Malawians have attacked National Bank of Malawi (NBM) for sponsoring Epic Life Style with K40 million towards a music concert which will be headlined by Nigerian artist Kizz Daniel of the ‘Buga’ hit song.
Malawians have expressed outrage over the sponsorship saying National Bank should have supported vulnerable Malawians such as children and university students who are struggling to pay fees.
“Unheard of: 40 million to support Buga dance instead of supporting things that make sense. Ask FDH as to how they spend CSR money and how they run their PR. This one is publicity gone wrong. Really National Bank of Malawi we have children sleeping without blankets in this cold and you surely get 40 million just because one of your bosses loves this Buga dance. Shame on you,” one commentator on Facebook said.
Another person said: “I Bank with NB and surely you have disrespected your customers, you can’t support Buga dance instead of paying school fees for the needy students in our colleges or at least building a school block or buying text books for our community/ public libraries across.”
The partnership between the Bank and the Epic will see the organisers of the concert selling entry tickets through NBM digital platforms.
NBM Mobile and e-Money services manager Enala Chirwa said they decided to partner with Epic Group as the event will give them an opportunity to interact with their customers.
Although some people seem to disagree with the sponsorship, others are in support of National Bank saying the bank knows what it is doing.
“National Bank of Malawi is a business- (contrary to popular belief) they’re not obligated to put their money anywhere. They’re not throwing money away, this is an investment. Besides, they support so many charities and are one of the biggest spenders in as far as donating toward humanitarian needs is concerned,” one person on Facebook said.
The concert is scheduled for Lilongwe Golf Club on August 27, 2022.
