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Ahead of the Africa Hotel Investment Forum 2018, the event’s advisory board has named two individuals who will receive coveted Creating Impact Awards.
One is Trevor Ward, managing director of W Hospitality Group, who receives the Outstanding Contribution Award; the other is Mossadeck Bally, chief executive of Azalaï Hotels Group, who receives the Leadership Award.
The awards will be presented on stage at the conference at 13:00 on the closing day, followed by a question and answer session in which the winners will share the most valuable things they have learnt from a lifetime of doing business successfully in multiple countries.
Ward is a specialist consultant whose firm has become well-known for its Africa Hotel Development Pipeline report, which collates and analyses all the hotel development activity across the continent, undertaken by the international and regional hotel chains.
His industry experience spans over 40 years, and includes advising clients on hotel, tourism and leisure development in over 90 countries around the globe, including 39 in Africa.
With a special focus on sub-Saharan Africa, he works with many of the international hotel groups seeking a presence there, and with financial institutions, investors and entrepreneurs across the continent.
He is regarded as one of the foremost experts on the hotel industry in sub-Saharan Africa, and is engaged primarily in development consultancy, ranging from investment appraisals to operator selection and asset management.
Bally is the the founder of of the Azalaï Hotels Group.
In 1994, he acquired the Grand Hôtel de Bamako.
In 2000, he built the Salam Hotel and managed Hotel Nord Sud.
In 2005, he consolidated the activities of various properties under a common brand Azalaï Hotels.
The Azalaï Hotels Group expanded to Burkina Faso, Guinea Bissau, Benin and more recently to Mauritania, Ivory Coast, Senegal, Guinee Conakry and Niger.
Azalaï Hotels Group is today the first African private hotel chain group in the west African region, providing direct employment to about 900 people and over 2,000 indirectly.
Matthew Weihs, managing director, Bench Events, which owns and runs AHIF, said: “The personal contributions of these two individuals to the development of the hotel industry in Africa has been immense.
“Trevor’s advice has been enormously valuable to countless entrepreneurs and investors, helping them to decide what to do and how best to do it.
“Mossadeck has been a true trail-blazer and entrepreneur, setting a tremendous example to others by showing what can be done in West Africa if one has the imagination, vision and personal charisma.”
Source: breakingtravelnews.com