Endurance Builds Greatness – NetOne Uses Comrades Story To Reflect On 30-Year Journey

By Ross Moyo

NetOne has used the Zimbabwe Comrades Marathon Achievement Awards 2026 to reflect on its own corporate journey as the state-owned mobile operator marks 30 years of operations.

In an address read on its behalf by PR Officer Rudo Vicente at Monomotapa Hotel, NetOne drew a direct parallel between the life of an endurance athlete and the life of an organisation that has survived three decades in a competitive and changing market.

Vicente read that thirty years ago, NetOne also began a journey, and like an endurance athlete, an organisation does not travel for three decades without encountering hills.

She said there are climbs, there are difficult kilometres, there are moments when conditions change, there are times when you must adjust your pace, rediscover your strength and remember why you started. But you keep moving.

She said that is why, as NetOne celebrates 30 years, the company is taking time to appreciate how far it has come while remaining firmly focused on the road ahead. Its first 30 years have given it experience, resilience and a strong foundation, but its next chapter must be defined by greater innovation, greater inclusion, deeper connection and an even stronger impact on the communities it serves.

Vicente said the Comrades Marathon teaches that the finish line of one journey becomes the starting line of another, and that lesson is central to NetOne’s strategy for the next 30 years.

She told guests that the company began by connecting voice calls three decades ago, and today connects data, financial services, enterprises and national platforms, and that every stage, like every kilometre in Comrades, required endurance.

She said the awards at Monomotapa Hotel, scheduled are not just about athletics but about celebrating Zimbabwean resilience itself.

Her message to staff, partners and customers was clear: Never allow the distance ahead to make you forget the distance already travelled. Today, the company celebrates the ground covered, but knows that some of its greatest kilometres may still lie ahead.