BOMBELA CONCESSION COMPANY
South Africans, many of whom are engaging with the sport for the first time.
“ One of the flagship programmes Bombela is supporting helps Swimming SA bring expert instructors to local communities to provide swimming lessons for children,” Van Rensburg explains.“ The annual Umlazi Sharks School initiative is another highlight on the SSA calendar. This initiative engages the youth from local schools in Umlazi and the surrounding areas, exposing them to structured swimming opportunities and showcasing the sport in a fun and educational way.”
“ At the heart of these programmes is our commitment to broadening access, fostering interest, and identifying potential talent in communities that have historically been excluded from the sport,” he says.“ More importantly, it is to equip children with a critical life skill that has the power to prevent drowning and save lives.”
As title sponsor of the SA National Short Course Championships, Bombela’ s investment also strengthens the pathways between grassroots participation and national competition,“ especially for talent outside the major centres,” says Van Rensburg.
Swimming South Africa ' s flagship Learn to Swim programme has already reached more than a million children since its inception, and Bombela’ s support is helping to scale that further.“ Essentially, our sponsorship is not just about naming rights,” explains Van Rensburg.“ It plugs a funding gap that allows SSA to take accredited instruction and competition pathways deeper into schools and local communities, supports coach / teacher capacity and maintains inclusive national events, including para swimming.”
Aligning with a broader social mission For Bombela, this partnership sits squarely within its long-term social investment philosophy. Van Rensburg defines success in simple terms.“ We’ ll know we’ ve made a real, measurable impact when swimmers from the most underserved communities are empowered to compete and thrive on both global and local stages.”
Our involvement at the grassroots level is focused on helping to close that gap.”
Sustaining long-term impact Mzolisi Diliza, a partner at Bombela and Chairman of the company’ s Social & Ethics Committee, says the company’ s evolution has been guided by a dual focus on operational excellence and social responsibility.
“ The Bombela Concession Company was appointed almost 20 years ago to design, build, partially finance, operate and maintain the Gautrain system. Today, the Gautrain is one of South Africa’ s most successful public-private partnerships and has been described as‘ world-class’ by the SA Institute of Civil Engineering. It is one of the most reliable passenger train services in the world,” he says.
Diliza stresses, excellence in delivery must be balanced with social purpose.“ Much as we understand sound contract management, we are equally aware of the importance and necessity of investing in community development initiatives in South Africa.”
Van Rensburg regards Bombela’ s work with SSA as a natural extension of this philosophy.“ The work that Swimming SA is doing to support and develop swimming athletes in our country is an example of uplifting community development. While on paper this sponsorship offers financial support, to us it goes far beyond that. It demonstrates our commitment to building talent and fostering the dreams of our young swimmers.”
The values that underpin both Bombela and SSA athletes, he says, are closely aligned.“ These athletes mirror some of the values we uphold at the Bombela Concession Company: commitment, accountability, passion, and the pursuit of excellence. Supporting them speaks to our commitment to youth empowerment and nation-building, and we are proud to be part of a journey that starts in local waters and hopefully, one day, leads to the Olympics.” �
He acknowledges the structural challenges facing young South Africans.“ Often, the barriers that communities encounter relate to limited access to key resources. sabusinessintegrator. co. za 77