JOVAGO ANNOUNCES EXPANSION INTO ZIMBABWE
(Posted 18th September 2014)
Jovago.com, which is a part of Rocket Internet and Africa Internet Holding, has yesterday announced that they have expanded their services to Zimbabwe, adding yet another African country to the growing portfolio which stands at nearly 9.000 hotels in Africa. Only recently did the company sign up their one thousandth property in Kenya, as was reported here, and clearly is on the roll now with further expansion into the SADC region, short for Southern African Development Cooperation.
‘Zimbabwe is listed among the fasted growing travel destinations in Africa, we want to be part of this incredible growth’ was Estelle Verdier-Watine, the Managing Director of Jovago quoted to have said when making the announcement.
This latest expansion from Eastern to Southern Africa has kicked off through a partnerships with leading hotel groups such as Regency Hotels and the historic Meikles in Harare. Did Estelle then continue to say: ‘With the economic improvement in Zimbabwe and the global attention accorded to the country’s natural tourist destinations, the future of Zimbabwe’s tourism industry can only get better’.
With a growing inventory of about 9,000 hotels in East Africa, Jovago is keen to enhance Africas tourism industry with homegrown solutions. Before their planned expansion into SADC has the company also forged new partnerships in Burundi to complete their presence in all of the five East African Community member states: ‘We recognize and appreciate the government of Burundi for their support in this industry. We can assure that with more than 50% of travel being planned and organized online, the online presence of Burundi’s hotel industry is a limitless opportunity to the country’s hospitality industry’ ended Estelle her announcement. Burundi has of late been in the news as a new team at the tourism board, led by CEO Carmen Nibigira, has brought with them new enthusiasm and the unshakable believe that Burundi can and will claim her fair share of tourism arrivals in Eastern Africa, given the very different attractions the country holds vis a vis her neighbours. Jovago, it was found out after some added research, is a subsidiary of Africa Internet Holding (AIH) which in turn appears to be a joint venture between Berlin headquartered internet company Rocket Internet, MTN and telecoms operator Millicom International Cellular. Founded by three brothers in Germany, AIH has become known globally for its success in cloning startups. AIH operates e-commerce businesses across the world. For now though, Jovago.com certainly is a name to be watched as the company’s expansion continues into Africa.
