Absa Group Sponsorships

Initiatives that make a real difference

Overview

Absa Group is a leading financial services provider in Africa, with a deep commitment to the continent's growth and prosperity. We believe that our success is intertwined with the success of the communities we serve, and that's why we invest heavily in initiatives that make a real difference.

One of the key ways we do this is through our comprehensive sponsorship program. We proudly support a wide range of initiatives across various sectors

Sports

Running Cycling Soccer Golf

Running

#AbsaRunYourCity

A diverse road running series, the Absa Run Your City Series integrates businesses, families, investment in community, world class achievement and fun for all participants. Placing each host city on a pedestal, iconic landmarks form the foundation of a magnificent route experience that also boasts a feel-good vibe compliments of the city’s leading performing arts groups, refreshments, exciting sponsor activations and enthusiastic support along the way. For every 1km that you walk we donate 1 Rand to a good cause.

Race dates 2024

Gqeberha10k: 7 April 2024
Capetown10k: 12 May 2024
Durban10k: 7 July 2024
Tswane10k:25 August 2024
Joburg10k: 24 September 2024

Please click here to access the Absa Run Your City Strava

Cycling

Absa Cape Epic

The Absa Cape Epic is the most televised mountain bike race in the world and the only eight-day mountain bike stage race classed as hors catégorie by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) with the broadcast products distributed to 144 countries.

Absa has been a Title and Exclusive Naming Rights Sponsor of the event since 2006. In 2023, we announced the extension of our title sponsorship of the Absa Cape Epic solidifying a nearly 18 years partnership with the event. The sponsorship is leveraged through the Team Absa Training Camp, Team Absa riders, the Epic Trippers Programme, the Team Absa Zone at the main event race villages, access to the event through the Riders' Dining Marquee, and partnerships with other co-sponsors, suppliers and the Qhubeka and ILoveBoobies Charities. Absa colleagues are integrated across all the respective elements of the supporting and main event as part of a volunteering and appreciation programme.

Please click here to find out more about the Absa Cape Epic

#SheUntamed

Launched in 2019, the award-winning #SheUntamed initiative aims to promote women participation in the race that measures all, the Absa Cape Epic. #SheUntamed embodies Absa's commitment to empowering women, fostering inclusivity and breaking down barriers within the cycling realm. Since its inception, #SheUntamed has helped with the remarkable surge in female participation in the race. The number has increased from 36 in its inaugural year to an impressive 146 in 2023.

This achievement is largely attributed to Absa's purposeful initiatives, in collaboration with Cape Epic, which includes increased participation of women in the Team Absa line-up.

Please click here to find out more about #SheUntamed

Soccer

English Premier League

We are proud to announce that we have renewed our sponsorship for the current Premier League 2023-2024 season. Our partnership with the Premier League is about so much more than just football. It’s about celebrating the tenacity and ingenuity of the players, teams, fans and communities who always find a way to get things done. This inspires us to continue our commitment to the Premier League.

This season we are bringing you closer to the Premier League than ever before with access to exclusive experiences, prizes and tickets to the games, as well as game-changing banking assists.

Please click here to find out more about the English Premier League

Golf

The Absa SuperSport Shootout

Absa Group is proud to announce its partnership with SuperSport as the new co-title sponsor of South Africa’s premier golf and lifestyle event, the Absa SuperSport Shootout. This sought-after tournament, renowned for its blend of competitive golf and philanthropy, will take place from 31 May to 2 June 2024, at the breath-taking Zimbali Estate in Durban.

Please click here to find out more about the Absa SuperSport Shootout

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The Absa Ladies Invitational

The Sunshine Ladies Tour has announced another major sponsor as Absa joins the 2024 schedule. The new Absa Ladies Invitational was hosted at Serengeti Estates in Gauteng from 4 to 6 April 2024.

The announcement follows hot on the heels of the Pan-African banking giant unveiling its fresh brand positioning with the tagline, Your story matters. With this sponsorship, Absa is writing an exciting new chapter, underscoring its commitment to diversity and inclusion, not only in the boardroom, but also in the world of sport and within the communities it serves.

Sunshine ladies tour schedule 2024

16-18 February: Dimension Data Ladies Pro-Am – Fancourt.
21-23 February: SuperSport Ladies Challenge presented by Sun International – Lost City Golf Course.
6-8 March: Fidelity ADT Ladies Challenge – Blue Valley Golf Estate.
13-15 March: Cape Town Ladies Open – Royal Cape Golf Club.
4-6 April: Absa Ladies Invitational – Serengeti Golf and Wildlife Estate.
10-12 April: Jabra Ladies Classic – Glendower Golf Club.
18-21 April: Joburg Ladies Open – Modderfontein Golf Club (co-sanctioned with the Ladies European Tour) .
25-28 April: Investec South African Women’s Open – Erinvale Golf Estate (co-sanctioned with the Ladies European Tour).

Please click here to find out more about the Absa Ladies Invitational

Lifestyle

Arts and Culture Food and Wine

Arts and Culture

L'Atelier

The Absa L’Atelier art competition is a leading Pan-African art competition. The competition, which has been running for nearly 40 years, is hosted annually by Absa in partnership with the South African National Association for the Visual Arts (SANAVA).

Please click here to find out more about L’Atelier

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KKNK

The renowned KKNK festival has returned to Oudtshoorn until 31 March, transforming the town into a vibrant hub of visual and performing arts during the Easter season. Sponsored by Absa, a staunch supporter of arts and culture, the festival offers a rich, vibrant program to engage both customers and attendees.

Absa’s involvement this year will be reflective of the bank’s move towards a more human-centred approach to banking, as evidenced through our reimagined brand and the ‘Your story matters’ ethos.

Please click here to find out more about KKNK

Food and Wine

The Absa Champagne in Africa Festival

A globalised and proudly African platform sponsored by Absa CIB, giving our guests the opportunity to discover the finer things that embody excellence and joie de vivre. Join us in appreciating and enjoying exclusively curated travel, gastronomy and premium experiences enhanced by the flavour and feeling of the world’s best bubbly.

Please click here to find out more about the Absa champagne in Africa festival

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Absa Top 10 Pinotage

The Pinotage varietal, under the strategic guidance of the Pinotage Association, continues to receive international acclaim. The efforts of South African winemakers have resulted in Pinotage wines being recognised for their superior quality, capable of competing with any varietal from around the world.

The Pinotage Association has successfully organised and promoted several prestigious competitions, each contributing to the elevation of Pinotage's reputation on the global stage.

Please click here to find out more about Absa Top 10 Pinotage

Strategic Events

The JFF DSTV Delicious

The JFF

The Johannesburg Film Festival

The Joburg Film Festival is strategically positioned to become Africa’s Premier Film Festival through the curation and showcasing of African and International films whilst providing various opportunities for development, training, skills transfer and networking for youth as well as emerging filmmaker and practitioners. The festival stands for innovation, excellence, purposeful creativity and seeks to grow and contribute cultural tourism not only for the city of Joburg and the Gauteng province but for South Africa as a whole.

DSTV Delicious

Force for good

Planting Veggie gardens Qhubeka iloveboobies Yarrow Intermediate School

Planting Veggie gardens

Planting Veggie Gardens

Possibilities Unearthed derives from the need for Absa to leave a long-lasting legacy in the communities that the operate in.

Absa identifies a school in the community, sends a team to install a sustainable vegetable garden, and the school then benefits from the harvest that comes from the garden –either through using the crops for their feeding schemes or by selling the harvest to the community.

This initiative first started in Franschhoek at the Franschhoek Primary School in 2021, with ThembalethuHigh School in George following in 2022.

Qhubeka

Absa donates 100 bicycles to Qhubeka beneficiaries as part of the 20^th Edition of the Absa Cape Epic

Qhubeka is a charity based in South Africa that moves people forward with bicycles. Their name is a Nguni word that means to move forward or to progress. Each Qhubeka bike costs R8,300 thousand rand and increases a person’s carrying capacity by five times, and healthcare workers can visit more than double the number of patients per day with a Qhubeka Buffalo Bicycle.

In South Africa, twelve (12) of the sixteen (16) million school-going children walk more than two hours to school and two hours back. With a Qhubeka Buffalo Bicycle, a beneficiary’s commute time being reduced by up to 75%. The academic marks of children who ride a bicycle to school improve by an average of 25%. Schools where children ride bicycles to class also see attendance rates rise by 18% on average.

Please click here to find out more about Qhubeka

iloveboobies

In a heartwarming effort to be a driving force for good, Absa joined forces with the official charity partner of the Absa Cape Epic, iloveboobies. Together, they committed to providing over 1 000 free breast examinations to South African women during the course of the Absa cycling calendar. It's a poignant reminder that breast cancer doesn't discriminate – it can affect anyone, regardless of race or background. So, as we cherish our loved ones this month, let's also cherish our health and prioritise self-care.

This collaboration resonates deeply with Absa's #SheUntamed initiative – a movement launched in 2019 to promote women's participation in the race that measures all, the Absa Cape Epic. #SheUntamed embodies Absa's commitment to empowering women, fostering inclusivity and breaking down barriers within the cycling realm. By partnering with iloveboobies, Absa extends its support beyond the trails, championing holistic wellbeing and spreading love in the communities it serves.

Please click here to find out more about iloveboobies

Yarrow Intermediate School

Absa demonstrated its unwavering commitment to community empowerment through education during this year's training camp activities. The bank’s key stakeholders took charge of spearheading significant upgrades and refurbishments at Yarrow Intermediate School, reaffirming Absa's dedication to being an active force for good in the communities it serves

Please click here to find out more about Absa's commitment to Yarrow Intermediate School