Navigating the world as a woman can be a challenge, even more so when one is on unfamiliar soil as a visitor longing to get immersed in the culture and history of a place. However, these African women travel entrepreneurs took a leap the first time in spite of the odds, not without a number of mistakes, and have gone on to build brands around packing up, getting on a plane, train or car to someplace new. They are more than willing to show other women how to do the same because the rewards of such experiences are invaluable.
Travel, post COVID-19 pandemic, is still slugging towards recovery. According to the World Economic Forum, 63 percent of experts from the World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO), believe the sector won't fully recover until 2024, despite predicted growth in international travel this year compared to 2021. Perhaps that is why a number of businesses on this list are looking inward and encouraging exploration within locales. While many travel entrepreneurs still employ a mix of content creation (that generates influencer-type deals with brands), dissemination and trip planning, we see new tweaks to some of these foundational business models — whether by the introduction of apps, tour organisations with social impact motives or targeting very niche audiences with travel solutions.
Akosua Shirley (Ghana)
Travel vlogger, Shirley Akosua flew the Black Star flag very proudly when she backpacked through the country in just over a month in 2018, travelling eastwards from Accra through the north, west and back to Accra. Shirley studied publishing in university and started out as a food blogger in response to the scarcity of visual content relating to Ghanaian food and culinary experiences. This quickly morphed into travel and lifestyle blogging. Although she has since travelled to other parts of the world, Shirley has found a niche to fill: providing information about local travel within Ghana. Her target market is both locals who know very little about their country and potential visitors looking for how to experience the rich culture and lifestyle of Ghana. In addition to offering resources by way of information or itinerary planning, her travel company, Bucket List Ghana also offers rental services for visitors looking to engage in outdoor activities. For Shirley, the goal is to encourage locals to pay attention to the rich history and culture that surrounds them.
Rosemary Okoli (Nigeria)
What’s not to love about Rosemary Okoli’s wanderlust and the snippets of her travels, which she shares in riveting short clips or drone shots via her Instagram page? Okoli is the founder of TripZapp, a hospitality development and management company based in Lagos, Nigeria. Through TripZapp, Okoli and her team help to identify, develop and curate unforgettable trips to resort destinations and hotels around Lagos for prospective travellers to Nigeria. In addition to this, TripZapp works with hoteliers and resort owners to publicise travel experiences to their target audiences. Okoli and her team also organise group tours around the tourist spots in Lagos, and sometimes to destinations in other states within Nigeria.
Yasmin Boaitey (Ghana/UK)
Of Ghanaian heritage, Yasmin Boaitey lives in London, United Kingdom, and is the founder of Black Girl Nomads. Ten years ago, Boaitey, who says she has always been interested in travel but previously thought it inaccessible, took her first solo trip and has since kept her eyes on the road. Black Girl Nomads was launched not only to document her travels but to offer Black women quality information about navigating the UK, many other parts of Europe as well as North America. The company also plans tours for solo Black female travellers looking to explore new destinations while connecting with other women who look like them or perhaps share similar life experiences.
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Lauren Manuel McShane - The Travel Manuel (South Africa)
Planning a trip can be daunting for many which is why the services, guidance, advice and tips from the people who do it often are invaluable. Throw in a toddler or two into the mix, and you have a demanding, potentially overwhelming travel party at hand. Lauren Manuel McShane and her husband Vaughan run one of South Africa’s foremost travel blogs where they are curating and sharing information and advice from their travels to their more than 30k social media follower base. While they’ve catered their content since launching in 2009 to individual prospective explorers, 2016 saw the introduction of family-styled travel resources particularly for parents with toddlers following the birth of their son, Caleb. Lauren, who has worked as a travel journalist and has an academic background in business science marketing, handles the written content both on the couple’s travel blog and elsewhere. But the duo have also expanded their revenue streams over the years. In addition to producing written content to support brand advertising and development, Lauren is also a public speaker .
Ndapanda Haininga (Namibia)
As with a number of other women on this list, Ndapanda Haininga launched her travel blog in 2020 to share her adventures within Namibia. Beyond Instagram-worthy photographs and experiences, Haininga’s target audiences include locals as well as visitors who want to experience the best of Namibia on a budget. While her blog serves as a growing treasure trove of information regarding travel inside Namibia, she also runs Ndapanda’s Consultancy, an outfit which allows her to plan group and couple trips within and outside Namibia, as well as consultancy services around visas, itinerary and transportation both within and outside Namibia.
Nadine Arab (Egypt)
Ready, set, roam. Egyptian Nadine Arab wants you to see the very best of her home country. After quitting her job as a magazine editor, Arab began embarking on solo trips in 2016. The following year, she launched Curls en Route, a travel blog documenting her adventures in her home country but also locations outside of Egypt. In addition to content creation and utilising her blog as a vehicle to educate prospective travellers, particularly solo women travellers, Arab is also a freelance writer and travel entrepreneur with a number of planning tools and resources for individuals looking to explore Egypt, its environs and other countries. In 2021, she launched The Shop, Curls en Route where she plans to create and stock up on travel essentials. The first product out of the business is a card game called Roam Syndrome.