African countries are popular with their vast and rich wildlife reserves. This have seen most countries in Southern Africa engaging in the combination of their wildlife parks, a concept that is called peace parks, better known as Trans Frontier Conservation Areas (TFCAs).
A huge chunk of wildlife reserves are owned by governments followed by private players then those under communities’ management. This shows that the African woman can participate directly or indirectly to the three types of tourism players.
While it might not be clear on how an African business woman can be involved in tourism ventures owned by the government or private players, it should be noted that as long as one identifies what these players might require from outsiders, the African woman can benefit from being a creditor of the tourism arrangements.
As I once highlighted in one of my previous articles, the African society tend to discriminate women and children from developmental and investment issues. It is high time that tourism should an area where the economic gender imbalance is addressed. The African woman should be left to fully participate in different business ventures that compliment tourism.
It is a fact that a larger constitution of the tourism workforce as well as the larger part of the world’s population belongs to the woman. It would do the woman a good service to offer her the required education on how best she can start a business that depends on tourism.
Hospitality ventures like guest houses, lodges, hotels, eating houses, restaurants, bars, car rentals might be on a tourism businesswoman’s wish list but the main hindrance of starting such is that the businesses require huge capital. Not every woman can afford to open that line of business.
Community based tourism entities are usually owned by the community itself. Unfortunately, the woman discrimination issue usually takes toll at those community based businesses. Men would take lead role and leave labour roles to women. End of day, the women end up feeling that tourism business can’t be undertaken by them.
On a positive note, the African woman should be prepared to engage on low cost initiatives that one can operate from the home. Tourists require consuming food, beverages and culture. The African woman should consider starting farming livestock production, crafts, crop production, and food processing as well as designing African attire.
Some businesses like designing arts and crafts might not require brand new raw materials but recycling of used material. The African woman can begin with such and later diverse or expand to other forms of initiatives that might require relatively large capital.
For the Woman that might start tourism businesses having a huge capital base, it might be advisable that the woman form a partnerships with large company so that her dream of owning a guest house, a lodge, hotel, an eating house, a restaurant, a bar, a car rentals might come true.