Nairobi, Kenya – Wednesday, 12 February 2025
As the deadline for the 7th Africa Youth in Tourism Innovation Challenge 2025 approaches in two weeks, Africa Tourism Partners is thrilled by the enthusiastic response from young innovators. Our collaboration with UN Tourism has inspired a wealth of creative ideas, highlighting the potential of our youth to reshape the future of tourism. We encourage all young visionaries to participate. A call is being made to all the youth who have not yet submitted to take advantage of the remaining days to submit their projects by clicking here. Submissions close on the 28th of February 2025.
The Africa Youth in Tourism Innovation Challenge is an exclusive platform designed to empower innovative African youth in the travel and tourism sector. It provides opportunities for funding, mentorship, partnerships, and global exposure, enabling participants to present their groundbreaking projects to an international audience and secure the necessary support to bring their ideas to life.
The challenge is open to youth aged 18-35 years and postgraduate students of all ages globally, partnerships, or corporations innovating within the tourism sector. Submissions are expected to clearly outline the project vision and uniqueness, evidence of innovation, sustainability and impact, timeline, support needed and minimum viable product (MVP).
Qualifying projects will be selected based on the originality of the project, sustainability, significance, applicability and transferability, practicality and the project impact. Those are the key considerations to be used by the judges for adjudication.
The top five finalists will be announced at the 7th Africa Youth in Tourism Summit (AYTIS) 2025 (www.youthtourismsummit.com), which is scheduled to take place in Nairobi from 10 to 13 June 2025. Join us in Nairobi for a transformative experience at this special edition of AYTIS.
We are excited to bring together a dynamic gathering of African tourism stakeholders, visionary young entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, tech investors, innovators, and eager students. Collaborating with esteemed partners such as the Ministry of Tourism and Wildlife Kenya, BDO, TEAMS Africa, the AfCFTA Secretariat, the Kenya Tourism Board and Millvest, this year’s summit promises to be a pivotal moment for collaboration and innovation in Africa tourism, creatives and cultural industries. Don’t miss the opportunity to connect, inspire, and shape the future of African tourism together.
One-on-one meetings (B2B, B2G, and B2C sessions), speed marketing, exhibitions, masterclasses for entrepreneurs in MICE and youth, and platforms for brand activation will be part of the program. Desktop exhibition space will be allocated on a first-come, first-serve basis, with early birds getting the best deals. Registration for participation and challenge entries is still open at https://youthtourismsummit.com.
Main contact: Local (Kenya) Contact
Rejoice Chishamba Håvar Bauck
Projects Coordinator: Partner, TEAMS Africa
Mobile: +27 83 630 4063 Mobile: +254 787 400 000
Email: rejoice@africatourismpartners.com havar@bauck.comNotes to the Editor:
About Africa Tourism Partners
African Tourism Partners (ATP) – www.africatourismpartners.com is a UN Tourism- affiliated award-winning Pan-African tourism development and strategic destination marketing advisory firm. The firm specializes in tourism and MICE strategy formulation, investment facilitation and promotion, research, master planning and destination market development and capacity building across Africa’s travel, tourism, hospitality, aviation and golf sub-industries.
Our clients and partners include but are not limited to UN Tourism, World Bank, Mastercard Foundation, NEPAD, AfCFTA, South African Tourism, Ghana Tourism Authority, Tourism KwaZulu-Natal, Rwanda Development Board, Rwanda Convention Bureau, Rwanda Chamber of Commerce, SAACI, RwandAir, SAA, Ethiopia Airlines, Tanzania Tourism Board, Kenya Tourism Board, Uganda Tourism Board, Gauteng Tourism Authority, Zimbabwe Tourism Authority, Tourism Business Council of South Africa, Nigeria and more.
About Teams Africa
TEAMS Africa is a consortium between Barry Clemens, Joram Mwinamo, and Håvar Bauck, three renowned entrepreneurs and tourism professionals combining more than 60 years of business experience from the African continent. TEAMS Africa was formed to host the Africa Youth in Tourism Summit and Innovation Challenge (“AYTIS”) in the years 2025, 2026 and 2027 in East Africa.
About UN Tourism
The UN Tourism is the United Nations agency responsible for the promotion of responsible, sustainable and universally accessible tourism. As the leading international organization in the field of tourism, UN Tourism promotes tourism as a driver of economic growth, inclusive development and environmental sustainability and offers leadership and support to the sector in advancing knowledge and tourism policies worldwide.