs are now trying to sign. We also started Egypt’s first junior NBA tournament in schools with participation from 17 schools. We’re trying to increase the number of talented players that ultimately can join the national team, clubs, and our programs. We would love to see another Mo Salah, but in basketball.

First thing I do in the morning is go to the gym. I do that three days a week, right before I go to work. I think it’s essential to stay in shape and to mentally prepare for the day’s work. Once I’m at my desk, I start catching up on all the news — with EnterpriseAM being one of my main sources of information.

The one constant in my workday is watching NBA highlights the second I’m in the office. I also regularly read articles about the technical side of the game. The other constant, of course, is my family. The most important thing for me is the late night chats with my children before bed time.

There’s a saying that goes “if you do what you love, you’ll never work a day in your life.” I’m doing the thing that I’ve been loving since I was 12, almost 40 years ago. For me, it’s never a work day — I’m chasing my dreams. It’s been incredible joining the NBA and it never feels like work. More importantly, my whole family is also involved in basketball. My two kids are players in the national team and my wife is following suit — we all talk about basketball, both as a business and as a career path for my children. In that sense, the work-life balance is almost automatic.

On a personal level, I hope I can see my children play in the Olympic games, representing Egypt — hopefully in the 2028 or the 2032 games. They’re very keen on improving and playing for the national team on a professional level. Professionally speaking, I want basketball to become the most popular sport in the world. Our dream is that when a kid sees a ball, instead of kicking the ball, they would dribble it instead.

I’d recommend three books — two on business and one about basketball. Blue OceanStrategy and Good to Great are two of my favorite business books. I’d also recommend Eleven Rings by the legendary Phil Jackson. I also recommend watching The Last Dance, a documentary following basketball legend Michael Jordan’s final season.

I also highly recommend people watch the NBA Africa-produced docu-series Born andBred, which follows our players in the NBA academy across the continent. Last year, it had an episode all about Seifeldin Hendawy, one of the most talented Egyptian players. It’s available to watch on the NBA website for free.

My favorite quote, which comes from Michael Jordan, is “A failure is not always a mistake. It may simply be the best one can do under the circumstances. The real mistake is to stop trying.” It’s something I try to live by everyday.

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