At the Africa Hospitality Investment Forum (AHIF) (www.AHIF.com), taking place in Namibia in June, Alain Sebah, President, Golden Tulip Afrique Francophone&East Africa (GTAF), and Dupe Olusola, Managing Director and CEO, Transcorp Hotels Plc, will both receive awards recognising their professional accomplishments. Alain will receive the Outstanding Contribution Award and Dupe the Leadership Award.

Alain Sebah – Outstanding Contribution Award

Alain founded GTAF a decade ago, since then he has opened 11 hotels and has 5 under construction. He has been responsible for growing the brand in both French and English-speaking Africa, focusing on management and franchise agreements. In doing so, he has overcome numerous challenges, including industry scepticism. He has demonstrated resilience and strategic vision; delivered exceptional guest experiences, advanced career opportunities for employees and won the confidence of investors.

Dupe Olusola – Leadership Award

Dupe became Managing Director and CEO of Transcorp Hotels Plc during the COVID-19 pandemic when occupancy fell to just 5%. She led the company back to profitability faster than most of the world’s hospitality companies, with the share price growing over 600% in 2023.

Under her leadership, the company has extended its offer and won over 40 awards. She also won several personal awards, including CEO of the Year. Transcorp Hilton Abuja, historically an award-winning business hotel and the company’s flagship property, has introduced leisure offerings, finding the perfect blend of business and leisure. Doing so has elevated its status as the place to stay and to hold major events in Nigeria’s capital city. In November 2023, with banqueting enquiries exceeding capacity, Dupe set up marquees within the grounds of the hotel rather than turn away business.

Dupe Olusola commented on receiving the Leadership Award: “I am deeply honoured to receive the Leadership Award at AHIF. This recognition is a testament to the incredible dedication and hard work of the entire Transcorp Hotels team. Together, we have navigated challenging times and emerged stronger, continually pushing the boundaries of excellence in hospitality. I am proud of what we have achieved and excited about the future as we continue to innovate, expand and deliver outstanding experiences for our guests.”

Matthew Weihs, Founder of the Africa Hospitality Investment Forum (AHIF), said: “It will be an enormous pleasure to see two exceptionally impressive individuals receiving African hospitality industry ‘Oscars’ at AHIF. Alain is one of the great statesmen of the sector, who has achieved consistent success through a brilliant mix of charm, dynamism, flexibility and commercial nous. The operational excellence his team has achieved in Cotonou is fantastic, as was the deal he signed in Abidjan at the height of the pandemic.”

“Dupe’s record is outstanding. She became the first female CEO of a N1 trillion company shortly after Transcorp ended the year as the best performing stock on the Nigerian Exchange. One has to admire her ability to inspire people and the innovative way she fought to retain guests when other hoteliers would simply have said they were fully booked.”

Alain Sebah concluded: “I am deeply grateful to AHIF for this recognition. It is a testament to the hard work and dedication of many individuals. Together, we have built a legacy of quality and service, of which I am immensely proud; and this award motivates us to achieve even greater heights.”

AHIF takes place at the Mövenpick Hotel, Windhoek, Namibia, 25th – 27th June 2024.

The event is the most influential gathering of hospitality executives in Africa, connecting business leaders and fuelling investment in tourism projects, infrastructure, and hotel development across the continent.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Africa Hospitality Investment Forum (AHIF).

Further Information: 
For further information and high-resolution images, please contact:
David Tarsh on +44 (0) 20 7602 5262, +44 (0) 7770 816 070 or email: David@Tarsh.com.

About the Africa Hospitality Investment Forum (AHIF): 
AHIF is the premier hotel investment conference in Africa, attracting many prominent international hotel owners, investors, financiers, management companies and their advisers. It is organised by The Bench (https://apo-opa.co/3yNihdX), which has a long track record of delivering multiple premium hotel investment conferences and forums across Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia and Latin America. The Bench’s mission is enabling prosperity by facilitating growth, networking, and thought leadership in the hospitality industry worldwide.

AHIF Sponsors
Host Sponsor: Namibia Investment Promotion and Development Board (NIPDB); Host Partner: Kasada Capital Management
Platinum Sponsors: ClubMed and Radisson Hotel Group
Pavilion Sponsors: Rwanda Development Board and ZIDA Invest
Gold Sponsors: Accor, Aleph Hospitality, BWH Hotels, CHIC, CityBlue, Colliers, FNB, hansgrohe, IHG Hotels and Resorts, JLL, Knight Frank, Kofisi, LEVA, Marriott International. Millennium Hotels and Resorts; O&L Leisure, RMB, Rwanda Development Board, Tui Hotels and Resorts, Uganda Tourism Board; Silver Sponsors: Gondwana Collection, HVS, STR, TIME Hotels, TV5Monde and Uganda Tourism Board 
Confectionary Cafe Sponsor: Profica 
Bar Sponsor: Zia Travel Atelier
Mini Golf Sponsor: CBRE
Networking Sponsors: DSTV and Talinda

Official Carriers: Discover Airlines, FlyNamibia, South African Airways

UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador Orlando Bloom visited the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) for the first time this week, as escalating violence and mass displacement in the eastern part of the country pushes the number of grave violations against children towards a peak.

“The staggering scale of the conflict in eastern DRC, the horrific level of violence, and its devastating impact on the children and women I met is heart-wrenching,” said Bloom. “No child should live in the dire conditions I witnessed in displacement camps—separated from their families, hungry, unable to go to school, and constantly at risk of sexual abuse, violence, and exploitation.”

Bloom’s five days in eastern DRC – which has been experiencing escalating violence and ongoing mass displacement since March 2022 – took him to Goma in North Kivu and Bukavu in South Kivu. He met with children and women and learned firsthand about the considerable risks they face daily, including abduction, rape and other forms of sexual violence and abuse, recruitment and use by armed groups, and death.

The United Nations has verified over 1,000 grave violations against children in the three eastern provinces of Ituri, North Kivu and South Kivu during the first quarter of this year. This represents a 30 per cent increase compared to the last quarter of 2023, with recruitment and use of children being most prevalent. In April 2024 alone, more than 450 grave violations against children were verified in the east. 

“It’s a heartbreaking reality that children caught up in the conflict face abduction, recruitment and use by armed groups, violence and abuse – and we know the reports we have are only the tip of the iceberg,” said UNICEF DRC Representative Grant Leaity. “UNICEF calls on all parties to this conflict to work toward negotiation and solution for peace and an end to the grave violations against children, and for the perpetrators of violence against children and women to be held accountable.”

During his trip, Bloom visited a UNICEF-supported child-friendly space in the Bushagara displacement site near Goma; a safe environment where children can engage in structured and supervised play and recreation and receive psychosocial support and individual case management. At these sites, social workers also identify vulnerable children, such as those separated from their families, and ensure they receive the care and protection services they need.

Over the last year, for example, UNICEF has reunified more than 9,000 children in eastern DRC with their families or placed them with temporary foster care families and assisted more than 400,000 children, adolescents, and caregivers with mental health and psychosocial support.

“At the child-friendly space, I met very young children who have been separated from their families for more than two years due to displacement. They told me that they live in fear as the conflict unfolds around them and the violence grows closer,” said Bloom. “Yet, in these UNICEF-supported spaces, I saw hope as girls and boys found a place where they felt safe, where they could receive psychosocial support, dance and play, and enjoy being children. More spaces like these are necessary to protect their childhoods.”

Gender and conflict-based sexual violence against women and children remained persistently high in 2023 and increased further in 2024, with stigma and fear of retaliation preventing many survivors from coming forward. During a visit to Panzi Hospital and Panzi Foundation in South Kivu, Bloom spoke with health staff and caregivers about their work and met with survivors of sexual violence.

“The stories shared by girls and women who have survived harrowing sexual violence are utterly devastating,” said Bloom. “But, amidst the pain, I can see the difference that compassionate and dedicated support can make. Support, including healthcare, psychological support, and legal assistance, is helping survivors find the strength to rebuild their lives, but more needs to be done to protect every girl and woman.”

In eastern DRC, around 5 million people, including 2.8 million children, urgently need humanitarian assistance as a result of escalating violence and displacement. In response, UNICEF is providing education, health, including mental health and psychosocial support, nutrition, water and sanitation, and protection assistance to children, women, and families affected by the conflict. However, UNICEF’s humanitarian appeal for US$804.3 million is only 10 per cent funded.

“Every day, children and women in DRC’s displacement camps face tremendous hardships. Their needs are overwhelming, and the response to the crisis is falling short. We must urgently unite to ensure they live in safety and dignity,” said Bloom.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).

In accordance with the existing Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Korea and the Government of the Republic of Uganda concerning Loans from the Economic Development Cooperation Fund, signed on April 13, 2012, the Ugandan Minister of Finance Hon. Matia Kasaija, together with the Korean Minister of Foreign Affairs Hon. Cho Tae-yul, have, today 5th June 2024, signed the Framework Agreement for a $500m loan from Korea EXIM Bank.

The ceremony took place at the Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Seoul on the sidelines of the First Korea-Africa Summit which concluded today. Under the terms of the Framework Agreement, the Korean Government shall enable the Ugandan Government to obtain loans from the Economic Development Cooperation Fund (EDCF) up to a maximum commitment amount in Korean Won not exceeding the equivalent of Five Hundred Million US dollars (US$ 500,000,000) for the years 2024 through 2028 to finance EDCF loan projects in the Republic of Uganda. Hon. Kasaija was accompanied by Amb. Elly Kamahungye Kafeero, Director for Regional and International Cooperation and Ms. Lenina M. Rukikaire, First Secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Uganda.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of The Republic of Uganda – Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The President of the Republic of Seychelles, Mr. Wavel Ramkalawan, sent a message of congratulations to Prime Minister of the Republic of India, H.E. Shri Narendra Modi for securing a third consecutive term in the 2024 elections

In his message, President Ramkalawan, stated:

“On behalf of the Government and people of the Republic of Seychelles, as well as on my own behalf, I extend our warmest congratulations on your re-election as the Prime Minister of the Republic of India.

This outcome is a testament to the confidence that the Indian people place in your visionary leadership and the remarkable progress that India has made under your stewardship, as well as the high regard in which you are held.

The special relationship between Seychelles and India has strengthened over the years, with our two nations working ever more closely on a range of issues of mutual interest and concern. India’s role as a key development partner and strategic ally for Seychelles has been invaluable. Our joint undertakings have been marked by robust cooperation in various sectors of shared interest including the military, health, education, infrastructure development, amongst others. Our collaboration in maritime security has been pivotal in ensuring the safety and stability of the Indian Ocean region. In addition, through our collective efforts in enhancing collaboration in cultural exchanges and human resource development, we have been able to foster mutual respect and better understanding between the people of our two countries.

I am confident that during your third term in office, our bilateral ties will continue to strengthen and expand. In this regard, I reaffirm my unwavering commitment to working closely with you and your government to bolster our bilateral relations and address the multiple global and regional challenges that confront us.”

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Tourism – Foreign Affairs Department, Republic of Seychelles.