Industry Need International Markets, Investments to Thrive
The Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Clevenard Group Worldwide, Adefaratoluwa Osindero Olutimehin, in this chat says Africa is merely scratching the surface of its tourism and hospitality potential, noting that the sector needs international collaboration to thrive. He also speaks on other salient issues. Charles Ajunwa brings excerpts
What is your assessment of the tourism and hospitality industry in Africa?
I see enormous potential in Africa’s tourism and hospitality industry. In fact, I believe we are only beginning to scratch the surface of what Africa can offer the world. Africa has everything — extraordinary landscapes, wildlife, history, diverse cultures, music, fashion, cuisine, creativity and, most importantly, people with incredible stories to tell. The challenge is not a lack of attractions. The challenge is how we connect those attractions to international markets, investment, infrastructure and effective storytelling. I also believe we need to change the way we look at tourism. Tourism is not just about hotels and people visiting beautiful places. It touches aviation, agriculture, transportation, entertainment, fashion, technology, arts and crafts, media and small businesses. If we develop those connections properly, tourism can become a major engine for economic growth and job creation across Africa. My concern is that Africa is sometimes marketed from the outside rather than being properly represented from within. We need to tell our own stories, showcase our own entrepreneurs and communities, and create platforms where international investors and visitors can see Africa not only as a destination, but as a continent of opportunity.
You promote cultural exchanges between countries in Europe and Africa. Can you throw more light on this?
For me, cultural exchange is at the heart of what Clevenard represents. When people from different countries meet, they discover that although our cultures may be different, we share many of the same aspirations. We want to build businesses, educate our children, create opportunities, preserve our cultures and leave something meaningful for the next generation. Through Clevenard, we create opportunities for Africans and Europeans to meet through business, tourism, media, education, culture and creative industries. We bring together entrepreneurs, tourism professionals, authors, academics, creatives, media practitioners, community leaders and other professionals from different parts of the world. But I don’t see this as Europe helping Africa or Africa helping Europe. I see it as a partnership. There is knowledge in Africa that Europe can learn from, and there is knowledge in Europe that Africa can benefit from. There are markets that can be connected, businesses that can collaborate and cultures that can learn from each other.
Sometimes one conversation can change someone’s life. You can meet someone at an international gathering and discover a business opportunity, a new market, a cultural partnership or even a friendship that lasts for many years. That is the kind of bridge we want Clevenard to build.
What is the Business and Tourism Networking Summit and the Clevenard Awards all about?
The Business and Tourism Networking Summit is about bringing the right people into the same room. We want business leaders, entrepreneurs, investors, tourism professionals, policymakers, creatives and other stakeholders to have meaningful conversations about what we can actually build together. I don’t want international conferences to become places where people simply sit, listen to speeches and go home. I want people to leave asking themselves: Who can I partner with? What market can I enter? What investment can I make? What can I learn? What can I contribute? That is the thinking behind the networking component. The Clevenard Global Awards are about recognition. There are so many people across Africa, Europe and other parts of the world doing exceptional work in business, education, tourism, culture, leadership, entrepreneurship, creativity and social development. Many of them don’t receive the international recognition they deserve. The Clevenard Award gives us an opportunity to say, we see your work, we value your contribution and we believe your story deserves to be heard internationally. For me, recognition is not just about giving someone a trophy. It is about giving their work visibility and creating an opportunity for their story to inspire somebody else. So, if I had to summarise the Summit and the Awards in three words, I would say: connection, opportunity and recognition.
What informed the choice of Spain for this year’s summit?
Spain was a very intentional choice. Geographically, Spain is one of the natural meeting points between Europe and Africa. When you look at the Mediterranean, you see how closely connected these two regions have been historically through trade, migration, culture and commerce. Spain also has a very strong tourism and hospitality identity. It understands international tourism, and that makes it a very appropriate environment for the kind of conversations we want to have. But there is another reason that is important to me. I wanted to create a platform where African and European participants could meet on neutral and international ground — not simply as guests of one another, but as partners. Alicante provides that opportunity. It gives us a European setting in which we can bring African entrepreneurship, culture, tourism, creativity and leadership into direct conversation with European audiences and markets.