Tripesa, a B2B travel technology startup, has gotten partnerships from Eric Osiakwan, Future Africa, Consonance Investment Managers, and LTNT Investments for a pre-seed round. This will help the company go to market in Uganda and Kenya before expanding to the rest of Africa.
Small business owners in the hospitality and tourism industries may sell products online and run their entire operations on a straightforward no-code platform, thanks to Tripesa. The platform enables micro and small-to-medium-sized firms (MSME) in the tourism industry to create and maintain a website, collect reservations and payments, and gain access to a customer service management dashboard without having any prior technical knowledge.
Over 260 travel agencies are now using Tripesa to market their services in Kenya and Uganda. Over 24 million people are employed by these businesses, leading the way for Africa’s US$35 billion annual market, including tour operators, travel services, tour guides, car rental businesses, curio shops, exhibitions, events, small hotels, and restaurants.
Tripesa’s co-founder and CEO, David Gonahasa, remarked, “Micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in tourism took a heavy blow due to COVID-19 related disruptions in the past two years, but Tripesa is leveraging technology to empower them with tools to help them recover much faster.” The new normal enables small players to run their businesses from anywhere and serve customers round the clock with our localised travel and financial technology platform. ”
One of Tripesa’s angel investors and creator of Chanzo Capital, Eric Osiakwan, claims, “MSMEs are truly the engine of economic growth in Africa where in some countries like Ghana, 85% of enterprises are MSMEs, contributing about 70% of the country’s GDP.” Our investment in Tripesa supports the continent’s development by unlocking the potential of MSMEs who often struggle with the complexity and cost of managing their business online and accessing source markets. ”
Tripesa is described as
Through developing a Payments First Business Process Management system through its platform customised for the industry, Tripesa is digitising and automating the value chain of the tourism and hospitality businesses in Africa, facilitating the expansion of SMEs. Tripesa makes online stores to help you sell and get your travel and experience-related goods out there. Create and distribute booking links, and then build your websites.
Tips for Starting a Tourist Business in Africa
Here are 10 short business ideas that would be easy to make and use in the tourism industry in Africa. You may use the already-existing services, platforms, and even clients of hotels and travel agencies. You do not need much startup cash. Your main job is to come up with new business and marketing solutions. After that, you’ll work with other business people.
If you put up another safari tour or beach vacation, it could be difficult to stand out from the competitors. To leave your mark, stand out. Be original and imaginative. If you’re just getting started, this will help you gain momentum.
Find a popular national theme: Your ideas will depend on the well-known national treasures or gripping tales you must tell. A real night in an African village; creative historical tours, which are hard to find in Africa; survival training and backpacking; following the routes of the slave trade; and experiencing local cultures, such as by taking cooking lessons for local dishes, visiting a nearby church or mosque, going to a music or dance performance, or even making regular plans for small groups to visit.
Africans celebrate weddings with romantic honeymoons with a difference. It is big. The idea of honeymoons is not widely known. When couples take a break, they typically do so nearby. But this is about to change because the upper middle class is expanding quickly. Africa will market honeymoon packages to both Africans and non-Africans. Along with the conventional romance options, add something original and imaginative.
Investment and trade missions: Trade missions are rare and usually run by foreign groups that work closely with the government. Africa has seen a strong rise in business travel in recent years. Therefore, the market would undoubtedly be open to you. Providing insight into local business prospects and combining travel and business into one package.
There is a significant gap in family-friendly vacation options. You can bring your kids on vacation with you, but be aware that the tourist locations and resorts in Africa won’t have many leisure activities for the little ones. Create fantastic kid-friendly activities and collaborate on them with some hotels.
Children and teens can attend summer camps where they can participate in activities like swimming, rock climbing, excursions, bonfires, and parties while their parents are at work. The programs run for two weeks during school breaks.
Weekend retreats: The idea of retreats is popular in both the East and the West, and it may be a promising market opportunity in Africa. The majority of it would be deeply spiritual or soothing. Praying, meditating, exercising, massaging, and generally getting away from the strains of city life are all examples. Always remember to differentiate yourself from the competition while trying to sell your products or services; weekend getaways can help with this.
Student travel on college campuses: In Africa, you might also mention a dramatic drop in tourism due to feared threats. Then, travel and tour operators would offer some of these locations at a low price to the university travel agency, making the students ecstatic.
A website that offers inexpensive lodging for travellers in individual homes: You may be familiar with the website Airbnb.com, which lets you stay in a private home instead of a hotel. You receive a portion of what visitors pay for lodging. It is extremely scaleable, and your returns would increase significantly with little investment.
Unorthodox holiday tour provider Take a look at some of the suggestions listed above to see what adventurous, uncommon, and unconventional holiday tours and experiences are already offered in Africa.
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The tourist business is quite lucrative. With the service offered by Tripesa, MSME can easily build a website and trade. With the money Tripesa could get, they could make it easier for people to travel in Africa.