Illovo doubles cycling sponsorship to K6m

Illovo Sugar (Malawi) Limited has doubled the cycling race sponsorship from K3 million to K6 million.

The sponsors have also rebranded the 115-kilometre race which starts from Misesa Cemetery in Limbe, Blantyre to Nkando in Mulanje and back.

Formerly called Illovo Classic Cycling Race, it will now be known as Illovo Mphamvu Cycling Race.

Illovo Sugar (Malawi)  Limited assistant general manager (commercial) Walter Nyamilandu Manda yesterday announced the name change and sponsorship package for the annual cycling race scheduled for November 19.

“Illovo is well-known for sweet things. Therefore, in this era where we celebrate 50 years of producing sugar at Nchalo and have rebranded, we thought it wise to double the financial package for the cycling race as we continuously improve and enrich the lives of Malawians,” he said.

“This is exactly why we understand that for contestants to ably compete in this race, they need that extra energy, or shall we say ‘Mphamvu’.”

According to Nyamilandu, the prize money has been levelled in both the female and men’s categories to encourage female cyclists.

This means ladies and men’s category champion’s will receive K120 000 aside from other benefits such as qualifying for an all-expenses-paid-for trip to Cape Argus Cycle Tour in South Africa next March.

Blantyre Cycling Club president Dyton Chimwaza said the sponsorship increase will enable them to provide breakfast for the contestants before the race starts at 7:20am.

“We are grateful to Illovo for the sponsorship increase. It is a good gesture to make such an increase in the face of the economic challenges Malawi is experiencing. We will use the money for its intended purpose,” he said.

One of the country’s prolific cyclists, Leornard Tsoyo, expressed delight at the development, saying it will motivate them to improve. n