18 Sep 2019

Orange Botswana has joined the movement that has heeded calls to help revive the economy of Selebi Phikwe town through the #RunPhikwe race.

 As part of the response, the mobile telecommunications company has renewed its contract with Selebi Phikwe Marathon for the next three years to sponsor the race at the tune of P660 000.

The race, not only benefits runners financially and physically, but also has ripple effects in the economy for lodges and hotels, small businesses and even the transport sector.

 “We are trying to revive the Selibe Phikwe economy, we want to run it, we want to take it back to that oiled machine it used to be and bring back hope to the locals,” Orange Botswana communications manager Ms Lame Madiba said about their #RunPhikwe initiative.

The communications manager said the #RunPhikwe was as an inspiration and a challenge to critical stakeholders to join in the call to run the economy of the town and usher new hope.

Ms Madiba said when brought together as a conglomerate, companies and organisations could contribute immensely towards the resuscitation of the ailing Selebi Phikwe economy.

To successfully execute their long term dream of reviving the town’s economy, Orange Botswana has established a working relationship with organisations and departments such as the Selebi Phikwe Town Council, Botswana Unified Revenue Services, Botswana Athletics Association, Bamangwato Toyota, SPEDU among others.

Regarding the marathon sponsorship, Ms Madiba said now in the fourth year, the event has grown in leaps and bounds.

She said this year’s event attracted a high number of competitors from among others Kenya, Namibia and Zimbabwe.

Ms Madiba attributed the elevated amount of interest by spectators and athletes to marketing the event especially on digital platforms such as social media pages and the event’s website.

“The world is going digital and everybody is constantly on their phones and as a mobile communications company we encourage people to tap on their data and access these social media platforms,” said Ms Madiba.

She hailed marathon since it was used to qualify for other International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) events. She also said the event had injected some impetus into getting partners interested in reviving the economy of Selebi Phikwe.

Ms Madiba revealed that as communications partners, Orange Botswana was playing a critical role in boosting the promotion of the marathon from the traditional advertising to adverts, merchandise posters.

The communications manager said the advertisements were part of efforts aimed at raising  general interest for the event.

Selebi Phikwe town started experiencing economic slump following the closure of the BCL Mine in 2016 after the mine operated for over 35 years unprofitably.

The mine had employed over 4 500 people who contributed significantly to the local economy. ENDS