SMME TRAINING DAY & TRADING DAY
INNOVATION & ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND START-UP MASTERCLASS
ALL DAY
Delegates Arrivals and Intra-Africa Tourism & Entrepreneurship Expo Set-Up
All Exhibitors
07h00 – 08h50
Registration, Networking and Business Card Exchange
All Participants
09h00 - 09h05
Introductions & Welcome Address
Programme Director & Ministry of Tourism and Wildlife
09h10 – 10h30
Capital Raising Masterclass
Bridging the Start-Up Divide: Redefining the pathways for capital raising by leveraging the needs of national and international venture capital networks.
South African Tourism Partner
10h30 – 11h00
MICE and Business Tourism Fire Chat
An African case study: Building financially viable and legacy events’ business through creativity and innovation.
International Expert & Programme Director
11H00 - 11H15
NETWORKING AND REFRESHMENT BREAK
11h15 - 12h30
AI Adoption Masterclass
Artificial Intelligence Adoption: Navigating AI disruptions and promising business prospects for youth and starts-ups in for the future of Africa’s tourism ecosystem.
South African Tourism Partner
12h30 - 13h00
Design Thinking Ted Talk
Tech-driven Future:Utilising Design Thinking as a strategic tool for powering innovation and creativity in travel, tourism and hospitality entrepreneurship.
South Africa
13h00 – 14h00
Lunch
14h00 - 16h00
Participants 1-on-1 Business Exchange: B2B, B2C and Networking
All Participants
16h15 – 17h00
Closed Session - Top 5 Shortlist, Judges and Mentors Only
Africa Tourism Innovation Challenge Boot Camp & Demo Lab.
Africa Youth in Tourism Challenge Adjudication Committee and Independent Experts
19h00 – 21h00
Evening at Leisure
By Invitation Only
End of day at leisure
WEDNESDAY, 25 JUNE 2025
05h00 – 06h30
Health & Wellness – 5KM Run
All Interested Delegates
07h00 – 09h00
Registration, Networking and Business Card Exchange
South Africa / Ghana / UN Tourism
: Programme Director/s
09h05 - 09h10
National Anthems
South Africa
09h10 - 09h25
Musical and Cultural Performance
Youth Creative Group Performance
09h25 - 09h30
Address By Africa Tourism Partners
Kwakye Donkor -
CEO, Africa Tourism Partners, South Africa
09h30 - 09h40
Message from UN TOURISM
Elcia Grandcourt -
Director, Africa Department, UN Tourism, Spain
09h40 - 09h50
Message by AfCFTA Secretariat
Emily Njeri Mburu-Ndoria -
Director of Trade in Services, Investment, Intellectual Property Rights and Digital Trade, AfCFTA Secretariat, Ghana
09h50 – 10h00
To Be Confirmed
To Be Confirmed
10h10 - 10h15
To Be Confirmed
To Be Confirmed
10h15 – 10h25
Keynote Address
To Be Confirmed
10h25 – 10h30
Guest of Honour
H.E Zurab Pololikashvili -
Secretary-General of the UN Tourism
10h30– 11h30
Ministerial and Policy-makers Dialogue
Community Engagement and Inclusive Tourism: Creating tourism clusters as formal and informal commercial villages for youth and women employment and financial inclusion.
Department of Tourism, South Africa
Angola
Tanzania /Zanzibar
Botswana
Ghana
Namibia
Invited Ministers
The Dawn of AI Revolution:
Turning to AI for tourism, travel and hospitality business growth and profitability.
South Africa - Invited Expert
12h30 - 13h00
Business Advisory Insights
Acting for Impact: Learning about tourism chain as a driver for youth employability and entrepreneurship development in Africa.
Namibia Tourism Board
Portugal
- Invited Expert
13h00 - 14h00
Visual Inserts, Lunch & Networking Session
14h00 – 14h45
Professional Advisory Focus
Copyright, trademarks, and patents: Critical financial assets for Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) Protection for tourism, creatives and cultural entrepreneurs.
South African Expert, AfCFTA Secretariat and Africa Bank
-
Invited Experts
14h45– 15h45
Interactive Business Advisory & Insights
Capital Raising: Understand the compelling considerations for successful capital raising for startups, accelerators and entrepreneurs.
Namibia,
South Africa,
Mauritius
-
Invited Experts
15h45 – 16h45
2025 Pitch Battle
Africa Youth in Tourism Innovation Challenge Demos & Lab.
Africa Youth in Tourism Innovation Challenge
Adjudication Committee and Independent Expert
16h45 – 17h00
Daily Reflections
Programme Director
18h00 – 20h00
Welcome Cocktail
All delegates, exhibitors, media and invited guests
THURSDAY, 26 JUNE 2025
07h00 - 08h00
Registration, Networking and Business Card Exchange
All Participants
09h00 – 09h05
Welcome & Introduction
Programme Director
09h05 – 10h30
Harnessing Tomorrow’s Potential
Youth-led Tourism Business Ventures: Lessons for breaking barriers to youth start-ups and employability in tourism.
Two Leading South African
Youth Tourism Entrepreneurs
-
Invited Experts
10h30 – 11h00
Ted Talk
AI for SMEs: Practical business innovation for unlocking incremental revenue generating sources for Small Medium and Micro Enterprises.
South African Tourism Partner -
Invited Partner
11h00 – 11h15
NETWORKING, REFRESHMENT BREAK AND EXPO TOUR
11h15 – 11h30
Scene Setter: Exploiting the convergence of African Blue Economy to scale up small enterprises in tourism.
Key International Player -
Invited Experts
11h30– 13h00
Business Advisory & Entrepreneurship Perspective
The Blue Economy: An untapped opportunity of tourism entrepreneurship and career development for African youth and students.
South Africa,
Tanzania/Zanzibar,
Seychelles
-
Invited Experts
13h00 – 14h00
Partner’s Visual Inserts and Networking Launch
14h00 – 15h30
Sustainable Tourism Business Insights
Unpacking Agritourism - A niche ecosystem for preserving tourism assets and entrepreneurial pathways for rural communities.
Understanding Design Thinking:A strategic approach to developing customer-centric business solutions for growth and profitability.
South Africa -
Invited Expert
10h00 – 11h15
An African Gastronomy Business Proposition Fire Chat
Food Tourism:Vehicle for storytelling and compelling start-up business opportunity for African youth.
South African Partner -
Invited Expert
11h15 – 11h30
Refreshment and Networking Break
11h30 – 12h00
Digitalisation Ted Talk
Digital Sales and Money Matters:The cornerstone for accelerating business growth and profitability for small enterprises and start-up.
South African Tourism Partner-
Invited Expert
12h00 – 12h45
Expert and Interactive Conversation
Leveraging Digital and Fintech Business Platforms:The roadmap for viable commercialisation for MSMEs (Micro, Mediums and Small Enterprises) in Tourism, Creatives and Cultural Industries.
South Africa Partner
-
Invited Expert
12h45 – 13h00
Speakers and Delegates Engagement Session
13h00 – 14h00
Networking, Refreshment Break and Expo Tour
14h00 – 15h00
Interactive and Expert conversations
Youth Empowerment:Exploiting intergenerational business partnerships through mentorship coaching and youth empowerment.
Nigeria,
Ethiopia,
International
-
Invited Experts
15h00 – 16h40
Mentorship Festival & Employability Clinic
1-on- 1 Delegates consultations with experts & speakers.
All Speakers and delegates
16h00 – 16h30
REFRESHMENT BREAK AND EXHIBITION VISIT
16h40– 17h00
Wrap-up and Reflections
Programme Director/s
17h00
Closing Remarks
South African -
Strategic Partner
18h00 - 20h00
Cocktail evening - Youth in Tourism Innovation Challenge Awards and Networking
Innovation Challenge Awards: Announcement of Africa Youth in Tourism Innovation Challenge - Top 5.
Vote of thanks
