Sport fanatic Nwabisa Nobatana is paving the way in the sponsorship space as she heads up the Sponsorship and Fundraising department at the Ubumbo Executive Committee organisation.
Hailing from East London in the Eastern Cape, Nobatana has always had a keen interest in sport. She was a swimmer in the inter school galas in her teens and played netball from her early years and in High School. But later on, her journey in sport continued off the field.
Apart from her work at Ubumbo, Nobatana is also a presenter on community radio station – Bush Radio – on the Sports Show.
Speaking with Rudene Hare, Nobatana chats more about her journey and the importance of building a brand to attract sponsors.
Nwabisa, thank you for chatting to us here at gsport. Please introduce yourself to our readers.
Thank you for having me. My name is Nwabisa Nobatana aka Dabs Wombhoxo as affectionately called by my rugby family, Ubumbo. I was born in East London and went to Hudson Park High School (2006).
I am currently based in Cape Town and work full time as a HR professional. Additionally, I am a Member of the Ubumbo Executive Committee where I am responsible for Brands and Sponsorship, as well as a presenter on community radio station – Bush Radio on the Sports Show.
Tell us where and when did your love for sport begin and did you play?
I was born into sport. My dad was a rugby player for a team in Mdantsane called Black Lions, and later became an administrator and represented the team in KWARU [KwaZakhele Rugby Union] club league meetings. The first rugby game I experienced and felt the love was the 1995 Rugby World Cup games, and my dad hosted family members to come watch at our house.
I was a swimmer in the interschool galas in my teens and I played netball from my early years and in High School. Funny enough, I was coached by Zolisa Noxeke, a brilliant Netball player and former Springboks Rugby Player, who always shouted at me as I was incredibly lazy and never used my height to my advantage.
Please tell us about your role in the work that you do when it comes to uplifting communities through sport.
In 2020, I joined an organisation called Ubumbo and was elected to be the Sponsorship and Fundraising Exco Member. Due to my creative side and vision for the organisation, they added the brand aspect under my portfolio.
“UBUMBO is a voluntary member-based organisation that is a catalyst for a transformed South Africa. Founded in 2002, initially as a home for displaced and marginalized black rugby players in their university’s internal rugby league, UBUMBO evolved into a significant community of support and empowerment, with the values of ubuntu at the core. The organisation’s mandate seeks to strengthen the bonds between UBUMBO and the local community. Irrespective of their age, gender, ability, race, religion, ethnicity, creed, nationality, social status, or sexual orientation.
UBUMBO actively leads in community engagement, initiatives and projects across South Africa for the advancement of the vision, mission, values and beliefs of the organisation as well as to provide opportunities for members to engage in community networks and bring new meaning to social responsibility. UBUMBO is also a platform that fosters conversations around creating supportive environments for the advancement of its members as well as the wider community it is a part of.”
The organisation trusted me to manage their relationships with Western Province Rugby, Vusa Academy and AK Fitness. These are organisations we have partnered up with on some of the work we do such as coaching clinics, as well as hosting events that are impactful to the community.
Please share some examples of your favourite projects that you have been involved in.
The first project I engaged with in Ubumbo was donations to a Soup Kitchen in Langa during COVID. I then began to assist with the AK Fitness project, an online aerobics class run by one of our members, which has now grown in leaps and bounds. Through this project, we hosted online and in-person workouts for our community and received sponsorship from Red Bull who sponsored sound and gave us wings for the community during the workouts.
As the country was easing its way out of lockdown, I introduced the Women’s Day Netball Sanitary Pad Drive in Langa which was a huge success, and which we have decided to evolve into the Isidima Toiletry Bags Project which will be launched this year.
Rugby came back in full swing and excitingly, the United Rugby Championships (URC) had expanded to include four South African teams of which the Stormers were one. We connected with the WP Rugby management and developed a relationship wherein we connect their brand with our community. This is done through Ubumbo’s Instagram account where players feel free to share their journeys with the participants, and fans have a unique opportunity to engage with their players in real time asking advice and giving motivation.
The growth of this project, which also includes a ticket giveaway to home games, has helped fans connect better with the Stormers brand, as well as boosting team morale as they went in knowing, personally, who was there to see play.
The 2021 URC final came around and World Rugby requested to be part of “The Ubumbo Experience”. We hosted the team, and showed them how we create a unique fan experience by singing amaGwijo, a stadium crowd favourite bringing people together and which has been well received by the team which now has developed the tradition alongside Ubumbo that win or lose, they join us after the game and sing amaGwijo.
The work with the Stormers laid the foundation for us entering into an activations partnership with Engen, the fuel sponsors to the Springboks. This was a huge win for us, and also had a significant social impact at the Springbok games we activated for and has exposed the organisation to various other brands to partner with Ubumbo on our various social initiatives.
What tips would you give to teams or individuals who are hoping to grow their brands and attract sponsors?
It is important to continuously grow your network, and have a great support structure within your team to assist you in showing up as your best self to brands. I attend a lot of social networking gatherings where I introduce myself, and always have an elevator pitch ready from which I then invite people to the Ubumbo experiences. Where appropriate, I then have a follow up meeting with a pitch pack, and showcase all of the work the organisation does including our various development initiatives.
You need to ensure that brands and stakeholders gain value from the partnerships you create. This is a big factor, and I think once I understood this, it made it easier for me to better conceptualise and compile the pitch packs for stakeholders.
What are some of the challenges you have faced and how did you overcome them?
The biggest challenge was building my reputation and confidence with brands to work with me. I had never studied or worked in brands or sponsorship, but I used my passion to research and understand what is required of me. I knocked on doors to get educated on industry standards. The other challenge is also breaking ground in a very male-dominated industry like sport.
Who has inspired you to do the work that you do?.
There are three Individuals who have inspired me the most:
My father, Phila Edward Nobatana, a qualified teacher who became a seasoned FMCG [fast-moving consumer goods] salesman who loved rugby with all his heart, and because of our history he never got the opportunity to combine both skills and use them in the development of SARU post 1995.
The second person is Jessica Motaung 😊. That lady was in a lift with me while I was a waiter at a Kaizer Chiefs game in Gqeberha as a student, and she was talking to two male colleagues. I admired the way she commanded the conversation, the way she looked at the brand as a product in terms of asking the players and all staff to ensure that they were presentable and looked good. I would love to one day have brunch with her because I love how she evolved the Kaizer Chiefs brand over the years.
Lastly, my Ubumbo brother and mentor, Thando Gobe. He was the only person who believed in me when I didn’t even back myself. He pushed me to own my space and be confident when speaking with stakeholders and I will forever owe this new career path to him.
Why is it important for women to take up sponsorship roles in sport?
I believe that it is important because of our nature, and the way that we are able to look at sponsorships with a larger vision that touches onto sport development. I think that what we need to realise is that through sponsorships we have the power to influence development in sport, especially in women’s sport, we just need to garner support from our communities, and develop social norms so that all understand that women need equal support in sport. Roles in sponsorship give us the power to educate, influence and change the future for children’s lives in sport development.
Lastly, what is your greatest career ambition?
I would like to be one of the women sitting in the SARU leadership team and running the Women’s League into even greater successes. What’s currently happening with the Women’s League is exciting to watch and I wish to be part of it, contributing to it and most importantly learning from all involved.
My interim goal is already happening. I am enjoying assisting my community and sporting professionals sharing their stories in the broadcasting space, and look forward to when I am able to do all of this and more on a full-time basis.
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