2024-01-10 23:01:26
Tourism, an industry of the future for Africa. Travelers are back following the Covid-19 pandemic. The South African ministry announced that it had returned to, or even slightly exceeded, the 2019 level with just over 10 million tourists last year. THE start-up African companies are taking over this flourishing market and pushing it in its development.
Post-Covid: a revelation for African tourism entrepreneurs. The Kenyan SleepOut, the now famous Ojimah, dozens of start-up emerged to meet the strong demand that followed periods of restrictions. Ugandan David Gonahassa created Tripesa, a platform for small and medium-sized businesses in the sector: hotels, event organizers and tour operators.
« It is a sector dominated by large operators who master the technology and the market. Many small African tourism businesses do not have access to this, they cannot sell as effectively as the big players in the sector. What we do at Tripesa is to provide them with the technology so that they are able to create, for example, quality websites, to receive online payments, to be able to tackle other markets. »
Mobile Money, an asset for Africa
The asset of the African continent is the Mobile Money. Payment by telephone launched around fifteen years ago in Kenya. A safe and effective financial solution used by Cameroonian Nghombombong Minuifuong, founder of the start-up Bongalo, a reservations platform.
« This is something that has taken over Africa as a whole. You cannot go to a country in Africa today and not find Mobile Money. Our competitors will never have this solution, a payment method incorporated into their platform. We are counting on this to properly serve our guests on one side and our customers on the other side who are travelers. This is a very good innovation for the whole of Africa. »
An ocean of growth?
Demand is increasing. Africa is, according to David Gonahassa, the right continent for tourism. “ Still quite few companies offer the same services as us on the continent. We always have a beautiful blue ocean in front of us. »
An ocean of growth for African tourism? No doubt, but all the conditions are not yet met, tempers Nghombombong Minuifuong. “ Tourist sites must be developed. For example, here in Cameroon, there are lots of tourist sites that are just abandoned and people don’t even know regarding them. There are falls, there are beaches, there are forests, there are animals that everyone wants to visit. So when I see this, I cry. »
After Rwanda and Cameroon, Bongalo continues its development in East Africa. Tripesa claims 700 client companies on its platform. Still far from global behemoths like AirBnB and Booking.
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