Driving for change and inspiring others through table tennis: Sarah Hanffou

We would like to congratulate our Ambassador Sarah Hanffou for being selected as part of the incubator initiated by the French Agency for Development (AFD) and Paris 2024 contributing to sustainable development.

One of Cameroonian table tennis player Sarah Hanffou’s goals is to encourage girls getting physically active and take up sport. Through her charity Ping Sans Frontieres, she has launched a programme to develop table tennis as an extra-curricular activity open to all children. Now, Sarah was chosen as one of 26 athlete-entrepreneurs, who will receive support to champion high-impact social and environmental projects in France and 10 countries on the African Continent.

The incubator is designed to harness sport as a way of achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs). Over the next eight months, from February to October 2021, the group of athlete-entrepreneurs will receive support through one-to-one and group sessions. The aim is to provide them with a method and tools to build their project from start to finish – from defining the problem they want to solve to prototyping a socially and financially effective solution. They will receive help in building a financial model and a marketing plan, understanding various communication techniques to best reach their target groups (partners, clients, investors, etc.) and most importantly assessing the social and environmental impact of their idea.

Through the incubation programme, its guidance and training, Sarah is a step closer to making her project a long-term success.

“I am driven by the desire to give back and share what “ping” (table tennis) has given me. Being chosen and integrating this incubator will enable me to acquire new skills, with committed athletes determined to carry out projects with a strong social impact. I am really happy to be part of this collective adventure. I feel, I now have all the ingredients to take my projects to the next level." Sarah Hanffou, ITTF Foundation Ambassador and Ping Sans Frontieres Founder

Sarah is a trailblazer, we have no doubt she will, continue her path to raising the bar in table tennis for development. We are proud to have her as our Ambassador, a true role model, and are looking forward to continue working with her and Ping Sans Frontieres, which is the implementing partner of our Tables 4 ALL project.

For more information click here.

For more information about Ping Sans Frontieres go to their homepage.