The Sunday News
Raymond Jaravaza, Sports Correspondent
HIGHLANDERS will decide when to cash in on funds reaped from a strategic partnership with Sanctuary Insurance, which will see the club receive a percentage from insurance policies sold from 1 March, Sunday News Sport can reveal.
Bosso entered into a partnership with Sanctuary Insurance Company (Pvt) Ltd – a wholly Zimbabwe-owned company with international associations — in a deal signed at the club’s offices on Friday.
The deal cemented the club’s growth of their basket of sponsors and partners in line with a strategic seminar held at the start of 2020, before Covid-19 wreaked havoc, where they came up with a three-year strategic plan.
One of the objectives was to make the club a commercially viable entity within three years. Speaking on the sidelines of the ceremony Sanctuary Insurance Southern Region general manager Dumisani Nyoni said the ball was in Highlanders’ court to decide when they wish to be paid money made from the sale of insurance policies.
“The club will let us know whether they prefer to be paid the money monthly, quarterly or annually and we will make the funds available as per the club’s request. The deal is a win-win for both our company and Highlanders so it is our hope that the partnership will go on for years to come,” said Nyoni.
Nyoni reckons that the partnership will offer the Bosso faithful means to assist their beloved club without breaking the bank. “There are a lot of Highlanders supporters who would like to put some money into the team’s coffers, but because of the situation we are in, there are demanding needs in families that may make it impossible for them to throw in some money for the team,” he said.
Bosso card-carrying members will enjoy added benefits such as discounts when purchasing insurance policies with Sanctuary Insurance, according to the firm’s managing director Kusikwenyu.
“There are added incentives for Highlanders card carrying members as they will be given discounts when they purchase insurance from us such as 30 percent discounts among other benefits. As a company we have so much to learn from Highlanders, from the way the club runs its operations to how they have managed to stand the test of time for all these years. The story of Highlanders is an intriguing and inspiring one, which Sanctuary Insurance can learn a lot from, so it is our hope that this partnership will go on for a long time,” said Kusikwenyu.
Bosso chairman Kenneth Mhlophe implored the club’s members and supporters to do business with Sanctuary.
“So, all we have done is to say as you come to purchase your insurance policy, that policy will benefit Highlanders.
The numbers that we are looking at are big numbers and we said numbers like these will benefit the club. We cannot divulge the numbers at the moment, but I can guarantee you we are talking big numbers for a club as big as Highlanders,” said Mhlophe.
In their partnership with Bosso, Sanctuary Insurance has refurbished and re-branded the Highlanders 30-seater team bus, used by junior teams. The bus also has all its insurance and road licence costs paid by Sanctuary. Further, Sanctuary has paid for insurance of Bosso’s three office vehicles. – @RaymondJaravaza.
