Pascal Siakam grew up in Cameroon, where his father Tchamo taught him that an injury can end a basketball career, but nobody can take away an education. He built the PS43 Foundation in his father's memory, and its work is about opening classroom doors for young people in Canada, Cameroon and beyond.
The PS43 Foundation
Siakam launched the PS43 Foundation in 2021 in honour of his late father. Its mission is to empower children through education, life skills and mentorship, and to inspire them to set big goals no matter where their journey begins.
Data Dunkers
Created with Dell Technologies and education partners, Data Dunkers uses basketball analytics to teach students in Grades 5 to 12 data science, coding and problem solving. Students present their own projects at year-end celebrations that Siakam attends in person.
Scholarships for Students From Cameroon
Through his foundation, Siakam partnered with the University of New Brunswick's McKenna Institute and the River Philip Foundation to put $200,000 toward technology-focused scholarships for students from his home country of Cameroon. The scholarships, worth up to $8,000 for a year, support studies in fields like computer science and chemical engineering.
Coding for Champions and Mathletes
The foundation's Coding for Champions program provides laptops and digital resources to underprivileged students to help close the digital divide. Its Mathletes program is a six-week course that teaches math to students aged 13 to 16 through sports.
Paid Legal Work for Equity-Deserving Communities
A PS43 Foundation donation funded paid summer placements for law students at Toronto Metropolitan University's Lincoln Alexander School of Law. The students work with organizations that assist Indigenous, racialized and other equity-deserving communities facing poverty, discrimination and barriers to the legal system.
Siakam EdTech Engine
In 2025 PS43 teamed up with Toronto tech incubator DMZ to launch the Siakam EdTech Engine, a 12-week accelerator for early-stage startups working to improve K-12 education across Canada and the United States. The top three startups share $50,000 in cash prizes.
Siakam receiving his honorary doctorate at the University of New Brunswick and meeting the students his foundation supports (video from UNB).
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