14 Feb 2024

Vunani Fund Managers has injected P600 000 into the annual Botswana Women Sports Awards for their three-year sponsorship deal.

The partnership is said to be appropriate and befitting as it will ensure that sports women and administrators receive their well-deserved Vunani, (Kalanga word for harvest) for their tireless work in sporting activities.

Vunani Business Development Manager for Institutional Client, Obakeng Mmusinyane said during the sponsorship launch in Gaborone on Monday.

“The awards will forthwith assume the name, Vunani Annual Women Sports Awards. After careful consideration and deliberation, the company has found it fit to become the headline sponsor of the women in sports awards for the next three years,” he said. He said the money would cover key categories, event management and logistics among others.

Mmusinyane said Vunani was a financial and diversified investment management company committed to nurturing and integrated range of innovative products and services in order to deliver positive and consistent returns.  

He said gender parity was priority on the world agenda calling for all parties to pay attention to it. Mmusinyane said it was important for women in sport to be a priority area, and implored all to work together to close the existing gap.

He said the awards were an opportunity in paving for equality in sports, adding that the company had been supporting various sport codes aimed at sustainable development of athletes as it was the current with cycling and swimming.

Mmusinyane also applauded the brains behind the awards being Kesego Okie and Portia Mlilo for coming up with a concept that would not honour women excellence in sports but also plant a seed of inspiration in the young generation.

Giving an overview of the awards, Inside BW Women Sports CEO, Okie said the reveal of the headline sponsor was a special occasion for women in sports in Botswana.

“We are honoured and excited to reveal an important partner towards women in sport development,” she said.

Okie was of the view that Vunani and other partners who had been supporting their journey were true partners and were passionate about developing women in sports.

She said the awards, on the second year of running, was an idea of women who came together to recognise and reward women sport personalities and administrators.

She said women were excelling in sports with the likes of pacesetters such as Amantle Montsho for motivating and providing room for young women to believe in themselves.

Okie said awards were slated for March 23 adding that the inaugural awards  disbursed P157 000 as prize money to all the winners. Meanwhile, the inaugural sports woman of the year of the Women in Sports Awards, female boxer Lethabo Modukanele said the award was and still a huge honour to her.

Modukanele said she never thought of getting such an honour as all that she ever imagined was being an Olympian and getting medals for the country.

She said it was important to note that someone observed and appreciated the good that women were doing in sport.

Modukanele said it was a great privilege to witness the emergence of women centred sports award.

Even though acknowledging government support towards sport in general, Modukanele appreciated the support and influence of private sector, therefore appealing for such support to grow.

Women and Sports Botswana secretayr general Olebogeng Oitebetse said the sponsorship was indeed a great harvest for women in sports.

Oitebetse concurred with Modukanele that pioneers in women sport must be fully applauded and continue to receive recognition for what they have achieved under trying situations.

The secretary general said the awards were surely a historic occasion that would permanently be engraved in the history of women in sports. Ends