A few days ago, Gerard Gatete, Rwanda’s Open Bond’s World winner, returned from Ibiza, Spain where he had gone to watch the Spanish UEFA Champions League final on his four-day trip sponsored by Bralirwa, under its flagship brand Heineken.

Gatete beat other six competitors at the grand finale in the stiff competition that required brain, energy and a combination of other skills.

He said that his experience in Spain was great. "First of all I’d say Ibiza is one of the greatest places that I enjoyed. It’s beautiful and amazing, and the hospitality of people strikes everyone. The fact that it hosts different people from different countries, it’s not hard to adapt yourself to the environment. The other thing is that everyone minds his own business,” he said.

"Although many people there speak Spanish, the people are so friendly that one even struggles to talk to you with a smile on his/her face. As a first time traveller to the country, I was so curious to get the taste of how their culture is, but I definitely found out that it’s far different from ours,” he recalls.

The Open Bond’s World Championship required four contestants each week, showing they have what it takes to navigate James Bond’s World by taking on challenges and missions, and at the grand finale only seven people were to compete. Transport, charm, judo, and pick the case, were some of the challenges contestants tested.

Gatete at the 2016 UEFA Champions League final

When Gatete was awarded a four-day trip, watching the Spanish final was part of the things he was to enjoy.

There, he met other Open Bond’s World winners from different countries like Nigeria, Brazil, Argentine, South Africa, to name but a few.

"Honestly, I’m a sportsperson and I never missed any final of UEFA, but I must say watching it live was a super unique experience that I’ve ever had in life. Something special is that I had time to interact with some of the prominent players before that match kicked off,” he said.

He recalls how challenging the competition was and how much energy he invested to make it to the final.

"I’m a person who likes challenges, I always feel like having a different experience each day and this is what pushed me to continue through the stiff contest. Although I didn’t know what to expect, I believed that it may bring the best at the end of the day,” he said, before adding that, "It was fun but it all required a combination of skills, brain, energy and persistence,”

In general, Gatete said the experience opened his eyes to new business avenues and that he’s now developed new ideas through the networking he had. He’s currently working on a project, which he says no one has ever done in Rwanda.

The Open Bond’s World campaign was launched by Bralirwa through the Heineken brand in November, last year.

To take part, you have to buy two Heinekens in one of the selected bars announced by the media. You are then accosted by Agent Double, who asks a few questions about James Bond. This is followed by some games in which contestants are eliminated, while the remaining few are put through a task out of which one emerges as the winner for the Open Bond’s World.

Heineken’s association with James Bond dates back to 1997’s ‘Tomorrow Never Dies’, with Spectre being the seventh consecutive film in the partnership.

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