Introduction / Background
The World Tourism Organization (hereinafter, “UNWTO”), in joint-collaboration with the New Partnership for Africa´s Development Planning and Coordinating Agency (hereinafter, “NEPAD”), in line with its commitment to innovation and the promotion of entrepreneurship in tourism in Africa, is holding the UNWTO/NEPAD Tourism Tech Adventure: The Next Big Thing in Africa.
Both the UNWTO and NEPAD have among their objectives to strengthen the entrepreneurial ecosystem and boost innovation.
The proposed Initiative makes it possible to promote the tourism industry through innovation, by giving opportunities to startups from Africa to present their projects, and providing access to a series of benefits within the framework of Investour to be held in Madrid, Spain on 24 January 2019.
The UNWTO is the United Nations agency responsible for the promotion of responsible, sustainable and accessible tourism for all.
The UNWTO, as the leading international organization in the field of tourism, advocates tourism that contributes to economic growth, inclusive development and environmental sustainability, and offers leadership and support to the sector to expand its knowledge and tourism policies throughout the world. Its members include 158 countries, 6 Associate Members and more than 500 Affiliate Members representing the private sector, educational institutions, tourism associations and local tourism authorities.
One of the current priorities of UNWTO is to promote connections among the actors that form part of the entrepreneurship and innovation ecosystem in tourism as a means for the generation of employment and business opportunities, as well as for the sustainable development of the sector.
NEPAD is the implementing agency of the African Union that advocates, facilitates and coordinates the development of NEPAD continent-wide programmes and projects, mobilises resources and engages the global community, regional economic communities and member states in the implementation of these programmes and projects.
