Leading online gaming firm SportPesa once again made a significant step towards improving the Kenyan sporting ecosystem as it officially unveiled the second installation of the revolutionary Tujiamini initiative in a bespoke ceremony on Thursday night in Loresho, Nairobi.
SportPesa, in collaboration with DBA Africa, unveiled the initiative which will be out to identify, explore and to empower a range of talented individuals with the belief of turning those dreams into reality.
In the event graced by SportPesa CEO Ronald Karauri and Sports Cabinet Secretary Ababu Namwamba among a range of high-profile personalities, SportPesa revealed that over 30 million shillings will be made available to fund the various sporting dreams in 2024.
Every month, up to 87 winners in 4 different categories will get rewarded with up to KSh3,000,000 worth of products or services. The awards have been grouped into Gold, Silver, Bronze and the unique Cheza Dimba categories with every level offering different monetary rewards on a monthly basis.
The Gold Award will offer KSh. 500,000 to one winner while the Silver Award will give KSh. 100,000 to five different winners. 80 winners get KSh. 10,000 in the Bronze Award with the special Cheza Dimba Award handing a three-year sponsorship deal to a grassroot football team where they will receive KSh. 250,000 annually.
Speaking during the launch, Namwamba lauded the initiative by SportPesa as he poured his unreserved support to the initiative that he said would corroborate with the government’s Talanta Hela program.
“This program is revolutionary in many ways. It is offering a very deliberate and structured pipeline going all the way to the grassroots where our young people will get an opportunity to showcase, grow and monetize their talents.
As a government and ministry, this is really in sync with our Talanta Hela initiative which is about identifying, nurturing and monetizing talents. I declare my absolute and unequivocal support for Tujiamini and say that the Ministry of Sport and the government will be delighted to combine efforts as we reach out to the youth of this country,” he remarked.
“Today is a big for us. When we started our CSR in sports, our main aim was to make a difference. We always wanted to make sure that in whatever we put our money, there would be an impact such that if we were to look back we could have seen a difference.
The Tujiamini initiative seeks to empower the youth and budding talent in the creative economy by availing the dire needed resources they need to spur them to the next level. The objective is to get from the grassroot levels and create a level playing field. I would love it if SportPesa, through Tujiamini, identify the next big football team,” Karauri said.
SportPesa Public Relations Manager Willis Ojwang provided a clear roadmap of what the initiative will look like.
“In the roadmap of the program, we will be having top-contending, well-deserving and highly-potential teams being given, not just the money alone but the platform to ensure that they reach their potential.
One of the success stories that we aim to achieve is the Murang’a Seals story for instance, a team that we picked right from the grassroots and was elevated all the way to the Kenyan Premier League,” he said.
The Tujiamini initiative will cover a scope of various talents ranging from athletes, sporting organizations, gyms, sports campaigns, physiotherapists, teams, sports institutions, tournament organizers, sports-related businesses, sports journalists/photographers, clubs, coaches and officials.