Rwandans, especially sports and entertainment enthusiasts, this week witnessed a groundbreaking deal, where Bank of Kigali, the country’s biggest bank acquired the naming rights for the multi-million dollar sports complex, Kigali Arena. The six-year deal valued at over Rwf7 billion saw the Remera-based facility change its name from Kigali Arena to BK Arena for the period of the validity of the agreement. The bank will also be able to use the facility to advertise its products. It is by all means a win-win situation; the 10,000 seater Arena is certainly a high-maintenance facility and given that we do not yet have many events regularly hosted there, coupled with the impact of Covid-19, it is a much-needed injection. For BK, they even stand to gain more in terms of brand awareness, given the kind of events that are hosted at the Arena, starting with the ongoing Basketball Africa League (BAL) finals, which brought together eight finalists from across Africa. The same finals for the continental elite basketball league will return to Rwanda next year, with a possibility of an extension. As the country emerges from the Covid-19 pandemic, more events – not limited to sports – will certainly be hosted there including entertainment shows, for this is a multipurpose facility. It will also greatly feed on the wider MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions) strategy, which has been gaining momentum year-on-year. Any corporate entity worth its name would yearn for such exposure. The only down side however, is the fact that the deal was signed at the time the partnership that Bank of Kigali had with the local basketball federation to sponsor the national league had come to an end. With the Arena mainly home to the game of basketball, this may be a major hitch if not properly managed. On a positive note, this is yet another window for another corporation to step in and to sponsor the basketball league, which has of late gained popularity, especially among the youth.
