The upcoming Africa Youth in Tourism Innovation Challenge in Swakopmund, Namibia (May 31-June 2), provides Africa’s youth with the opportunity to present new and unique solutions to the global marketplace that go beyond technology, but are travel, tourism and MICE industry-related projects.

Tourism Update spoke to two of the previous winners of the Challenge to discover what winning has meant for their careers and what advice they have for those who have entered the competition.

Ghanaian, Eugene Allotey, won the Challenge in 2021 for Creative Bibini, which creates technological solutions for the industry, such as finance, hospitality, tourism and agriculture, while also providing digital marketing services. Allotey is the Co-Founder, COO and Senior Project Manager.

South African Scott Blount won the Challenge last year for TripClip, the world’s first software platform that revolutionises the itinerary selling process by adding a video-based component and transforming it from an exchange of information into a critical marketing opportunity for itinerary sellers, accommodation suppliers and experience providers.

TripClip also won the World’s Best Travel Itinerary Builder in 2022 from the World Travel Tech Awards and was a finalist in the ‘Most Compelling Technology Story’ category at WTM Africa this year.

Unrivalled exposure

Both Allotey and Blount said the Challenge provided competitors not only with the platform to showcase their products but also afforded them unbelievable exposure.

“It was an incredible accolade to have achieved. The most valuable takeaway from it was the exposure that it got us. It was fantastic setting out our offering and product in front of so many people,” Blount said.

“Winning meant a lot, because right after COVID, we felt there was a need for the hospitality industry to have refreshing customer service,” Allotey said.

He added that Creative Bibini had been able to partner with a lot of prominent people in the hospitality industry since winning the top price in Kigali two years ago.

“Being part of the African Tourism Partners [one of the sponsors] we have been able to have partners in Kenya, who are currently helping us sell our solution. I have a business partner in South Africa whom we work with on projects in the tourism space and who has also brought much exposure to our product. We have been able to get new contracts based on that.”

Additionally, winning the Challenge has given Creative Bibini some sort of credibility in the industry, Allotey said.

“Going through the process of winning an award endorsed by UNWTO, we have some hotels using our solutions currently and this has given us great insights into the attitudes of customers, and the analytics behind our software are helping us understand customers in the hospitality and tourism space.”

Clarity, connections, and making friends

Allotey praised the challenge’s fairness as it provided everyone with equal opportunity, but cautioned that people needed to connect with competitor’s ideas.

“Competitors have to solve a problem in the hospitality and tourism space. The judges will be looking at how feasible the idea is and whether it will have an impact on the hospitality and tourism space. The judges will also be looking at their confidence in the solution because there will be investors. Competitors should believe in their product.”

Making connections was probably the most crucial aspect of the Challenge, Allotey advised.

“When competitors get there they have to connect and make as many friends as possible. This is the one event where they have all the people that matter, such as airlines, hospitality supply chain members, state ministers, tourism partners, and international organisations. So even if challengers don’t win, they must try as much as possible to make connections. It is a very good platform to push tourism innovation.”

Blount suggested that competitors must try and perfect their pitch decks as they did not have much time to convey their innovation.

“The biggest challenge was adapting how we convey our services and offering so that we can communicate it more effectively. Competitors are speaking to a bunch of judges or an audience with zero background on their offering or service and, much like a trade show, they often only had ten minutes to explain everything.

“Challengers must have a clear idea of what they are going in with and not make any last-minute changes. They should do as much research as they can on pitch decks, and can even download pitch decks online. There are so many templates online that are completely free that will make their life ten times easier. They should use any resources they can get their hands on because that does half the work for them effectively.”

This year’s Challenge will be hosted by the Namibian Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism, and Africa Tourism Partners, collaborating with the World Tourism Organization and auditing firm, BDO.