By Byron Mutingwende
ZB Bank has been the perennial sponsor and partner of the Harare International Festival of the Arts (HIFA) in its quest to impact the lives of people in the different communities.
Speaking at a press conference in Harare on 19 April 2018, Emilia Mabika, the ZB Group Head of Marketing and Corporate Affairs said her organisation was proud to be associated with HIFA.
“The HIFA is a significant calendar event that ZB associates with to enhance our brand. On Friday, 4 May 2018, we will be activating our brand through social media and will be live broadcasting on StarFM Radio. The day will be the ZB day. ZB will be giving exciting giveaways and some tickets to our customers. We have partnered HIFA to the tune of $400 000 over the years.
“Our sponsorship to HIFA is because we look forward to developing the arts industry and artists. Artists we have sponsored have excelled locally and internationally. Our brand positioning is, “ZB helps you to grow big and go big.” In the same vein, our reach and footprint is growing as we seek to raise awareness to our existence as well as touch and impact people’s lives in the communities,” Mabika said.
Muchadeyi Masunda, the HIFA Chairman of the Board of Trustees praised his organisation’s symbiotic relationship with ZB Bank.
“ZB has been around for many years and it is one of the most solid banks and financial services provider in the country. As HIFA, we are pleased to be associated with ZB Bank. We appreciate the ZB support to HIFA which dates back to our inception in 1999,” Masunda said.
The technocrat to the support from the ministry of sport and the Department of Immigration for their promise to make sure that artists would come into the country to attend the festival without hassles.
The HIFA has morphed into a world-class product and event that raises the profile of the country as “open to business”.
Maria Wilson, the HIFA Executive Director said the festival offers a carnival atmosphere where people from all walks of life celebrate and indulge in merrymaking as a sign of hope for a brighter future despite the current economic hardships.
“HIFA is a festival of feasting and celebration. We can safely say it is a big party held in six days. It is an opportunity for people to forget their daily struggles, worries, anxieties and economic hardships,’ Wilson said.
She expressed joy for partnering ZB Bank since it is an open, imaginative and forward-thinking financial institution whose innovation had seen it offering services like international banking transactions, housing facilities as well as mortgages for locals and Zimbabweans in the Diaspora.