South Africa: Mukuru leverages sport sponsorship to drive financial inclusion

Southern African financial services platform Mukuru, has launched a new marketing campaign through sport sponsorship, highlighting the fintech’s evolution from a remittances-based business to a broader financial services provider for emerging African consumers.

The Mukuru marketing campaign follows a series of sport sponsorships including South African rugby legend Tendai “The Beast” Mtawarira and English Premier League side Crystal Palace footballers Jordan Ayew, Wilfried Zaha and Jeffrey Schlupp.

Mukuru has enabled financial inclusion through its digital platforms that use the latest mobile technologies that are accessible to people in both urban and remote rural areas in Africa..

Bronwyn Pretorius, Executive Head of Marketing at Mukuru said, “The campaign captures the passion the continent has for sports and culture, but also the tenacity of our customers, people that rise each day, regardless of their circumstances, to earn a living and provide for the needs of their families.”

“Mukuru is a business for Africans, by Africans, and the representation of iconic African talent, as showcased in the new campaign, was key to illustrating the opportunities and possibilities for our customers. The new ad highlights the different ways the brand aims to take Africans forward – which is why we used top African forwards playing for Crystal Palace in the upcoming 2022/23 EPL season,” added Pretorius.

The ad opens with Ivory Coast-born Wilfried Zaha holding the new Mukuru Card with a wallet feature for digital payments and purchases. It also features Crystal Palace striker Jordan Ayew, a Ghanaian and Jeffrey Schlupp, who represented Ghana in the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations.

The campaign recognises Africa’s rising global stature in both fintech and sport, and the star player in the ad is Zimbabwean-born South African rugby legend Tendai “The Beast” Mtawarira.

“Mukuru started in my homeland in Zimbabwe and what this brand does is amazing in the way it connects Africans all around the globe, giving them the ability to provide for their families back home,” said Mtawarira.

“The new ad encapsulates our brand purpose of unleashing possibility by placing iconic African people at the centre, as we do daily with our customers. Our mission is understanding their pain points, working together as a partner and not just a service provider, to tap into opportunities through financial solutions that address the limitations and challenges they face each new day,” concludes Pretorius.