Ndejje University Angels gets boost from Housing Finance Bank

The Ndejje University Angels Basketball Club have landed a sh60m sponsorship from Housing Finance Bank that will in part help them set up a basketball court at their Kampala campus.

The bank also becomes their kit sponsor for their teams including the Magic Stormers, Ndejje University’s basketball female side with the sponsorship open to support other Ndejje’s sports initiatives.

The cheque was handed to the Ndejje University Dean of Students Wilfred Muhumuza who was in the company of Sports Tutor Ivan Kalimunda, by the bank’s Company Secretary and Legal Officer Anne Abeja, who was also in the company of the Head of Marketing Doreen Nyiramugisha and Marketing Manager Ronnie Zalwango, at their Wampewo Avenue branch in Kololo on Friday.

Addressing the press during the unveiling Abeja said the bank had come on board to ‘make it easy’ for the team as per the bank’s slogan.

She commended the team for their hard work, dedication, practice, and probably their sweat and tears that have ensured the team remains competitive; and for their recent win against the NBL champions, the Oilers; and encouraged them to keep it up.

“We are thrilled to be launching this remarkable partnership that bridges the world of finance and sport because basketball is aligned with the bank in many ways for this incredible team.

“At Housing Finance Bank, we believe that sports and education are very crucial in the fight against poverty and development; we continue to collaborate with the various educational institutions that are universities and schools to make a difference in the lives of the students.

“This partnership with the Angels is a perfect opportunity for us to give back to our country Uganda and the community. We also firmly believe in building capacities and skills amongst the youth and the young adults,” Abeja said.

“We believe in supporting endeavours that inspire growth potential and therefore we believe that this is a match made in heaven and we can’t wait for the magic to hit this country. We are in this for the long haul and we shall work towards even making the court better with floodlights.

“Let us make this partnership a slam dunk!” Abeja stated.

The bank’s Marketing Manager Ronnie Zalwango said their offer wasn’t just a one-off but the beginning of a long partnership that will see them grow with the university team and may venture into other sports in the future.

Muhumuza welcomed the sponsorship which he said will go a long way in offloading the burden on their sports budget. He said for Ndejje University they take sports as a Corporate Social Responsibility because they offer free scholarships to most of the most talented sportsmen. He said over 3000 sportsmen had benefited from the scholarships.

“Ndejje University was struggling with setting up sports facilities at their Kampala campus so the Housing Bank partnership has helped us to construct a court at this particular campus,” Muhumuza said.

“So it means our talented students at this campus will have the opportunity to use this court because previously we have been hiring courts from the nearby secondary schools, which has come with a lot of inconveniences, but now we have our own where we can train from 4-7pm,” Muhumuza stated.

“Before the court was put in place our Kampala players would incur transport costs to come to Ndejje for training, so it means that the transport budget will be cut.