The annual Gaborone Diacore Marathon is one of the few local events held in the city that really pulls in a diverse crowd, both internationally and locally. Usually, such a sporty event would never catch my attention, what with my lack of fitness and all, I know, I am not proud either. But this year I found myself drawn to Grand Palm. On the 13th of May, roughly 7000 people tried their luck on the number of races offered by the event. The different races included a 4 km fun run (for the family mostly), 10 km run, 21 km and the brutal 42 km run which I can only question it’s participants. The atmosphere was electric even before the races started. If you were around Gabs during that weekend then you probably know what I mean. Roads were closed, traffic diverted and there were so many road marshalls stationed around the city, too many to count. By 6.30 am, the races had begun!
6.30 am on a Sunday seemed like a way too early time for me to be up. I was obviously happy to cheer on the participants but figured I could still do that at a more, reasonable time. By the time I made my way to Grand Palm, where the races were commissioned to start and finish, I wasn’t too worried about my tardiness. There was still an electric buzz that could be felt as some of the runners were finishing their races. The live music also helped. But what particularly caught my eye was the De Beers Youth Innovators Hub. The marathon annually attracts various sponsors and this year was no different; Mascom, Stanbic Bank, Yarona FM, Botho University, to name a few. Diacore is one of De Beers’ site holders, and being the mammoth company they are, their presence was definitely felt.
The Youth Innovators Hub held a number of stalls, 11, which were local youth companies that had just graduated from the De Beers Stanford Go To Market program. The GTM, as they like to call it is in it’s first year of running (total period is 3 years). It’s a business program that accommodates 50 participants whom go under a whole week of intense training and mentoring from some of the world’s best business minds. Going around the stalls, I got an idea of how diverse their pool of participants are. From beverage companies; Just Ginger, to fitness; Fit For Life, to research; Focus Surveys, GTM is open to all. And from the look of things, the program was a big hit! The founder of Cutikles, a nail therapy company highly recommended the program to fellow entrepreneurs, she found that from the program she gained business acumen skills and found a better sense of direction for her business. While from Just Ginger they felt more prepared to pitch to new investors after undergoing the program.
One thing all the exhibitors emphatically agreed one was the brilliant exposure De Beers offered them by inviting them to participate at such events such as the marathon. And according to De Beers personnel, the marathon is the first of many activities they plan on integrating their Youth Innovators at. A key focus area for the company is youth empowerment, mentioned Wanetsha Mosinyi, the Social Impact Officer. This is in support of the Vision 2036 pillars, and enterprise development and investing in youth is one way De Beers is giving back to the community. De Beers partners with MYSC to achieve this. For the marathon, they partnered with 20 local runners, one of whom came third in the 21km race. The Hub was open to both participants and spectators to enjoy and learn about the amazing services offered by our youth led businesses.
Overall it was a brilliant day to not only see Batswana take part in a fun yet healthy activity but to also witness the amazing talent that our county has to offer. And I think they might have just converted me into taking part in the marathon next year. Where I will obviously try my luck in the 4km run, wouldn’t want to overdo it or anything.
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