MoneyGram International, one of the leading international money transfer companies, has been unveiled as the Headline Sponsor of the second edition of Zimbabwe Achievers Awards (ZAA).

The partnership between MoneyGram and the ZAA, and the key dates leading up to the main event on 28th April 2012 were discussed at a press conference on 9th February 2012 at MoneyGram’s London headquarters.

The event was chaired by Dr. Knox Chitiyo, the Africa Fellow and head of the Africa Programme at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) in Whitehall, London.  Dr. Chitiyo is also the Chairman of the Britain- Zimbabwe Society (BZS).

The panel comprised of the ZAA CEO Conrad Mwanza, MoneyGram Marketing Director Richard Levy, ZAA Panel Chairman Zeb Manatse and Peter Soko, a founding member of the ZAA as well as the producer of the event.

Speaking of the involvement of MoneyGram who also supported the awards last year, Mr. Mwanza said: “We are delighted to welcome MoneyGram as the new Headline Sponsor of what will now be called the ‘MoneyGram Zimbabwe Achievers Awards.’ MoneyGram’s involvement with ZAA proves its ongoing commitment to engaging and supporting the community. Their support of this event helps to strengthen an already growing relationship with the Zimbabwean community.”
 
Mr. Levy echoed similar sentiments: “It’s our great pleasure to be the Headline Sponsor of Zimbabwe Achievers Awards; we think it is fantastic that we are able to give back to the community in this way and to show our support. One of the key point objectives for MoneyGram is to show that we are not only a significant company but we also significantly like giving back to the communities.”

Mr. Levy said they hoped to see many people at the awards giving night, adding that they’d like to promote the image that “MoneyGram is backing the community, supporting the Zimbabweans and encouraging great achievement.”
 
Mr. Manatse thanked the public for the record number of nominations for this year. He said that the nominations procedure ensures that “the whole process is not just a popularity contest but it is actually [about] people making contributions within their various fields.”

Mr. Manatse also named the recipients of two specific awards - Chairman’s Honorary Award which recognises people who have made significant contributions over a long time and Friends of Zimbabwe Award which recognises those who are not necessarily Zimbabweans but have made significant contributions to the development of Zimbabwe.

The awards have respectively gone to Strive Masiyiwa, the founder and chairman of Econet and Professor Terence Ranger, emeritus fellow of St Antony’s College, Oxford and president of the Britain Zimbabwe Society.
 
Mr. Soko said that the public announcement of the final nominees will be made on 25th February 2012 at The Drift, Heron Tower. Being a public event, he encouraged guests to register for it on the ZAA website.
 
Mr. Soko also highlighted that the early bird tickets for the awards night taking place at 5* The Grange Tower Hill hotel on 28th April are now on sale for £65 only from the ZAA website. Tickets will remain at this discounted price till 2nd March after which they will be sold at the full price of £80.
 
Asked what the people should expect on the night, Mr. Soko said: “Last year’s event was phenomenal in terms of entertainment. We need to make sure this year’s event is four times better, so what I can assure you is four times better entertainment.”

“I can assure you that the ‘who’s who’ of the Zimbabwean community and of the African community and mainstream celebrities will be in attendance,” Mr. Mwanza added.

He confirmed that Zimbabwean actress Chipo Chung will be the presenter on the night.
 
“ZAA was born out of a simple vision: to recognise those Zimbabweans who are working very hard to make other fellow Zimbabweans proud,” Mr. Mwanza said.

“Zimbabweans do quite a lot, Zimbabweans are high achievers, forward-thinkers; you find them in all the institutions in high positions. This is what we wanted to highlight. Like any other household, there could be problems, but what about the good things that Zimbabweans do? Who is going to recognise that?” Mr. Mwanza asked.

He added that the ZAA is more about the positive things Zimbabweans do. “We wanted to celebrate the positive within the community, bring that pride within the community,” Mr. Mwanza said.
 
Marketing and Sales Director of ZAA, Josh Chigwangwa revealed that a special ZAA magazine will be distributed to all the guests attending the event.

For further information about Zimbabwe Achievers Awards, please log on to www.zimachievers.com.