Astou Ndiaye was born in Kaolack and started playing basketball at 13. She had a professional basketball career with several experiences in different clubs in Europe (Italy, Hungary, Russia) and the United States. She played for Senegal at the 1990, 1998, 2002, and 2006 World Women’s Basketball Championships and at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney. She has three African Nations Championships to her credit. After 22 years in the United States, Ms. Ndiaye returned to Senegal to help the National Basketball Association (NBA) launch the NBA Academy Africa, an elite basketball training center in Senegal for Africa’s top male and female prospects. The academy is a partnership between the NBA and the SEED (Sports for Education and Economic Development) Project, a non-profit organization based in Thies, Senegal. Her background, accomplishments, and triumphs in basketball prompted her to create a foundation for African girls, for which she serves as Executive Director. The foundation aims to contribute to the education, emancipation, and leadership of young African girls and women through sport. In October 2022, she added another string to her bow by becoming Director of CorpsAfrica/Senegal. Astou holds two Master’s degrees (Human Resources and Political Science) and is the mother of triplets; two daughters and a son (Bineta, Boubacar, and Ndiasse Diatta).​