Stanbic gives UGX 50million leg-up to Uganda Secondary Schools Sports Gala

August 18, 2022 in Business, Companies by Editor

Uganda’s biggest lender Stanbic, has injected UGX50million into this year’s edition of the Uganda Secondary Schools Sports Association USSSA competitions, that kicked off this week at Dr. Obote College Boroboro in Lira, Northern Uganda.

Some 502 secondary schools and close to 4000 learners are competing in different categories of sport at the week-long event. Stanbic says it is supporting the competitions because it sees them as a critical pipeline for developing and sustaining a stable talent-pool for sport.

“We are partnering with the Uganda Secondary Schools Sports Association because we these competitions going a long way in promoting sports and raising many more talented individuals who will go ahead to represent the country internationally,” Bernard Ogwal, Stanbic Bank Regional Manager for Northern Uganda, said at the opening ceremony.

“We also believe that education is one of those critical sectors for us and we have compelling offers both for schools and teachers,” he added, giving the example of the waver of interest that had accumulated on loans owed by schools, during the prolonged Covid-19 lockdown.

“We also believe that these partnerships help us to unravel opportunities not only in terms of supporting but also unpacking the solutions that we offer to schools and the nation. As a bank, we want to make sure that we deeply entrench ourselves because Uganda is our home. We would like to commit ourselves that moments like these where there is sports and similar activities, we will be there,” Ogwal said.

The sponsorship comes on the back of the Stanbic National Schools Championship, a corporate investment programme where the bank supports schools and learners to generate business ideas which are then actualized with a sponsorship package.

The Bank has also been instrumental in supporting school owners and parents with affordable financing and insurance products during tough times like COVID-19 era.

USSSA President Justus Mugisha, hailed Stanbic’s contribution saying, they are “the number one sports association in Africa and we are now proud to be partnering with the biggest bank in Uganda.”

“We are very excited because this partnership will go a long way in supporting and growing talent to compete at the international stage,” he said.

Rev. Canon Duncans Mugumya, the Commissioner for Physical Education at the Ministry of Education and Sports, said the ministry welcomed Stanbic’s sponsorship because it fell within the scope of a directive by President Yoweri Museveni to the ministry to explore and secure partnership with the private sector to help finance the development of sports.

“I want to assure you that you have touched the right button because schools are the source and the base of sports. Sports is also one avenue for building a healthy population which is key in promoting a healthy economy where private sector players like Stanbic operate,” he said.