Eliud Kipchoge partners with Absa Bank Kenya for seven-continent World Tour
Two-time Olympic marathon champion Eliud Kipchoge has named Absa Bank Kenya the official financial partner of his ambitious World Tour, a two-year campaign that will see him race seven marathons across all seven continents.
The partnership was announced in the wake of Kipchoge’s victory at the Melbourne Marathon on October 11, 2026, where the Kenyan star clocked a course-record 2:09:10. It marked his first marathon win since 2023 and completed the Oceania leg of the tour.
Under the multi-year agreement, Eliud Kipchoge will work with Absa on customer experiences, leadership engagements, digital storytelling, wellness initiatives and community programmes across the bank’s African markets.
The deal forms part of Absa’s broader Pan-African brand campaign and aims to leverage the runner’s global profile to reach customers and communities.
Kipchoge, who described himself as a long-standing Absa customer, said the partnership would help advance his goal of promoting running and connecting people worldwide. The World Tour is also designed to raise funds for the Eliud Kipchoge Foundation, which supports education and environmental projects.
Absa Bank Kenya Chief Executive Yusuf Omari said the collaboration would link the bank with individuals, entrepreneurs and businesses pursuing financial goals. Marketing and Corporate Affairs Director Mwihaki Wachira tied the initiative to the bank’s existing customer and community engagement efforts.
According to details of the agreement, the partnership is structured as a three-year contract under which Absa serves as the global Official World Tour Financial Partner.
It anchors the bank’s “Story by Story” Pan-African campaign, which emphasizes that people are not defined by a single moment and draws on Kipchoge’s career longevity to connect with those chasing ambitious goals.
Kipchoge has already completed three legs of the tour: the Sanlam Cape Town Marathon in Africa, the Porto Alegre Marathon in South America, and the Melbourne Marathon in Oceania.
Remaining stops planned through 2027 include races in North America, Europe and Asia, with a possible 50-kilometer ultramarathon in Saudi Arabia, and a demanding finale in Antarctica.
Every race is intended to support the Eliud Kipchoge Foundation’s dual focus on education, including funding school libraries, and environmental sustainability and restoration programmes. The foundation has set a fundraising target linked to the tour.
Financial terms of the Absa agreement have not been publicly disclosed.
