Once Overshadowed by Men, Africa’s Women’s Cricket Wants a Bite of the Billion-Dollar Game

"I was playing with mothers and older girls," she tells OkayAfrica with a shy laugh. "I didn't know what to say. I was shy."

Today, at just 18, Khagoitsa captains Kenya's under-19 women's team and serves as vice-captain of the national women's team. Her talent has earned her scholarships through high school from Cricket Kenya, and she recently completed her national secondary exams.

Her journey is part of a larger story about the rise of women's cricket across Africa and the new opportunities it is creating for young women.

Women's cricket is growing and fueled by a global surge in the sport's popularity. A 2018 market study by the International Cricket Council (ICC) counted over a billion cricket fans worldwide, with forty percent of them being women. Cricket's global revenue reached $3.71 billion in 2024, potentially increasing the market volume to $4.21 billion by 2029.

For decades, cricket in Africa was associated with South Asian communities and men. The sport's presence was strongest in powerhouse nations like Zimbabwe and South Africa, and in Eastern Africa, introduced through colonial ties when the British brought Indians to build the railway system in the early 20th century. Despite its reach, cricket remained a male-dominated sport.

That narrative is finally changing. And across Africa, that message is being heard. While dominant teams like South Africa continue to lead, winning silver medals at the senior and Under-19 Women's T20 World Cups, new contenders are emerging. Girls and young women who once had few chances to play are now captaining national teams, earning professional contracts, and inspiring the next generation.

"We have the capacity to reach one million girls every year across Sub-Saharan Africa, if we have the right funding and people," Uyi Akpata, president of the Nigeria Cricket Federation, tells OkayAfrica. "If anyone stops to think about that — and partners with African cricket in this initiative — it's not just about creating an opportunity for these girls to do something. It's about truly transforming their lives."

Nigeria has emerged as a leader in women's cricket development over the past five years. Under Akpata's leadership, the country has introduced nearly 500,000 girls annually to cricket through comprehensive grassroots programs. This initiative has successfully expanded into northern Nigeria, providing unprecedented sporting opportunities for Muslim girls who traditionally have limited access to sports. It has prioritized growing its roster of women coaches and umpires from just five to 25 in five years. Nigeria has also built a clear pathway from schoolyards to national teams, identifying talent through school competitions, zone championships, and national trials. The goal is to increase participation by 1 million by 2029.

The results are evident. Nigeria's under-19 women's team qualified for the inaugural Women's U19 World Cup, beating global giant New Zealand. The senior women's team secured third place at the African Games 2023. These are milestones that seemed unimaginable five years ago.

This transformation hasn't happened in isolation. The ICC has pumped funding, resources, and competitions into women's cricket worldwide: launching new tournaments like the U19 Women's World Cup, boosting prize money to match men's events, and ensuring every major women's match is broadcast or streamed. Seeing both the commercial potential and rising interest from women, the ICC launched its "Global Growth Strategy" in 2020, putting women's cricket at the heart of its plans.

Indeed, several African countries now have women's teams that rank higher than their men's sides. But challenges remain around visibility and sponsorships. In Nigeria, Akpata sees a paradox because the sport is reaching hundreds of thousands of girls, but brands still don't see the commercial value. However, he says cricket's biggest victory is invisible. "We've created a system," he says proudly. "A system that lets a girl go from schoolyard games to national caps."

"It's an investment that's refreshing to see," says Pearlyne Omamo, a former Kenyan women's national player who now chairs the women's cricket docket at Cricket Kenya. She explains to OkayAfrica that in Kenya's past, there was barely any budget allocated for women's cricket, leading to inconsistent training programs and limited competition. "We moved from a point where the sport was very ad hoc to the sport now being professional," she adds. "It's been especially within the time I was retiring in 2015, there was a really strong momentum to professionalize the women's game."

Cricket Kenya has restructured its governance to include a dedicated Women's Director role. It now requires at least one-third female representation on its board, creating a more focused management approach and expanding leadership opportunities for women in cricket. Omamo is the first woman to hold the Women's Cricket Director position.

"We had to fight just to get a woman on the cricket board," she tells OkayAfrica. "Now we're shaping policy."

Perhaps most transformative is the financial opportunity that has opened up. In Rwanda, women cricketers are now paid by the Rwanda Cricket Federation through 24 professional contracts. Some club teams also provide additional income, and players have begun earning from international tournaments.

"As they earn from the game, they improve the welfare of their families. And the parents are happy that their kids are playing cricket," says Emmanuel Byiringiro, general manager of Rwanda Cricket.

Rwanda's rise is especially remarkable. A generation ago, the country had no cricket infrastructure. After the 1994 genocide, returning refugees brought the game home from Uganda and Kenya. By 2007, Rwanda launched a women's cricket program. Early matches were tough: Rwanda's inexperienced teams faced heavy defeats against more experienced neighbors. But they kept building, says Byiringiro.

A turning point came with the creation of the Kwibuka Women's T20 Tournament in 2014, a tribute to genocide victims. The tournament began with Rwanda and Uganda, and has since expanded to include other African countries and visiting teams from Europe and Latin America. Now in its 11th edition, starting in June. Kwibuka has become the largest women's cricket tournament in Africa. Through these matches, Rwanda's players gained exposure and confidence, leading to their historic qualification for the U19 Women's World Cup, where they defeated cricket powerhouses like Zimbabwe and the West Indies in 2023.

"I can see it when I look at our women's program and our girls," says Byiringiro. It has changed their lives. It has changed their way of thinking. It has changed the way they look at life in general."

Beyond earning domestically, top players may qualify to join international professional leagues, such as Australia's Women's Big Bash League or India's Women's Premier League, opening doors to even greater financial and professional success. However, it is not clear how many African women play in these leagues.

It's a goal for Khagoitsa to play abroad professionally, while acknowledging that women's cricket in Africa still struggles for visibility and resources. "We don't get the same attention as the men," she says, despite playing at the highest levels. She hopes the sport can gain her a scholarship to play outside Kenya. She is specifically eyeing Australia, the home of the world's top team, as an ideal place for women cricketers. For now, she is currently awaiting the news of her university placement with hopes that cricket will continue to fund her education.

"I won't know what I'm capable of if I don't try," she says. "And every time I try, I grow stronger."