One of the leading Insurance companies in the country, Old Mutual Malawi has moved in to sponsor the 2024/2025 Mzuzu University Mathematical Olympiad competition with money amounting to MK34 million.

The competition which has been running for 9 years now is open to top Form Four (or equivalent) mathematics students from schools across the country and finalists stand a chance to enroll with the Mzuzu University apart from the prize money and the trophy.

Speaking after handing over the sponsorship, Old Mutual Marketing and Corporate Affairs Manager Patience Chatsika said: “As we hand over this year’s sponsorship, we are not only promoting academic excellence but also anticipating that the participant this year’s competition will go on to prefer mathematics in their education journey and develop into meaningful citizens in their professions just as previous cohorts have done.

“The 2024/2025 season will be exceptional just like it was in 2019, we are exploring ways to expose the winners by allowing them to also compete at the continental level precisely at the Pan-African Math Olympiad (PAMO).”

She added:“We hope that the winners will be motivated to fly the Malawi flag high.”

Mzuzu University Representative Artz George Luwanda hailed Old Mutual for its continued support towards the competition.

According to Luwanda, the competition has dispelled the age-old myth that female students are not cut out for mathematics and related areas.

“Female Participants have exhibited outstanding performance comparable to, and sometimes outsmarting their male counterparts. This prompted the introduction of the Olympiad’s Best Female Student’s award in 2022 as one way of motivating female participants even more,” said Luwanda.

The competition which started in 2015 has seen a rise in the number of enrollment from 100 to 300 in 2023/2024 year.