20 August 2012 By Oiva Angula

Inaugural Telecom Namibia Windhoek City Run attracts 500 enthusiasts

Nearly 500 runners and walkers converged in sunny conditions at the Doc Jubber Hockey Field in Windhoek to take part in the Inaugural Telecom Namibia Windhoek City Run on Sunday.

Runners ranged from the young to an 83 year-old. For many, the aim is just to reach the finishing line. The Telecom Namibia Windhoek City Run was arranged for the first time in partnership with the Windhoek Harriers Club and Otb Sports. The former invited Telecom Namibia to sponsor the event as part of the company’s 20th anniversary activities.

The event featured the 42.2k marathon, as well as 21,1k and 10k runs and walk races, while the route chosen showcased the Mother City and some of its scenic landmarks.

According to the Chairman of the Windhoek Harriers Club Johan van Niekerk, the event is planned to become a part of the Windhoek City annual calendar, saying: With increasing public awareness, it will become a new name-card for our marvelous City of Windhoek.”

Telecom Namibia was the Title sponsor of the Windhoek City Run, while Coca Cola served as the official soft drink sponsor for the event.

"Telecom Namibia is pleased and honored to host the Inaugural Telecom Namibia Windhoek City Run," said Telecom Namibia MD Frans Ndoroma, who ran a red-hot race to claim the Grand Master Male title in the 10k category.

"Runners and walkers who participated have surely enjoyed the course, the spirited competition and time well-spent in our country's incredible Capital City. Next year we expect more participants from far and wide to enjoy the beauty of Windhoek," Ndoroma pointed out.

The highlight of the event was the 42.2k Marathon, which kicked off at 6.30 am. Embashu Phineas and Ndeshimona Ekandjo won the Men and Females’ first place in the Elite categories respectively, and Frans Erasmus and Ashew Ndivu won the first place in the Vet Male and Female categories respectively. Dieter Max Ester emerged as winner in the Master Male.

The 33-year old NDF Lance Corporal Sakaria Shifotoka bagged the Elite Male category in the 21.1k, with 34-year old Anna Hamukoto taking the title in the female category.

First place winners in the 21.1k series were as follows:

Title Run Walk
Elite Male Tobias Atoani Sakaria Shifotoka
Vet Male Kanu Alex Chidi Mathew Hoeb
Master Male Manie Ross Roly de Klerk
Grand Master Male John Cull Eric Marisch
Elite Female Anna Amukoto Rachael Akukotela
Vet Female Ida Calitz Ruusa Shipiki
Master Female Maritz Engelbratz Isle Burger

Winners in the 10k series were:

Title Run Walk
Elite Male: Kauanivi Mynhardt Simon Shaninara
Vet Male Ryan: Syser Wonnie Bock
Master Male: Nelson Mushariwa Werner Sell
Grand Master: Male Frans Ndoroma
Elite Female: Melissa Papgis Drerdo Esterhugsen
Vet Female: Madelein Spies Jenny Mostert
Master Female: Betty du Plessis Maryke Am

The event was preceded by a gala dinner on Friday, which was addressed by the Telecom Namibia MD and guest speaker Andre Diederichs, a well-known public speaker and media personality who have published more than a 1000 business articles and six business books since 2002.

“As a corporate citizen, Telecom Namibia is very much willing to help out on an event that promotes health, fitness, and better lifestyle for Namibians,” Ndoroma said.

He said Telecom Namibia agreed to sponsor the event in order to reclaim the City of Windhoek for people to run through its streets and enjoy its beautiful scenery.

The event should be seen by corporate Namibia for their involvement as a long term project to promote the City of Windhoek nationally, regionally and internationally, he said.

“As part of Telecom Namibia’s 20th birthday celebrations, this sponsorship enforces our company’s commitment to the health of the nation and an investment in the people that make Telecom Namibia who we are,” he added.

Ndoroma said that Telecom Namibia would continue to promote healthy living at every opportunity and encourage not only our employees, but every Namibian to lead a healthy lifestyle.

“It is our duty as individuals and companies to combat inactive lifestyle and chronic conditions such as obesity, high blood pressure and diabetes as we seek to create meaningful change in our communities and in our nation as a whole,” he said.

The Windhoek Harriers Club is also celebrating its 30th birthday this year.

Organisers assigned 100 marshals and volunteers to man the entire route and water points at intervals, as well as the professional services of the City Police Department and SOS to secure event order and safety.

“I am happy the inaugural Telecom Namibia Windhoek City Run was very informative, a learning curve and we have had great feedback from those who participated. Together with our partners, we will be able to build on their input,” Ndoroma said.

“I thank all the participants and all the volunteers for making the day a success,” he concluded.

8 August 2012

Telecom Namibia, which is celebrating its 20th birthday, is the main sponsor of the 13th Economist Businesswomen Conference which starts at Oshandira Lodge in Oshakati tomorrow.

This annual conference brings together mainly female entrepreneurs who are starting, expanding and/or working to improve their businesses, for a day of networking and professional development.

Over 100 participants are expected to attend the event, which will give them tools they need to move their businesses and careers forward by generating new ideas, making new connections and exploring new opportunities.

Telecom Namibia board member Feitjie Veldskoen, who is billed to open the conference, is expected to re-commit the company to initiatives that encourage women entrepreneurship and empowerment in order to change lives for the better and make a difference to society.

Attendees will also learn from the following presentations by established business leaders and executives:

1. The importance/benefits of strong relationships to grow your business with Nangula Uaandja, Partner: PriceWaterhouseCoopers
2. The power of your brand with Erica Mulondo, National Service Manager, Standard Bank Namibia
3. Money lessons from Lyanla with Afra Schimming-Chase, Founder: Chase & Associates
4. Telecommunication solutions for small businesses with Amanda Hauuanga, Head: Marketing at Telecom Namibia
5. Women and investments with Monica Kalondo, Managing Director: Stimulus Investments
6. The Law of Contract with Frieda Kashi, Legal Practitioner, Law Society of Namibia
7. Innovation and business idea generation with Silas Newaka, Innovation Marketplace Officer, Namibia Business Incubation Centre (NBIC)

“This conference is a platform for women to improve their business and management skills, consequently providing, mentoring, and networking opportunities that are critically needed for the success of their businesses,” said Frans Ndoroma, Managing Director of Telecom Namibia.

“From the very beginning it has been Telecom Namibia's resolve to help the communities we operate in and we are thankful to all our customers and partners who have very sincerely appreciated our efforts over the past 20 years," said Ndoroma.

The Telecom MD added that the annual conference has opened new opportunities for deserving women and has provided them a platform to enhance their skills and believe in their abilities. “Therefore, Telecom Namibia is proud to continue its support to women as wed celebrate a landmark moment in our company’s history,” he said.

Telecom Namibia has been a long-time partner and supporter of the Namibia Businesswomen Projects which organizes the anual Businesswomen Conference, the Katuka Mentorship Programme, the Namibian Businesswomen of the Year Award and the Businesswomen Bursary Fund.

A toast to marking the official launch of Speedlink by the Minister of Information & Communication Technology Joel Kaapanda (second from right) and the MD of Telecom Namibia Frans Ndoroma, Board members Roger Gertze and Feitjie Veldskoen, and Board Chairman Joseph Iita (extreme right).

Telecom Namibia has launched a new broadband service called Speedlink that aims to provide customers with faster and cheaper Internet services.

Minister of Information and Communication Technology Joel Kaapanda officially launched this latest broadband product from Telecom Namibia at a breakfast function held in Windhoek on 31 May 2012.

The Speedlink product is a direct benefit arising from the recently commissioned West Africa Cable System (WACS) of which Telecom Namibia is the landing agent in the country.

Free Speedlink upgrade with SpeedLink, Telecom Namibia upgraded all its existing broadband customers on its ADSL and WiMAX platforms from their current packages to the next higher package. For example, a customer on a 1Mbps (megabits per second) was upgraded to the next 2Mbps package for free.

The implications are that all these customers were upgraded to a higher speed at the same monthly charge, while others were upgraded to a higher speed with a reduction in their monthly charge.

All existing customers were upgraded based on an agreed matrix. Home customers, for example, benefit from 33% link speed improvement on the entry level package and up to 50% on the higher packages. This means that packages are upgraded from 256k to 384k representing 33%, while packages upgraded from 512k to 1024k represent a 100% link improvement. The savings derived from increased speed packages without any costs to customers range from 33% to 50%, and new customers will benefit from 36% up to 41% when they sign up for Speelink packages.

Packages
The new product consists of Speedlink Business and Speedlink Home which enable both business and residential customers to enjoy faster Internet speeds at cheaper monthly rates.

The Speedlink Home range comprises: the entry-level 384k package, priced at N349 per month, and the premium Speedlink Home package, priced at N$949 per month for a 36 months contract, featuring a download speed of up to 2048k.

The other packages are the 512k and 1024k priced at N$549 and N$649 per month respectively, for a 36-month contract.

Packages benefit from unlimited monthly data usage, free modem, web space, voice/fax numbers, fax2email address, on-net voice calls, and up to 2 static IP addresses.

Speedlink Business provides download speed of 512 to 10240kbps and 256 to 2048kbps for upload.

Speedlink Business is equipped to deliver business users consistently high speed connections and value for money. With unlimited usage, businesses can download whatever they need to at all times, without the need to restrict users. Up to 10Mb speeds better equip businesses to efficiently perform data intensive tasks such as sending and receiving large documents, graphics or media files, video conferencing or using web-based software. Faster speeds can bring to life more flexible working with quicker VPN access to internal systems. By using the inclusive IP addresses, businesses can reduce their communications costs with IP and video calling.