(Posted 04th May 2023)
With only three weeks before the 5 th annual Africa Youth
in Tourism Innovation Summit and Challenge (www.youthtourismsummit.com) kicks off, this
year’s edition is scheduled for 31st of May to 02nd of June 2023 in Swakopmund, and again hosted by
the Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism, Namibia. The town is a coastal city in
Namibia, west of the capital, Windhoek with must-experience beautiful sandy beaches.
Held annually in collaboration with the UNWTO and BDO, this year’s Summit will include
desktop exhibition, SME Digital/social media and Entrepreneurship Masterclass, SMEs trade
offerings including tour operators, tourism accommodation facilities, transport service
providers, educational institutions, travel and marketing technology start-ups and incubators,
employment agencies, professional development and more. The goal is to provide a
transformative platform for African Youth, start-ups, entrepreneurs, students and small
enterprises for income generation and career development.
Another major highlight for this year’s Summit is the hosted buyer program that has been
crafted by the Ministry of Environment Forestry and Tourism and will run concurrently with
the Summit. Hosted buyers will have access to informal networking events, including the
Investment Business in Tourism networking meetings organised by the Namibia Investment
Promotion and Development Board (NIPDB) and B2B sessions. This is an opportunity for
buyers from across the globe to network with industry’s key decision makers and
stakeholders on an exciting and informative platform as well as all the continents’ leisure
tourism options and negotiate the best deals on products and services under one roof.
Meetings with exhibitors will be facilitated by a matchmaking system. The purpose of the
hosted buyer program is to market Namibia to the world.
The faculty for this year’s summit includes Elcia Grandcourt – Director, Africa Department,
UNWTO – Spain, Hon. Pohamba Shifeta – MP Minister of Environment, Forestry and
Tourism, Namibia, Dr. Linda Pereira – CPL Events, Portugal, Nangula Uaandja CEO of The
Namibia Investment Promotion and Development Board (NIPDB), Prof. Michael Twum-
Darko – Cape Peninsula of University of Technology, Hamza Farooqui – Founder & CEO,
Millat Investments, South Africa, Alex Mabunda – Founder and CEO, Nyitiso Consulting
Group, South Africa, Robert Eiman – The DBN Head – Namibia, Caroline Wairimu – Deputy
Operations Coordinator, INUA AI Solutions, Kenya, Mustapha Tijjani – CEO & Co-Founder,
Aeropaye, Nigeria, York Zucchi – Centre For Unconventional Entrepreneurship, Switzerland,
Dipopego Julius Tsheko – Project Manager, Global Expo Botswana, BITC, Botswana.
Mentorship of the Innovation Challenge finalists has commenced. The mentors are assisting
the mentees fine tune their projects ready for presentation at the Africa Youth in Tourism
Innovation Summit. Top three finalists will be announced on the last day of the Summit.
Currently, registrations for both physical and virtual participants are ongoing. Interested
persons may visit www.youthtourismsummit.com.
For more information about the Summit, exhibition, partnerships, sponsorships, registration, please contact Ms. Rejoice Chishamba at: rejoice@africatourismpartners.com / +27 (0) 11 318 1741 / +27 (0) 81 303 7030.
