Kaly has been based in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, since 2023 working as a Project Manager with Omega Sports Holding, a private investment firm dedicated to growing Africa’s sports industry. Omega helps teams pursue professional development, land sponsors, design merchandise, and develop the infrastructure needed for top-tier competition.
In Africa, 60% of our population is under the age of 25, so by 2030 it’s going to be a hot bed for talent and fans who want to invest in sport,” says Kaly. “We’re trying to create an environment [in Africa] that will make athletes either stay or will make them want to come back.”
Growth on and off the Gee-Gees court
Kaly’s own journey reflects the theme of returning home, with a pitstop first at uOttawa. Raised in Vancouver in an Ivorian Canadian family, Kaly grew up surrounded by the richness of West African culture. Her dad is a traditional West African musician, and Kaly sang and danced alongside as they toured Europe and the Americas.
Moving to Ottawa at the age of 14, Kaly soon realized her background in dance could translate to sport—especially volleyball. “Dance taught me how to mimic movements, body control, and all the things you find in sport,” says Kaly, laughing that there’s probably a video out there of her pre-game dance warm-ups.
Varsity volleyball scouts across North America took notice. But Kaly says uOttawa stood out for its bilingual education and the Gee-Gees style of volleyball. “It was a fast, fiery style of play, with a small roster which guaranteed more playing time,” describes Kaly. “The team was also diverse. I’m African and Canadian, and I saw that there was Black culture reflected on campus.”
For five years studying at uOttawa—and until she moved to Côte d’Ivoire in 2023—Kaly lived and breathed Gee-Gees athletics. As a student-athlete, Kaly made the Ontario University Athletics All-Rookie team in her first year and captained the women’s volleyball team in her final season.
After graduating, she stayed close to the action as high-performance coordinator for uOttawa’s club teams, picking up key sports administration skills. “That really opened my perspective to the different jobs in the sports realm and the needs across all sports.”
Kaly later stepped in as assistant coach for the women’s volleyball team and dabbled in teaching with a human kinetics course focused on volleyball-specific sports development. In 2020, she also co-founded the Black Student-Athletes Advocacy Council (BSAAC), a platform for Black student-athletes and allies to push for anti-racism on campus and equity in sport. Among other achievements, BSAAC hosts an annual Black Excellence Gala and launched the Gee-Gees BSAAC Council scholarship that is now officially endowed.
Following her own advice
BSAAC is what inspired Kaly’s next move: a professional and personal leap to Côte d’Ivoire.
"Through BSAAC I was encouraging all these kids to chase their dreams and so I decided to take my own advice,” says Kaly. “I was realizing through sport, dance, and everything related to Black Lives Matters that 2020 was like a calling home. I had been practicing my traditional West African roots my entire life without ever living in the country.”
At the same time, Kaly had been keeping an eye on the National Basketball League’s expansion into Africa and had always found the sport interesting—its link to culture, the athlete style, and the intimacy of play.
After networking and virtual conferences, Kaly discovered Omega Sports Holding and joined as their first hire in October 2023. Today, Kaly works closely with Omega’s flagship teams, Abidjan Basketball Club and Racing Club Abidjan, handling day-to-day operations and helping coordinate their women’s and youth development programs.
She was a part of the International Basketball Federation’s 2025 Road to BAL Elite 16 organizing committee and attended one of Africa’s largest intercontinental football events, the African Cup of Nations tournament, hosted in (and won by) Côte d’Ivoire. “It felt like the Panda Game, but for a whole month,” jokes Kaly.
Personally, the move to Côte d’Ivoire has been just as meaningful. Amidst the backdrop of big life adjustments and professional growth, Kaly says she’s discovered her own resilience and an even greater self-respect—and still finds time to play volleyball with a local crew.
Reflects Kaly on her future with Omega: “We are really trying to build [a sports ecosystem] that’s authentic to Africa and the countries we work in so that when Africa is seen on the global stage the gap isn’t as big in our methods of organizing sport. I’ve never worked so much in my life, but it’s been extremely rewarding and I’m learning every day.”