By 
By Ross Moyo
NetOne has issued an open invitation to corporate Zimbabwe to join it in supporting athletes, wellness and community sport.
Speaking through PR Officer Rudo Vicente who read the partnership address on behalf of her boss NetOne Public Relations Manager Ernest Magadzire at the Zimbabwe Comrades Marathon Achievement Awards 2026 at Monomotapa Hotel, the company said no single organisation needs to carry the entire distance.
Magadzire through Vicente said NetOne wants its involvement to represent a meaningful relationship with athletes, the Comrades community and the broader wellness agenda, and that partnership asks how corporate Zimbabwe can work alongside athletes, sporting organisations and communities to build a healthier, more active nation.
She posed a series of questions to the private sector: What if more Zimbabwean companies supported running and wellness programmes? What if corporate wellness became embedded in organisational culture? What if we deliberately supported promising endurance athletes from identification and development through to international competition? What if young Zimbabweans could look at today’s award recipients and say: One day, that could be me.
Vicente said that is the ecosystem the country should build together, and that there is room on this journey for many partners.
She called on companies to support athletes, invest in wellness, create opportunities for young people, strengthen community participation and recognise men and women who demonstrate through sport the very qualities sought in organisations – discipline, consistency, resilience, teamwork and the determination to finish what they start.
She added that the power of partnership is that we can go further when we move together, a direct reference to the awards theme 30 Years Strong – The Endurance to Go Further.
To all award recipients, including recipients of awards supported by NetOne and fellow partners – CBZ Bank, First Mutual, 75 Brands Consulting Group, Musabvunda, JumboBets, Rainbow Tourism Group, Holiday Inn by IHG and Monomotapa Harare, powered by NAAZ – Vicente offered congratulations.
She said they should receive the awards as recognition of the kilometres already travelled and as encouragement for the journey still ahead, and that the recognition should strengthen their belief, inspire another athlete, and encourage another Zimbabwean to put on running shoes and begin.
She saluted both those who completed Comrades and those who took on the challenge but did not reach the finish this time, saying sometimes courage is simply standing on the starting line. You started. You dared. You were counted. And you can come back stronger.
She closed with a message to athletes, partners and Zimbabwe as a whole to keep moving, keep believing, keep challenging what was thought possible, build healthier bodies, healthier organisations, stronger communities and together build a stronger Zimbabwe, because greatness is rarely achieved in one dramatic moment. It is built one step, one kilometre, one challenge and one courageous decision at a time.
She concluded: From all of us at NetOne, congratulations to Zimbabwe’s 2026 Comrades Marathon family and to every award recipient being honoured today. We are proud to walk – and run – this journey with you. Thirty years strong. Connected by purpose. Strengthened by endurance. And together, ready to go further. I thank you.
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