With a diverse 20-year career in hospitality across multiple geographies including Africa, Amir Golbarg can tell you how locations you never knew existed can lend to rapturous storytelling, and he has many a tale to tell on the continent.



We are in a sleek boardroom with glass windows overlooking gleaming towers at the Dubai International Financial Centre; the searing August sun in Dubai beams on, never once letting you forget the vagaries of a Middle Eastern summer.



Yet, there is a force in this room, in this moment, who takes you at once to the snowy swathes of Switzerland, to the balmy beaches of Thailand and the airy islands of Bob Dylan’s Mozambique. It’s a wandering, itinerant few moments actually, that make up the first 10 minutes of a conversation with a man who is a hotelier but with a journey that has graced most corners of the map.



Originally from Iran, but now a Danish national, Amir Golbarg heads up the Middle East, Africa and India region for the Thailandbased Minor Hotels group. As Senior Vice President, he also oversees the Indian Ocean islands of the Seychelles and Mauritius. The geographical narrative does not end there.



His Persian family has been involved in politics for generations, he says. Golbarg thought that would be his calling too, but eventually, as he adds, he was “the one who broke free”.



“I realized early on, that ultimately, what I wanted to achieve was bigger,” says Golbarg, 41 now, who took the advice of an uncle and left for the cool climes of Switzerland to study hospitality management.



“I love dealing with people… and hospitality is in our culture, in our nature, hospitality is the spirit of serving… I was a Persian living across Europe. So being a nomad was kind of natural to me. I felt like the world is my oyster. The one thing my uncle taught me was that hospitality is the one industry where you can be, from the North Pole to the South Pole, as there’s always some kind of guest house or accommodation [serving people].”



A stint in the United States followed, and in 2008, Golbarg moved to Dubai, just before the unceremonious unraveling of the global financial crisis. The city was still – literally – on its way up with a steely resolve, and there were enough hotel projects to keep everyone busy.



“I got a taste of the glitter, the glamor and the glory,” says Golbarg fondly of a city he now calls home, despite his life on the road. When he first arrived, he was with the Jumeirah hotel group and subsequently moved on assignment to the Maldives.



In 2012, he joined Minor Hotels, part of Minor International that’s listed on the Thailand stock exchange.



“What drew me to Minor is it’s not just a hotel company, it’s an entrepreneurs’ company, we are all entrepreneurs in this space. Bill Heinecke, the founder-chairman, built it from the ground up, based in Thailand, and they are one of the biggest operators and owners of hotels, retail and F&amp;B in Southeast Asia.”



Minor Hotels’ portfolio currently totals 558 hotels in 58 countries and includes the Anantara and Avani brands, among many others. Golbarg oversees a total of 38 properties in operation across 10 countries and six brands, in addition to driving the development of the strong pipeline of properties within the regions across multiple brands.



“We’re not your typical hotel company, he says. “We’re not just a brand that puts flags on buildings.”



Back in the Middle East, Golbarg’s journey evolved into expanding the company’s footprint, also going into Africa, focusing on India and “really broadening the context”.



Wearing multiple hats, he now also homes in on his previous experience working on asset management, investments, mergers and acquisitions, and therefore, looking at hospitality from all those perspectives.



“We run a full-360 geography of a business. And that’s the beauty of hospitality. You touch so many lives. You touch so many industries, from agriculture to trade. The whole ecosystem of hospitality is so vast, and we like to touch every one of them. That’s what makes Minor unique. We look at it not just as a hotel and filling beds, but as a business that can change lives and economies… Because if you build the right economy, that becomes sustainable to build everything else.”



Presence in the UAE



In Dubai, over the last two years, the company launched its upscale four-star Avani property, the NH Collection brand and the luxury Anantara on The Palm Jumeirah.



“Our offerings here go from the extended-stay suites all the way to luxury. We have pretty much most of the brands covered in Dubai.”



Golbarg heaps lavish praise on the pro-business, pro-progress culture of the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The emirate of Dubai itself attracted over 17 million international tourists in 2023. The figures for this year are higher. “The UAE has the highest number of our brands of any destination globally,” he says.



Abu Dhabi, the country’s capital city, is also home to Minor’s Greek-inspired, 22-key, boutique, “adults’ only” Anantara Santorini retreat, which opened this year.



“What I respect about the UAE is they take everyone on board, they involve all parties. And that, for me, is a big element, which I always encourage other governments to do. Dubai Tourism has worked with us hand-in-hand on everything that they roll out. I always say, in the best sense of the word, that they use us, which they should do. Every government should use us. Of course, we have the Rolodex, we have the loyalty platforms, we have the international know-how and exposure, and we have a ton to give back, because, ultimately, we’re on the same boat. If you bring the airline, the travel, the hotels and the ministry, together, we can’t go wrong,” says Golbarg.



There are more upcoming or new projects for Minor Hotels globally. “We’re looking at a property in Morocco. At the moment, suddenly, the demand has risen. There’s a big one coming up in Jaipur in Q4 that has already been booked up for weddings… We’re also invested heavily in Thailand, it’s our mothership.”



African odyssey



Golbarg’s portfolio also takes him frequently into the African continent; the group has an office in Johannesburg, South Africa. “Our journey in sub-Saharan Africa started with purely acquisitions. We started with a joint venture in 2012, with a lodge brand called Elewana. We have 16 lodges, primarily across East Africa; in Tanzania and Kenya.”



The company also has an Avani hotel in landlocked Lesotho in southern Africa. “It’s the steadiest performer in our portfolio,” says Golbarg. “We’re the Burj Al Arab of Lesotho. What we have is doing fantastically well.”



The story in Botswana and Namibia is no different. And his own personal favorite haven in Africa? The Anantara in Medjumbe in Mozambique.



“It’s the most untapped part of the Indian Ocean; the coral reef is stunning.” Yet another location, the barrier island of Bazaruto in Mozambique – known for its prawns and picture-perfect beaches – comes with its own special tale.



“The history we have there is actually a funny story. Part of our acquisition was a small island called Santa Carolina, which was where [American singer-songwriter] Bob Dylan’s famous song, Mozambique, was [created]. The piano he used for the song was there. We brought it along to the Bazaruto property, and we have preserved it. This location was the place-to-be back in the 1960s and 1970s; the hotspot everybody would come to in Mozambique,” says Golbarg.



Coming up in South Africa, in the business district of Sandton, in Johannesburg, is a NH Collection hotel, a fully-renovated and refurbished version of the hitherto Hilton property. It will be Minor’s first hotel in Johannesburg.



“We’re looking to expand in Africa. I think for us, what is interesting now is we want to look at the key hubs, so Johannesburg, Cape Town, Nairobi etc. But we’re seeing a major interest now in the smaller, unique Anantara offerings, those that are resort-style. There’s a demand in that space. We have our first tented camp opening early next year in a place called Kafue, which is a beautiful, unexplored area in Zambia&#8230; we’re also looking at potentially bringing the Anantara brand to Rwanda.”



Golbarg adds that he may be treading with caution in Africa’s regulatory environment but it has been “high risk, high reward”.



Statista predicts the revenue from Africa’s hospitality market by 2027 to be about $14 billion. Is it believable?



“You know, around 64% of our total income for the regions [I oversee] comes out of Africa,” Golbarg attests.



Conservation and green energy



Among other priorities, conservation is also a big area of focus for Minor. “It has been a part of our DNA. We started our journey with elephants in Thailand; we invested in a major development to support the mahouts and elephants in the Golden Triangle. And we own the assets there. And it really helped give a second life to these animals.”



Renewable energy is another big drawcard, including Minor’s investments in hydro-power and solar farms.



“Sustainability is bigger than just being plastic-free, and my commitment is that in Africa, everything we build and everything we acquire has to be from the continent. There’s nothing worse than coming to a hotel, and the shampoo and dispensers etc are from somewhere else. So, the Anantara brand, historically, we always say it’s indigenous, sustainable luxury. Even if you look at our Jaipur property in India, I was adamant that all the stones and art we use are from Rajasthan.”



And his take on the interface of new technology such as artificial intelligence?



“AI is a great tool to minimize your backoffice tasks, but it cannot replace your front-office. Because as much as everybody talks about contactless solutions and personal check-ins, guests don’t actually want that. They still need the human interface,” he says.



As trends go, Golbarg speaks about the group’s increased investments in branded residences, resort-style living and “experiential luxury”.



“People associate Africa with certain things. The goal for us is to make sure that we extend that so it does not become just a ‘bucket list’ item, but a journey of a lifetime. Because Africa shouldn’t be a ‘bucket list’, it’s not enough, there’s more than just a bucket to fill!”

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CEO Strategies: The International Hotelier With A Bob Dylan Story In Mozambique

Brand Voice by The Houghton Hotel 



When it comes to the evolution of unparalleled hospitality in Johannesburg, luxury has a new location at one of Johannesburg’s most exclusive addresses. Whether you are an avid local or international traveller, looking for leisure or a business base, the Houghton Hotel has something to suit your needs. This urban oasis, with a unique and personalised offering, makes guests feel right at home in a modern, contemporary space. The Houghton Hotel prides itself on providing unforgettable experiences for all types of travellers; making every effort to ensure that the hotel exceeds expectations, enveloping guests in a luxury experience that lingers long after check out. 



An exceptional lifestyle resort situated on the sprawling expanse of a signature Jack Nicklaus golf course, in the leafy suburb of Houghton, one of the oldest and most beautiful parts of Johannesburg; the R880 million establishment is the crowning glory in a newly built residential estate, flanked by footpaths navigating lush landscaped gardens. An unexpected escape from the hustle and bustle, and a stone’s throw from the metropolis, The Houghton Hotel is perfectly positioned, affording discerning guests a plethora of options; from exploring the nearby neighbourhoods to soaking up the sumptuous comforts of the hotel, with its signature services and state-of-art facilities.



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Expertly designed by Boogertman + Partners architects, with
the interiors by DSGN, the Houghton Hotel showcases the very best of South
African luxury design and craftsmanship. As a prestigious member of the Leading
Hotels of the World, and having recently been named the Best Luxury Hotel in
South Africa, at the HOSCO Luxury Tourism Awards; it boast 68 beautiful rooms,
suites and penthouses cocooned in layered luxury and offering unobstructed
views of the city skyline and scenic surrounds. Drawing inspiration from the
most iconic hotels around the world, paired with intuitive service that
surpasses standards and exceeds expectations; The Houghton Hotel certainly
delivers a ‘decidedly extraordinary’ experience as one of Johannesburg’s most
luxurious destinations. 



With a palpable passion for hospitality that is deeply
rooted within its cultural identity, The Houghton Hotel is a world-class
facility that rivals some of the greatest hotels globally, while fulfilling the
role of a home away from home. From a fully equipped business centre to
boardrooms proffering personal assistants, and bespoke business conferencing
solutions of up to 500 delegates, as well as a 24 hour concierge service to
ensure that no need goes unmet, there is no detail that has been overlooked in
the architectural gem, which truly captures the imagination: from exotic
Egyptian cotton bedding to extended breakfasts and a five star flagship
wellness centre from Amani Spa; with a restorative and relaxing rasul chamber,
meditation garden and heated infinity pool. Affording guests all the amenities
imaginable, not to mention a spectacular sundowner spot at Sky Bar, with an
uninterrupted vista over Johannesburg; if you can dream it, the Houghton Hotel
should probably be able to make it possible.



For guests interested in medical tourism, The Houghton Hotel
takes pleasure in offering on-site Medical Suites with world-class specialists
and practitioners, and the suites are suited to provide extra care to medical
tourists post-procedure. 



The special attention to the guest&#8217;s dining experience
includes the culmination of good food and great produce at the Nova Deli; with
its culinary cave of cured meats, cheeses, pastries and imported product
offerings. Signature dining at “The H” provides a unique haute cuisine
experience, where guests can enjoy a personalised gastronomic journey. 



The Houghton Hotel was created for people who have earned the right to demand more from life – a place where the option of casual and luxury meld into one; and living up to its promise, the Houghton Hotel is central to The Houghton experience. Combining luxury hotel living with the convenience of the concierge services of a private club, the Houghton Hotel is designed to ensure that every need is not only met, but exceeded.

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An Exclusive Urban Oasis

KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa is not just azure seas and white beaches. It is increasingly drawing business and the MICE sector to its sunny coast, says Sonto Mayise. 

The KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) province of South Africa offers a breath-taking vignette of visuals, ranging from the majestic mountains to the azure sea and white beaches. But it also boasts convention centers that bring travelers from the rest of Africa and beyond. Sonto Mayise, the Acting Chief of the Convention Bureau, says you can have the views, the world-class hotels and state-of-the-art conference centers but they mean nothing without the warmth of the people. She tells us how business tourism is growing in KZN and its coastal city Durban:
What are the main attractions in Durban at this moment?
It comes down to what you see when you land. The beauty of our people in the Zulu Kingdom takes it all. You come in and people smile at you, they are welcoming. It is an attraction of its own. It’s the first-hand experience you give a traveler that will make a lasting impression.
How are you attracting business to KZN? 
I see my mandate in terms of going after events and bringing conferences, meetings and exhibitions to destination Durban and KZN; over and above the mandate of bidding for events, of making sure that you give all the support required, you need to make sure you create relationships and that you maintain and nurture them as well.
What are the trends you have noticed in terms of tourism in general in KZN? 
There is a shift in terms of people knowing about Durban as a [leisure] destination. The ICC in Durban is rated as the leading convention center in Africa. We say as a gateway, as Durban, we have what you need in terms of hosting big events. I’ve picked up that people always come as business tourists and a few months down the line or in a year, they come back as tourists. It is like killing two birds with one stone.
<a href="http://www.forbesafrica.com/woman/2018/10/01/all-roads-to-the-economic-powerhouse/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">READ MORE: All Roads To The Economic Powerhouse</a>
How does the MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, Exhibitions) industry here compare with Cape Town, Gauteng and the rest of Africa? 
Internationally, people think of Cape Town and Gauteng as ideal provinces to bring business to and often ask where Durban is. We work twice as hard in promoting Durban as a gateway. We are not only promoting Durban but the KZN province as a gateway. We are still in a space where we compete with Cape Town; in instances, it will be leading in conferences, but in terms of delegate numbers, Durban will always be the highest. More and more people are having big conferences in Durban. We can name the World Economic Forum we hosted in 2016, the AIDS conference which was the biggest in 2016 and the BRICS Business Council we just hosted.
What are the top business sectors Durban attracts? 
This is about creating relationships more than anything else. That is part of the mandate for bidding for events. This is confirmation that I am doing something right in the industry. They can see the best that we are doing in KZN and now we are taking the FORBES WOMAN AFRICA Leading Women Summit to Durban [in 2019]. There is much that still needs to be done so we can change and also empower our black people and young women in the MICE industry.
How has the maritime industry developed in recent years? 
The moment you grow the maritime sector, the more you grow the business events sector. We have one of the biggest ports in Durban so when people want an event in the cargo space, they can’t go to Johannesburg or Cape Town. They need to go to Durban and they can only do that if we grow the sector as a maritime destination.

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Where Conferences Meet The Coast

Tolu Erogbobo is the latest sensation in the Nigerian gourmet scene, famed for creating delectable pastries, cookies and signature dishes for those who crave quality food in Lagos. He is popularly known as Chef Eros, named after the Greek god of love. His love for food means the 28-year-old chef counts billionaire tycoons Mike Adenuga and Aliko Dangote, as well as international stars like Lauren Hill, among his clients. It has also led to him being labelled as the next big thing to watch by CNN.
For Erogbobo it is surreal; he never planned to become a chef.
“When I started business I didn’t want to be a chef, I just wanted to be a restaurateur. I loved the restaurant business; I had worked on a few restaurant projects in my younger days. In the UK I worked with Oceania (Hotels )Group where they had set up a few restaurants in my university and just seeing the delivery of the equipment, putting them in place, making them work and designing a place to make it feel nice, was so exciting for me,” says Erogbobo, the Founder of Cookie Jar, a gourmet bakery.
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That was before Erogbobo had an unlikely experience in the kitchen.
“All of that switched in a year of me finding my true love, which is food. I found that through chicken; just seasoning chicken, putting the spices together, and then different cooking processes giving you different textures. I found the love for food in university then I combined that with the love for interior spaces, which is what drove the passion for the restaurant.”
After graduating in 2008 with a business degree from the University of Wolverhampton, in England, Erogbobo moved back to Nigeria with the plan to help his mother set up a restaurant.
It cost N60 million ($190,000) to start the first restaurant. Erogbobo was 21 years old at the time. His mother and sister put up a significant amount of the start-up capital.
“The funds for the restaurant were raised predominantly by my mother who sold one of her properties to invest. My sister supported with some her saving and so did I,” he says.
Erogbobo knew that location was key, however all the best locations in town came at a steep price. As luck would have it, he found a restaurant in Victoria Island whose owner was looking to sell and agreed to let the cash-strapped Erogbobo pay in monthly instalments.
“The owner said to me he didn’t want to sell the restaurant anymore because I didn’t have the money to buy it all at once, so he offered to be partners instead. So I came in, used the money I had to revamp the place from just a café to a café restaurant and that is how the journey actually started,” says Erogbobo.
The restaurant later failed because Erogbobo did not keep his eye on the numbers, according to the young entrepreneur. After a brief stint in real estate and energy, the calling of the kitchen could no longer be ignored.
“I started having dreams about cookies and they continued every other night. They were so vivid and I would wake up sometimes and I would be so emotional. In 2012, I got all the ingredients needed, went online, found the recipe I wanted and came back to bake. The first batch of cookies I made fell flat but they tasted really good. I went back and did more homework and I tried it out again, and it worked out. I went downstairs and gave my friends some to try and they all loved it. One of my friends offered to pay me and I didn’t know how much to charge so I said N500 ($1.50) per cookie and he didn’t object, so he bought four.”
Erogbobo realized he was onto something and needed to spread the word quickly.
“I started baking everyday and started posting pictures on [messaging app] BBM and I found out that BBM was working. So every time I would go out, I would get a lot of BBM contacts because I wanted them to see my updates and I used to update like every five minutes. It was annoying for a lot of people because you were always seeing me on your timeline but the moment you think of nibbling on something, the first thing you think of is me,” says Erogbobo.
Business soon took off. Aptly for someone called Chef Eros, Valentine’s Day came and Erogbobo sold over $2,500 worth of cookies over the love season and he has been on a trajectory ever since. The company is in its third year and currently turns over N150 million ($480,000) per year according to Erogbobo. The growth has been fast with three kitchens opened in Lagos, including Glasshouse Catering, which provides cocktail-style catering for events; Cookie Jar, which is the bakery and Eros and Gourmet, the speciality savoury dish brand.
As if his success wasn’t remarkable enough, this year Erogbobo was recruited by Food Revolution, the campaign started by culinary master Jamie Oliver. The celebrity chef launched the program to encourage people from all over the world to adopt a healthy eating lifestyle and push their own government to fight diet related diseases.
Joining the Food Revolution was a dream come true for Erogbobo. This year, he is gearing up to open a new catering service offering a 24-hour healthy breakfast menu for his clients.
“The Food Revolution is all about changing the way people eat, buy, grow, and what people understand about food. My global goal is zero hunger and for the next 15 years I aim to help end hunger in Africa. To do that we have to achieve sustainable agriculture, achieve improved nutrition and improved food security,” says Erogbobo.
With  Erogbobo’s passion for food, don’t bet against him.

The Man Who Knows  What Billionaires  Eat For Lunch

The journey to a million dollars can start in Ikot-Ekpene, a town in southern Nigeria famous for its palm oil, kernels, yams, cassava, taro, corn and raffia. As a child, Mark Essien watched his father, a graduate of the social sciences with no vocational training, build makeshift machines for communal use, such as excavators to pump sand out of the river. A proclivity to build was sown in Essien. It bore fruit decades later and thousands of miles away, in Germany, where he was attending university.
Essien got a job as a night watchman. He had to closely observe the bodily movements of a paralyzed man, which could possibly be fatal. During these long nights, Essien taught himself computer programing. He soon developed a file-sharing software that was bought by Bertelsmann Media, a German multinational mass media corporation. Essien was also hired by the company. Soon, his skills were in high demand. He made a living, and financed his university studies, by selling software to Orange SA (then known as France Telecom), Walt Disney and the United States Armed Forces. Soon, he got bored.
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“I wanted to get out of buying and selling software products and move into start-ups. Start-ups are a different beast,” Essien says placidly while sitting in his office, a recently remodeled colonial building in Yaba, a suburb in Lagos.
This time, in between wrapping up his Bachelor’s degree and waiting to begin his Masters’, Essien, in collaboration with friends, launched a start-up based on iPhone apps. This was around the time when the iPhone was first introduced to the world. The business performed fairly well, but Essien sought a new challenge and handed the reins of the start-up to his co-founders.
He was looking for a bigger challenge – one that would allow him to play a role in the technology space on the continent. In January 2012, Hotels.ng became this challenge. The online business was formed as the infant tech industry was taking off in Nigeria, and in Africa. In a few years, a content streaming service, a flight booking platform, online malls, car dealerships, real estate directories and more have sprung up in Nigeria. Hotels.ng joined their ranks, providing online solutions for people in need of temporary accommodation in Nigeria, from Ikot-Ekpene in the south, to Sabon Gari in the north.
Hotels.ng was started with financial contributions from family and friends, as well as Essien’s personal money. Starting the business was easy, making it a success would be more difficult.
“We were very lucky that we had some capital available and we were able to raise it pretty quickly. We were able to raise $75,000 after three months of operations,” says Essien.
Usually, start-ups are not this fortunate. It is believed Essien had an unnamed investor when he launched. However, in the tech ecosystem, local investors are still hard to find. Essien thinks this is because they are not seeing other investors make massive returns. He also doesn’t think much of those running start-ups in the country today.
“Investors don’t invest in ideas, especially in Nigeria when there’s so much execution risk. Every start-up has been done somewhere else successfully so the idea is good but can the person build it? I don’t think enough smart and resourceful people are in the start-up space.”
It would seem Essien doesn’t belong in this category. A few months after launching, he was made an offer by Jason Njoku, founder of successful content streaming service, iROKOtv, and start-up incubator, SPARK. He turned it down, stating he wouldn’t need investment for the next six to twelve months as he had enough from his first seed round.
“There’s a philosophy I have that every start-up should follow. You must be able to build a business with what you have. If you are dependent, your business will be vulnerable. I’d rather take no money than take bad money,” says Essien.
Hotels.ng managed to grow independently and, in 2013, Essien decided to sell 35% to SPARK for $225,000. This year, Hotels.ng raised $1.2 million from the Omidyar Network, the investment vehicle of eBay founder Pierre Omidyar, and EchoVC Pan-Africa Fund, a seed-stage technology fund.
The investment was a result of a six-month search, involving 60 to 70 investors who were interested in Africa. Essien insists, however, that the investment is not a magic wand and while some problems will disappear, bigger ones will take their place.
“Scaling a company up is extremely difficult. I have gone from me and one guy, to me and 49 people. You have to build structures, management. We need to understand what it means to have regional offices across Africa. We are going to start in Ghana. The stage we are in the market is still early. We have a bit of leeway to be slow on things. When you are faster than the market, it’s the quickest way to kill your business.”
Essien makes an interesting comparison. Before YouTube, there had been a number of video file-sharing platforms that were just as innovative. However, there was no global internet penetration to support their success. There were not enough people online, or even aware, to enjoy these sites. YouTube came at just the right time. Essien believes Hotels.ng must perfect such impeccable timing.
Although Essien’s journey, and that of his start-up, has only just begun, he knows where he is going.

Millions  That Came To The Entrepreneur Who Waited

Now that the travel world has truly shaken off the recession, hoteliers are no longer playing it safe. In 2015, big-name brands are branching out from what they do so famously: Mandarin Oriental, known for its outstanding city hotels, is opening a resort just outside Marrakech, while Aman Resorts, whose signature is peaceful sanctuaries in remote places, is coming to Tokyo.
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The indies are shaking things up, too, as with a pair of former &amp;Beyond executives opening their own private camp in Kenya’s Maasai Mara, and with Alan Faena, who is exporting his audacious namesake hotel in Buenos Aires to Miami. For travelers, the new luxury frontiers are in South America, which is safer than ever, easily reached and ideal for soft adventure: Hacienda Bambusa is bringing elegance to Colombia’s Coffee Triangle, and AlexVik is expanding his empire to Chile. Here’s what to check out when you check in in 2015.
Aman Tokyo
Aman junkies don’t ever need to be sold on the brand, but the opening of the first urban hotel promises to offer the faithful – and Aman virgins – a new take on that signature style. Atop a new tower in the posh Ginza district, the Aman Tokyo, which opened in December, has 360 views over the megalopolis and Mount Fuji, a 100-foot-high lobby atrium modeled on a paper lantern, traditional rock gardens and 84 of the largest rooms and suites in the city (starting at more than 700 square feet). There’s also a two-story spa, a 1,200-bottle wine cellar and a private-label sake.
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FAenA hoTel, miAmi BeAch
Ten years ago, when Argentinean fashion designer-turned-real-estate-developer Alan Faena opened his namesake hotel in abandoned
Buenos Aires docklands, his creative risks more than paid off – the Faena District is now the city’s most valuable real estate. In September 2015, that cheeky spirit is migrating north, with the opening of a new hotel in what was once the historic Saxony. Faena enlisted the masters of cinematic whimsy Baz Luhrmann and Catherine Martin to design the 169 rooms and suites, private screening room, theater for live cabaret shows and spa. And in his United States’ debut, much-lauded Argentinean grill master Francis Mallmann is consulting on the restaurant.
SiX SenSeS doUro VAlley, PorTUGAl
Its fans may not be quite as rabid as Aman’s, but Six Senses has developed a cult following among guests who admire its brand of eco-friendly bare foot (high) luxury in far-flung locations. Opening in mid-2015, the Douro Valley hideaway will finally bring Six Senses’ sensibility beyond Asia.
Fitted into a 19th-century manor house in the oldest wine-producing region in the world, the resort has 57 rooms, suites and villas, an extensive
spa with locally inspired grape-and olivebased treatments, a large yoga pavilion and the de rigueur local-seasonal-organic restaurant menu, much of it grown on-site, served in the restaurant and at “pop-up” tables set by the Douro River.
BAhiA Vik, UrUGUAy, And ViÑA Vik, millAhUe, chile
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-medium wp-image-29939 alignleft" src="http://www.forbesafrica.com/app/uploads/2017/05/shutterstock_239238295-300x200.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="200" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/shutterstock_239238295-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/shutterstock_239238295-600x400.jpg 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/shutterstock_239238295-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/shutterstock_239238295.jpg 1000w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />
With his first small luxury hotels in Uruguay, billionaire entrepreneur/art collector Alex Vik put the boho beach town of José Ignacio on the map. As with Vik’s earlier resorts, his much-anticipated Bahia Vik, which opened in January, has a focus on art and architecture throughout the 11 uniquely designed bungalows (most have two or three bedrooms) and the 10 suites in the main building. And November saw the debut of Viña Vik Millahue in Chile’s Alpaca  wine valley. The Frank Gehry- and Richard Serra-inspired retreat overlooks 11,000 acres of vineyards with the Andes rising in the distance, and offers tastings of Vik’s world-class wines and vinotherapy treatments in the spa.
Mandarin Oriental,
Marrakech
It’s the best of both worlds in the Red City: all the services of a leading international luxury brand but in an intimate environment with only 54 private-walled villas (with pools, sundecks and alfresco dining areas) and seven suites (some with rooftop plunge pools), and the olive-grove exoticism of the desert Palmeraie region combined with proximity to the historic medina. When it opens in the first quarter of 2015, Mandarin Oriental’s Moroccan outpost – the only resort in its current portfolio – will have the brand’s signature spa, a traditional hammam, lush gardens and five restaurants and bars serving Moroccan and international fare.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-medium wp-image-29942 alignleft" src="http://www.forbesafrica.com/app/uploads/2017/05/shutterstock_206253460-300x200.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="200" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/shutterstock_206253460-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/shutterstock_206253460-600x399.jpg 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/shutterstock_206253460-768x511.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/shutterstock_206253460.jpg 1000w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />
hAciendA BAmBUSA, colomBiA
High-end operators like Blue Parallel, Butterfield &amp; Robinson and Absolute Travel are expanding their Colombia offerings for good reason: The charismatic country is finally getting its due, thanks to a stable government, improved safety, investment in luxury travel and convenient JetBlue flights from New York to Cartagena. And there’s now good reason to go beyond the colonial fantasyland of Cartagena into the “real” Colombia with the reopening in December of Hacienda Bambusa, an eight-room hotel overlooking a working hacienda with 500 acres of cacao, plantains, tangerines and pineapples, now managed by a Relais &amp; Châteaux vet. Long a favorite of in-the-know travelers, it’s an ideal base for visiting local coffee growers, hiking in Valle de Cocora National Park and touring nearby rural villages.

shutterstock_246046873

Where To Stay In 2015

It is fitting that young entrepreneur Bheki Dube makes his money out of travelers. He has been on the move all his life. He spent years skateboarding and taking photographs in Johannesburg and Durban. It was on these rides that the backpacking idea was born two years ago.
Back then Dube, a Troyeville resident, in the east of Johannesburg, was a walking tour guide at the Maboneng Precinct, the trendy art and tourism hub of Johannesburg.
“During that period I worked really odd jobs like skate shops as a salesperson and as a cashier. Learning at a young age to cash-up, to manage stock, those are the qualities that I carry out today. I also worked at the Spaza Art Gallery and that exposed me to a lot of artists. I also worked at a call center for a month and I hated it, but I learned so much from it, I was calling people in homelands trying to sell cellphones. Those were skills and qualities that became significant,” he says.
In Maboneng, he met a German tourist who liked what he was doing and advised him to explore.
Soon after this encounter, Dube packed his camera and went backpacking for a week in Durban hostels. Fate led Dube to another German tourist who happened to be a judge and had been touring the world for 35 years. Dube said his acquaintance spoke passionately about Africa’s beauty and opportunities. In his dormitory, Dube met another traveler in the travel and export industry who had been there for over a year because she preferred backpacking to hotels.
Back in Johannesburg, Dube looked to build onto the walking tours. It was the brainchild of Dube and his partner Greg Solik, a businessman he met at Maboneng while they were trying to figure out the next big project. These tours became the foundation of their company, Curiocity Backpackers.
“It was a concept that encouraged people to discover Johannesburg because it was seen as a no go area, especially around our Jeppestown. So walking through the streets of Johannesburg and breaking away from the norms of tourist in buses and engaging with the space like the locals do,” Dube says.
On his return, Dube also met Jonathan Liebmann, the developer of the Maboneng Precinct. The two knew each other from Dube’s old job where he was a general worker at the independent cinema, The Bioscope. Dube sold tickets, set up the projector and swept floors. Liebmann had also been on Dube’s walking tours.
“I met him at the Bioscope while I was working there, Liebmann came in for a drink and one of the first things I said to him was ‘when I am your age, I wanna be greater than you’. He looked at me and laughed,” says Dube as he recalls their first meeting in 2012.
Dube sold his idea of backpacking to Liebmann. That was the birth of a business partnership and mentorship.
It didn’t take much convincing. Liebmann was a traveler himself and he immediately liked the idea of accommodation. So Curiocity Backpackers was formed and Liebmann helped to buy the property.
In early 2012, Dube found a derelict building owned by company called Pacific Press, in Jeppestown, Johannesburg. The premises had a political past, it used to be a place where pamphlets were printed for the Black Sash – a white liberal human rights organization.  It was also a hideout for political activists such as Nelson Mandela, Joe Slovo and Tokyo Sexwale.
Today, Curiocity Backpackers has grown to accommodate over 100 people per day and there are plans to expand to more luxurious and private sections.
“We have a guest by the name of Dwight who is from the USA. He has now invested in property in Maboneng and he was here about a year ago, stayed with us, fell in love with the space, fell in love with the lifestyle, fell in love with the culture,” says Dube
Almost half of Curiocity’s customers are international visitors, mostly from Germany, the Netherlands, Finland, Austria, and Sweden. It has also seen a rise in people from South America and Australia. But there are fewer domestic travelers – at just 25% they are mainly students and rugby fans heading for nearby Ellis Park Stadium.
The notion that Jeppestown is crime-ridden has negatively impacted their bookings, says Dube.
Still they come to meet people and sleep soundly in the heart of the city.

A Skateboard  To Success

London could be Nigeria’s 37th state. From the underground to the finest hotels, you can hear an army of Nigerians on the march. There is an attitude about them – forward thinking, money spending – a force steeling Britain’s economy with streetwise Lagos cut-and-thrust. Be it academia, business, or just plain rich, there is plenty of Nigeria to go around in London. One of the best known is the Nigerian billionaire, Femi Otedola, who owns a $53.5-million home in the heart of rich Knightsbridge.
Otedola, the man who always wears white, clearly doesn’t believe in doing things by half. He owns a fleet of custom Rolls Royce cars in London and a Mercedes fleet in Nigeria, together worth $7.7 million. On the waters off Lagos, he has a sleek, custom-made, $19.5-million yacht in the Victoria Island lagoon. His home in Lagos is bigger than the one in Knightsbridge, with more expansive balconies and better weather.
Be it homes, gadgets or cars; Otedola appears to love the good life and doesn’t mind spending on it.
On a Thursday morning, in his tastefully furnished London pad adorned with family portraits, we meet for a chat; Otedola is jolly, answering phone calls and checking stocks on his tablet. He does this every morning after a few hours in the gym. There is no doubt it has been another prosperous year for the chairman of a leading Nigerian downstream oil company.
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Otedola was the second Nigerian to make the FORBES billionaires list in 2009. Following a major plunge in the shares of African Petroleum (now Forte Oil), he fell off the list. Another blow came when he topped the list of Nigeria’s debtors – owing banks around $900 million. Otedola has since reshuffled his finances and paid off every cent, according to the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON). He returns to the FORBES rich list in 2014 wealthier and wiser. He is worth at least $1.2 billion, as valued this year by the FORBES wealth unit in the United States and FORBES AFRICA. The rise in net worth was helped by a spike in the share price of his company, Forte Oil where he owns an 80% shareholding.
Otedola is part of a group of relatively young men who represent the new face of Nigerian capitalism. Born around the sixties and seventies, they came of age in the eighties and nineties as Nigeria inched deeper into military dictatorships that crippled the economy and the ambitions of entrepreneurs. They had to wait until the return of democracy in 1999 – and the subsequent opening up of the economy – to unleash their entrepreneurial skills. They have since taken advantage of the upturn in the country’s fortunes; their rise coinciding with waves of Nigeria’s economic reform.
So, how do you run up $1.5 billion in debt and become solvent in a few years? Just ask Otedola, who believes it was something he had to go through that had an echo in his childhood.
“I had my first business at the age of six. It was called FEMCO. I’d offer to groom my parents’ guests’ nails. Then, write a receipt and charge them for my service. They paid me too. I always had an interest in business. For my seventh Christmas present, I remember asking my dad for a briefcase. I just thought it was a good look. He gave me one of his and I insisted on taking it to school with me. The kids laughed at me, but I still loved the briefcase.”
Down the years, Otedola nursed his passion and grew up to work for his late father, Michael Otedola, the former governor of Lagos State.
It was a career that began with inky fingers. Otedola ran the marketing side of the family printing press in the late 1980s. It was a springboard to becoming a name in the world of Nigerian business.
An insight into the way Otedola’s mind worked came years later in a very public feud with his now best friend and one-time business partner, Aliko Dangote – the richest man in Africa. The squabble was over a bid for the Nigerian arm of Chevron, Texaco’s downstream business, which the company put up for sale in 2006. Otedola – the oil-and-gas man and second largest shareholder in Texaco at the time – was beaten to it by a company with links to Dangote, the cement-and-commodities man; a move said to be in violation of a gentleman’s agreement to respect each other’s turf. When Otedola announced that he would be investing in sugar and cement factories – Dangote territory – few missed the dig in the ribs.
The squabble lingered, but the storm passed, leaving the two men closer than brothers. A nautical manifestation of this is their identical yachts that bob side-by-side in the lagoon off Lagos.
“It was a case of conspiracy theories. Aliko and I have a genuine relationship and it was only natural that we had a few differences along the line. Today, he is my mentor. I like his sincerity and integrity. Aliko’s word is his bond and I have a lot of respect for my friend. I believe he is a real blessing to Nigeria and Africa as a whole. He is a godsend to this continent. I believe Aliko is highly underrated too. He will become the richest man on the FORBES list someday,” says Otedola.
<div id="attachment_3200" style="width: 310px" class="wp-caption alignleft"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-3200" class="size-medium wp-image-3200" src="/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/000_Par1412570-300x200.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="200" />TO GO WITH AFP STORY IN FRENCH BY JACQUES LHUILLERY ******Nigeria-économie-énergie-société-politique*** (FILES) File picture of Nigerian businessman Aliko Dangote (L) and Femi Otedola are pictured during the opening of the second Lagos domestic airport MM2, 7 April, 2007. Aliko Dangote said that he is far more wealthier than US TV anchorwoman Oprah Winfrey which US magazine Forbes said her wealth fetches USD 1,5 billion. AFP PHOTO / PIUS UTOMI EKPEI/FILES</div>
Otedola’s foray into the oil business began after he stopped working for his father and started working for himself.
Being the son of a governor, Otedola had friends in government who supplied him with diesel. Friends that didn’t do his business any harm down the years. When the political climate changed, the supply stopped. He made enquiries and approached a company for fresh supplies of diesel.
The light bulb in his head went off when Otedola saw a clanking, broken-down truck deliver supplies to his house three days after placing the order. He decided to open his own, more efficient, diesel supply business.
“I started buying diesel from a guy who had control of the market for retailing. I soon realized that a lot of companies in the country actually used diesel. I once received an order from a big transport company. The banks were closed and I could only offer a cheque. I was my supplier’s biggest customer but he refused to take a cheque from me. I immediately realized I needed to source alternative methods of getting my diesel.”
With outrageous ambition, Otedola approached the new management of the depot, which was worth $4 million, and offered to buy it for $20 million.
“I contacted Zenith Bank, sold my pitch on the venture and how we would finance it. I had a meeting that barely lasted 10 minutes with Jim Ovia (another billionaire on the FORBES rich list); he believed in me and it was a done deal. This was in 2003.”
Soon, Otedola had full control of the diesel supply infrastructure with his company, Zenon Petroleum and Gas Limited, holding 91% of the market. It turned out to be a great business decision. He set up a transport and shipping company in line with the logistics attached with diesel supply – F.O. Transport and Seaforce Shipping. At a stroke, he took control of the entire chain. He went further to diversify into property and buying into a string of other large companies. He was 35; he felt the adrenalin rush and wanted to dominate the market. All this in a mere seven years.
At this point, Otedola’s biggest competitors were oil giants Total and Mobil. Soon, he was setting the diesel price and supplying his competitors.
“While my competitors were sleeping, I was busy strategizing. I was liberal too. My strategy was: high volumes, little margins. I was very excited at this point. However, I knew that at some point the government would fix the power issue (diesel is mainly used for generators during power cuts) and I needed to move a step forward.”
In what proved a wise move to cushion the business, Zenon bought a 28.7% stake in African Petroleum. Zenon invested aggressively across the financial sector becoming the second largest shareholder in Zenith Bank, largest individual shareholder at United Bank for Africa (UBA) and many more banks in Nigeria. As the banks sought share capital, following a new directive from the reserve bank, many approached Otedola. He rolled the dice in the knowledge he was playing safe.
At that time, Zenon was very solvent and the largest diesel importer in Nigeria. It invested a lot of money in African Petroleum with Otedola increasing the shareholding from 28.7% to about 55%, at a cost of $400 million. Then, the worst happened – the crude oil prices plunged from $146 to $36 in 2008.
“We took a very big hit and I lost about $1.5 billion, plus interest, in the process. When the oil prices were dropping, I saw it all coming. I could see myself losing big money. I had diesel worth $400 million on the high seas. It didn’t look good. I’m a capitalist though. It was great while the money was rolling in. Now that I lost so much, it was also time to face the tune. It was a very low time for me and I explored different options, including suicide, but ultimately, I knew I had to solve this problem. My debts had to be paid.”
“The same banks that had once sent pretty sales ladies to get money from me for their accounts in the past were now sending tough looking men to knock at my door to get me to pay my debts in the mornings. The only people I’d credit at this point were my wife for her great support, Jim Ovia of Zenith Bank and Segun Agbaje of Guaranty Trust Bank who understood the situation and offered a restructure of the loans for ease of payment. I was however determined to pay it all up and move on. The banks sold the debt to Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria. It was a total of N200 billion
($1.2 billion).”
Otedola separated his personal fortune from his business, so Zenon was bankrupt but he wasn’t. AMCON bought the debt for $867 million. They valued the Zenon assets, Otedola’s property company and existing assets. He added some cash and there was a court settlement. He had also started selling his bank shares, before the big plunge. It dragged on for four years.
“The most important lesson I learned, is that no one is invincible. No matter how high up there you are today, you can lose it all tomorrow if you’re not on top of your game. I also learned that being a good entrepreneur does not necessarily make you a good business manager. I learned to keep my hands off managing and leave it in the hands of experts.”
Today, Otedola describes his approach to business as very risk averse and content. Having sold all the Zenon assets to pay his debts, he shifted his focus to African Petroleum which had to go through restructuring.
Otedola’s fingers were burned and he was going to be tougher this time around. In 2011, a complete overhaul saw him sack all staff at African Petroleum, albeit with a handsome severance package. In the restructuring, African Petroleum became Forte Oil.
“I also made a decision not to run the business as I had failed at running it well. I then brought in a crop of fresh young talented guys to take over. I wanted fresh, brilliant minds and ideas. I wanted to build an institution based on the best corporate governance practices; a whole new direction.”
Forte Oil owns about 500 retail outlets across the 36 states of Nigeria. Its audited half year 2014 results show growth. Its revenue grew by 33% to $511.18 million as against the $385.03 million in 2013. Contributing significantly to revenue, for the first time, is the company’s power generation segment from Amperion Power. Under Nigeria’s power privatization program, it acquired the 414MW Geregu plant in Kogi State. Overall sales costs increased by 30% to $453.39 million from $348.20 million in 2013. Gross profit surged by 57% to $57.79 million from $36.82 million while profit before tax grew by 152% to $26.92 million from $10.68 million.
Alongside recovery in underlying business performance, exposure to the power sector acted as a catalyst for a rise in the share price at Forte Oil. The company has aggressive ambitions and is on the brink of a big deal.
On returning to the FORBES list, Otedola says: “It is good to be back and is simply an indication of how well we are doing.”
On family, he says: “I’m extremely dedicated to my family. They come first at all times.”
Speaking of family, Otedola’s daughter is on the way up through turntables rather than oil barrels. Florence Otedola, one of four children who is also known as ‘DJ Cuppy’, plays and produces music on the dance floors and flies around the world to spin the tunes.
“Cuppy is a very smart young lady who will go places. She has done very well and is currently in the United States for her Master’s program. She is very talented at her DJing. It is her passion and I have no choice but to support her. I want my children to follow their respective passion and I’ll support them to the best of my ability.”
Otedola believes Nigerians are enterprising and therein lies the country’s strength. He detests the bad light in which Nigeria is often seen and hopes for fairer reporting that celebrates its successes as well.
“I’d like to see a Nigeria with about 50 Dangotes,” he says on Nigeria’s future.
As the FORBES list welcomes Otedola back, he is looking towards a brighter future and increasing his $1.2-billion wealth. He may have made a small slice of FORBES history by making a billion, losing it and clawing it back. Either way, he is burned, humbled and bouncing back – w

“You Can Lose It All Tomorrow”

Rich Africans may make their money in Africa, but enjoy spending it in London. After all, London has it all. Nobody is going to be imprisoned because their face no longer fits. The legal system is fair and what’s yours remains yours. Best of all, London has a world-class financial system, which is quite happy to take an African’s wealth and grow it for them. Even with a first-world tax system, London boasts 45 billionaires, making it the world’s fourth richest city.
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<h4>Education</h4>
For successful Africans, nothing is more important than educating their children for future success. Britain is rather good at this, and school is where you make friends and contacts for life. It defines your social status. A recent Tatler article on wealthy Nigerians highlighted Florence Otedola, the 20-year-old King’s School-educated daughter of Femi Otedola, one of Nigeria’s richest men. Boarding fees for King’s in 2014-15 are $55,700, and according to Tatler, Nigerians spend $500 million every year at British universities and schools such as Benenden, Wycombe Abbey, Cheltenham Ladies’ College, Eton, Harrow and Bradfield.
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<h4>Concierge service</h4>
Rich people employ a concierge business to open doors in London, and rich Africans are no exception. Veronica Voronina is CEO and Founder of her own concierge business, The Anonymous, which has a number of wealthy African clients. The idea is to allow the superrich to plug into a network of excellence.
“Our database is our best asset. We source the best of everything – doctors, lawyers, property agents, party planners, nannies, restaurants, hotels, even the best diamonds,”
says Vorinina.
It’s all about price and quality.
“Rich people didn’t get rich by wasting money.”
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<h4>Houses</h4>
Many wealthy Africans have business interests in London. So, even if they are only there for a few weeks a year, Africans like to buy. The preferred areas are Knightsbridge, Belgravia, St John’s Wood, and Kensington and Chelsea. The most controversial development is One Hyde Park in Knightsbridge, described as the most expensive residential development on earth. One apartment reputedly sold for $230 million. Several billionaire Africans have bought there, but few live there; it is an investment not a home. Upper-class Londoners, priced out of their natural habitat by international interlopers, are said to be increasingly unhappy.
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<h4>Hotels</h4>
Africans fly around the world in pursuit of business deals and the hotel they choose to stay in often defines their social status. The most prestigious hotels to namedrop are the grand old London hotels, The Lanesborough, The Dorchester and Claridges. The Royal Suite at Claridges will set you back around $82,000 per week. And of course the Mandarin Oriental in Knightsbridge is the quintessential business hotel chain. Younger entrepreneurs may prefer boutique hotels like Andre Balazs’ Chiltern Firehouse hotel. All reek of exclusivity.
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Shopping
Wealthy Africans love to shop. Their favorite stores in London are Harvey Nichols, Harrods and Selfridges. It’s a well-oiled world of shopping by appointment, private openings, personal shoppers and trips to private shopping departments, as well as limousines and drivers to carry the shopping home. The shopping company Premier Tax Free reports that Nigerians account for 46.3% of total African sales in London and the fastest-growing region for international sales in Britain this year has been Africa, whose spend has grown by 45% year on year.
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<h4>Experiences</h4>
The Beatles sang money can’t buy you love. But according to concierge company, The Anonymous, money can buy pretty much everything else. One client, convinced the world was coming to an end, decided to splash out. Alongside gas masks and copious quantities of food, they wanted the best, no expense spared, holiday ever. A private jet was hired for a three-week trip around the United States. Helicopters flew the family over the Grand Canyon and New York. The client splashed $25,000 on the illusionist Criss Angel and then went to Universal Studios in Florida on a VIP pass. Hopefully the holiday offset any disappointment that the world still exists.
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<h4>Private jets</h4>
For mere mortals, travel is conducted by commercial plane and train. For the uber-wealthy transport is done by private jet. And if you don’t own one, you charter one. Charter companies like Little Blue will fly you to Paris for the weekend for around $20,000. Nigerians don’t just use private jets to carry themselves; they take their lifestyle with them.
“If someone wants basic food &#8211; milk, bread, cheese, yogurt – I’ll go somewhere, like Whole Foods, and pick up the employer on the way to Farnborough (a small airport on the outskirts of London), load it on the plane and send it off,” says Ansema Fagapona, who works with rich families.
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<h4>Superyachts</h4>
Yachting is as much about the exclusive lifestyle as it is about owning a boat. With it comes access to a world beyond the reach of mere mortals. For those who can afford it, glittering European destinations like Monaco, Cannes and the azure seas of Sardinia beckon, and few luxury experiences are better than being on a yacht.
To order a new superyacht at one shipyard, tycoons need to put their names on a five-year waiting list. A weekly charter of the stunning 65-metre superyacht, Imagine, at $710,000 per week may be the preferred option.
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<h4>Celebrations</h4>
What is better than going to an Akon concert with friends to celebrate your 16th birthday? How about a private Akon gig? Did I mention that the 15 friends were all flown to a private island near Dubai, transported in limousines and given Michelin-star catering? Wealthy Africans certainly know how to party. And if you would like to treat your wife on your wedding anniversary, why not hire the renowned Cipriani’s Italian restaurant in Mayfair for a night. You and your beloved can be the only diners on the night, with Beverly Knight on vocals  to add a special touch of romance. Ahhh.
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<h4>Polo</h4>
Polo is famously the sport of kings and was introduced to Lagos in the 1930s through the Lagos Polo Club. Today, in Britain, you will find oil and gas supremo Kola Karim playing polo with Prince William and Prince Harry at Andrew Lloyd-Webber’s private estate, and at Cowdray Park, the best polo ground in the country. The Veuve Clicquot Gold Cup is the most prestigious competition and Nigeria’s Prince Albert Esiri has competed several times. A team of four players, each with a dozen or more top polo horses, would need millions of dollars to play a sing

How Africans Splash Their Cash

It’s hard to determine Sol Kerzner’s net worth due to his complex web of properties, consultancy fees, dividend income, tax havens, and public and private interests. What’s clear is that he’s sitting pretty in retirement.
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His is a story with humble beginnings.
Born in August 1935, in Troyeville, a rough part of Johannesburg, Kerzner was the youngest of four children. A couple of years later, the close family moved to the nearby Bezuidenhout Valley. While in Johannesburg, Kerzner’s parents, who were Lithuanian immigrants, ran a café and he gives credit to his eldest sister for raising him since his parents were busy seven days a week.
Kerzner was not the best student, more of a boxer, preferring sport to books; he is surprised he made it through school without a problem. His father sent him to Damelin College for his last two years of schooling, where there was no sport to distract him.
He went to the University of the Witwatersrand to study accounting, not knowing what else to do. After graduating, he moved to Durban to do his articles at a top firm. His parents had taken up a lease for a 50-room residential hotel in the coastal city. Kerzner convinced his dad to buy another, down the road, that had a liquor license. He would work there at night, while keeping his day job as an accountant. This gave him his first taste of the industry in which he was to make his fortune.
At night, they would change the light bulbs – and the mood – in the dining room, playing some music to create a spot where the revellers and sailors could unwind. It’s a place Kerzner says was far from five-star but definitely interesting.
In 1962, things were going well for Kerzner. He was a junior partner at an auditing firm and was offered a chief financial officer job at a big industrial company. Instead he bought the lease of the Astra Hotel in the backstreets of Durban.
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“I can’t tell you exactly why, I just got the urge to give up the profession [accountancy] and actually get involved in the hotel [business].”
While he was saying his goodbyes, one of his clients, Herald Franckle, asked why he was doing this when his career in auditing was going so well.
“I’m going to build South Africa’s first great hotel,” Kerzner said.
Kerzner had been receiving brochures from holiday destinations like Miami and Hawaii, and looking around Durban he realized South Africa wasn’t in the same league.
“I’ve always had confidence that South Africa should be able to do as well as any other country.”
The Astra Hotel was just a test run to get a feel of things, complete with dinner club and cabaret to draw in a crowd. He ultimately wanted to build in Umhlanga, a few kilometres north of Durban, because he used to take his girlfriends there and thought it was a ‘nice spot’. Trying to get his vision across, and prove he wasn’t crazy, Kerzner drove Franckle to the spot he had in mind and hooked himself an investor.
At the end of 1963, the designs for his big project in Umhlanga were complete and the bulldozers were on site. But Kerzner had never been abroad, so in November he flew to Miami, via New York. After checking in at the hotel, Kerzner asked a cab driver to show him every hotel in Miami Beach. The trip lasted from midday to 2AM the next morning. By lunchtime the following day, he was back on a flight to New York and recalls hearing about John F. Kennedy’s assassination while he was in the elevator. When Americans were weeping, he spent the night in New York looking at hotel lobbies
and restaurants.
He was convinced his designs were as good as what he had seen in the United States. Kerzner recalls articles in the Sunday Times calling him crazy and over capitalized. He was in his twenties and little worried him. His bet paid off and turned out to be exactly what South Africans were waiting for.
In 1964, the 88-room Beverly Hills Hotel, boasting uninterrupted views of the Indian Ocean, became South Africa’s first five-star hotel, with a R1 million price tag at the time.
The Elangeni Hotel in Durban was bigger and attracted a lot more financing since Kerzner now had some credibility. While he was building it, South African Breweries approached him and together they founded one of South Africa’s largest hotel groups, Southern Sun, now Tsogo Sun. Kerzner later founded Sun International.
A casino license was to prove a spur. A concession was up for grabs in Bophuthatswana, an independent homeland of the apartheid regime. Kerzner and his team won the concession with a warning to deliver.
This became Sun City, a renowned resort around 150 kilometers north west of Johannesburg. The four hotels, two Gary Player-designed golf courses, manmade lake, artificial rainforest and entertainment center took about 10 years to complete. When the resort first opened in 1979, the place was so overwhelmed the doors had to be locked. The estimates of 2,000 day visitors were way off with almost 15,000 turning up that first weekend. Kerzner laughs about how he had to come out with a megaphone to turn people away. The 6,000-seater Entertainment Centre opened with Frank Sinatra in 1981, in breach of the cultural boycott imposed on the country.
“He [Sinatra] walked in, he got on stage and he started singing with the orchestra and he stopped after a few bars and said ‘Sol, I’ve played all over the world… I’ve never played in a room with the sound as what you’ve created here, this is the best room I’ve ever worked in.’”
Kerzner sold his stake in Southern Sun in 1983 and a deal to sell out of Sun International was finalized in 1992. He left South Africa for London in 1987 to break into the international market as he felt he had reached the ceiling at home. It was tough because of the negative feeling towards South Africa at the time. Sentiment changed after Nelson Mandela’s release from prison in 1990.
Two months after his release, Mandela’s office called Kerzner to discuss a meeting. It took place at Kerzner’s Johannesburg home and was about his relationship with the then president of Bophuthatswana, Kgosi Lucas Manyane Mangope, and Zulu chief, Mangosuthu Buthelezi. Mandela wanted to create a united South Africa and wanted Kerzner’s help.
When Kerzner asked Mandela about his thoughts about the controversies surrounding Sun City, the then future statesman said he thought it was great that a young man was creating thousands of jobs out in the countryside.
The business was not easy. Kerzner had to face bribery allegations. In the late 80s there was a long investigation into an alleged R2 million bribe to Transkei‘s prime minister, George Matanzima, for exclusive gambling rights.
Kerzner soldiered on to build award-winning international ventures that include Atlantis Paradise Island in the Bahamas, the One &amp; Only Resorts and The Palm in Dubai.
The Bahamas adventure began when Kerzner was approached by an investment bank to see if he was interested in American entertainer Merv Griffin’s bankrupt Paradise Island resort. He bought it in 1994 and launched into a major redevelopment and expansion program – demolishing the entire front and creating a nearly 60-hectare aquarium that allows you to walk under the sea. The resort ran throughout the construction with cheaper rates, scaffolding and all.
Paradise Island became Atlantis when the Governor General’s wife came over for tea one afternoon, heard the plans and said it sounded a lot like the lost city of Atlantis.
The response was great and occupancy high. Michael Jackson wanted to see it for himself. His tour of the water habitat ended in a mob of tourists taking pictures and getting autographs, none of which fazed Jackson or his bodyguard.
In 2002, the One &amp; Only Resorts were launched in tourist destinations. In 2009, the $128-million, six-star and seven-story One &amp; Only in Cape Town’s V&amp;A Waterfront opened six months ahead of schedule.
Located on Dubai’s manmade Palm Jumeirah is The Atlantis Palm Dubai, a $1.5–billion and 1,539-room joint venture between Kerzner International Holdings Limited (KIHL) and Istithmar World, a private equity and venture capital arm of Dubai World Corporation. Home to a seven-hectare waterpark and 65,000 marine animals, it survived a fire in its lobby before its $20-million opening. Being the biggest opening the company has ever had, a lot of the money was committed before the global financial crash, so the show went on. It featured impromptu performances from friends like Stevie Wonder, Michael Jackson and Natalie Cole, as well as fireworks by the same company that lit up the Beijing Olympics.
Istithmar bought out Kerzner’s 50% stake in the resort in 2012 and sold it last year to the Investment Corporation of Dubai (ICD), the emirate’s sovereign wealth fund.
Kerzner historically had no capital and relied on financing and strategy, and as a result his ventures had always been financed conservatively. This policy changed in 2006. His son Howard ‘Butch’ was chief executive officer and told him it was a great time to go private. The markets were great and everyone was doing it. The company was taken private in a reported $4 billion buyout; a $2.6 billion mortgage to finance this came at a most inopportune time.
The global recession led to a decline in leisure travel. The situation in the Bahamas was bad. The group also had to face the threat of competition from Baha Mar, which had found a new financial backer and builder in the Export-Import Bank of China and the China State Construction Engineering Corporation, and was being built less than 10 miles away from Atlantis Paradise Island. Brookfield Asset Management held a small piece of the Kerzner loan, $175 million, and went into debt restructuring talks – converting the debt into equity. Brookfield took ownership of the Atlantis and One &amp; Only Ocean Club in the Bahamas, as well as a 50% stake in the One &amp; Only Palmilla, in Mexico, but KIHL held on to long-term management contracts for
the properties.
In 2006, when Butch died in a helicopter crash in the Dominican Republic, Kerzner took two weeks off to figure out if he would take the helm again. This was in the midst of building phase three of Atlantis. It was work that eventually helped him through that difficult time. It was then that he knew it would never be a family business.
“He was one of the few sons who was able to stand up in terms of talent to a great father, and you don’t see that much in my business,” Donald Trump once told the Los Angeles Times about Butch.
The ICD purchased a significant, yet unspecified, stake in KIHL for an undisclosed amount; Kerzner stepped down as chairman and was replaced by Mohammed Al Shaibani.
There is no question in Kerzner’s mind that there are still some investment opportunities in Africa’s hospitality industry. He believes that Africa has opened up and is a whole new ball game.
Although Kerzner has retired, he’s not ready to sit around and do nothing. He is involved in a joint €790-million bid for Club Med with Andrea Bonomi, a former chairman of Banca Popolare di Milano.
During his career, Kerzner planned to open hotels in Zimbabwe and built Chobe Game Lodge in Botswana. He recalls taking in Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton for what was to be a two-day visit. When Kerzner got back to his friends two weeks later he found out that not only had they not left, but had decided to get married on the banks of the Chobe.
A 50-year career has its fair share of mistakes.
“In business, if you’re going to be successful and do things that are a little out of the ordinary, invariably you’re going to make mistakes.”
He just tries to avoid the very big ones and has had too much fun to do much differently. One missed opportunity was turning down an offer to be the first person to get involved in a gambling operation in Macau. Another big mistake was going private.
“It’s not only all about how much money you would have made and what you would have got. It’s about having a little bit of fun, being able to create things.”
The part of the business that excited Kerzner most was creating it all and watching it come to life. He feels that his intricate involvement in the design process is part of the reason he has succeeded.
When you are this enthused by what you do, it’s hard to balance work and family. Kerzner has been married and divorced four times, has four children and 10 grandchildren. He feels blessed to have the family and friends he has and admits that he perhaps got a little too carried away with his work.
After a quashed unauthorized biography, we can only hope for a sanctioned one giving greater insight into this private yet well-known personality.

The  Five-Star Millionaire

From the heart of the Lower Zambezi National Park hundreds of miles from a town or on the streets of Lusaka, the name Mark O’Donnell is as common in Zambia as the Victoria Falls or Mosi Beer. On the streets they call him the Mall Man; the Zambian who made his fortune building places to stay and shop. In business, he is known as a ruthless strategist who wants to make money and cannot make it fast enough.
“Zambia is a small market but it’s a growing one, at six to seven percent a year, for the past 14 years. The economy of the country has grown much bigger. We’ve been fortunate to make investments when the time was appropriate… we just wanted to build a shopping mall,” says O’Donnell.
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O’Donnell is a born and bred Zambian and has walked a meandering path to riches.  At 18, O’Donnell was selling auto parts for someone else. But he dreamed of being an entrepreneur. Times were tough in the 1980s, when private money struggled in a socialist state run under tight regulations. Strangely, at a time when there was little to buy, he thought that malls could be just what Zambia needed.
“It was very difficult to do anything in Zambia. Ninety percent of the country was controlled by the state. You would drive around in Lusaka and all you would see were queues of people lining up to buy whatever commodities were in the stores. There were a lot of hardships,” he says.
This hardship led to riots and ushered out the 27 years of power for Zambia’s president Kenneth Kaunda and its policy of control. Frederick Chiluba led his Movement for Multiparty Democracy in the elections in 1991 on a ticket of free enterprise. Despite the freeing of the economy for private business, things got worse for O’Donnell. Private business was shrinking by the day.
“In the 1990s, business was pretty bleak. We were just plain contractors at that point, and we were just trying to find work. It was almost impossible to get regular types of work, so we had to be innovative. We had to figure out how we were going to make projects. So we went and designed our own projects,” he says.
O’Donnell decided to build a mall to keep his business running. Despite his fears, the Arcades Shopping Centre was built in 2003 and brought in a number of South African franchises, putting Zambia on the map for investment.
“Many people wondered why we were building a shopping mall when the market seemed like it was struggling,” he says.
It brought fame to the farthest reaches of the country, even to the far flung bush of the Lower Zambezi National Park. Hundreds of kilometers away, Joshua Chizuwa, who has been a game ranger for more than 40 years, has heard of him.
“I used to work as a construction worker for him during breaks from the bush a long time ago. O’Donnell was as a hard businessman, ruthless in his deals. I have seen his buildings rise and Lusaka has grown from his ventures. He’s changed the face of Lusaka,” says Chizuwa.
According to Trevor Simumba, a Zambian-born managing director of the Sub-Saharan Consulting Group, within Lusaka O’Donnell is regarded as a progressive businessman who saw the liberalization policies of the MMD in the nineties as an opportunity rather than a challenge.
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“He was very helpful to me when I was starting my career in the consulting field. At one point during a very difficult career transition, Mark said to me ‘Trevor it is always darkest before dawn’. This simple but profound statement helped me through and I always tell myself that whenever I face a challenge. Zambia is privileged to have Mark doing his business in Zambia. We need more role models like this in business in Zambia,” says Simumba.
O’Donnell also went into the hotel industry. It was a failed game lodge that saw O’Donnell go big. He negotiated a deal with Africa’s largest hotel group, Protea Hotels, a chain that has been targeted by Marriott International.
The first hotel O’Donnell built was in Chingola, in northern Zambia’s rich Copperbelt Province. He says it was a disaster.
“We opened it in the same week that Anglo American pulled out of Zambia. It wasn’t the best start to a hotel chain. There was zero occupancy for a couple of years,” he says.
It has taken 13 years of fighting back to expand seven more hotels. He is currently building his eighth in Lusaka, next door to his mall.
As the largest owner of hotels in Zambia it makes sense that O’Donnell wants tourism to boom. Until recently, he has been critical of the government’s efforts to encourage visitors. Tourism currently accounts for a mere 2% of Zambia’s gross domestic product. In August, the government announced a turnaround strategy to increase this to 7% in line with neighboring Zimbabwe. It has won over O’Donnell.
“You are talking about an industry that needs to double in size over the next five to 10 years. Our current arrivals are about 900,000 a year. If we take out non-tourist visits, we are probably looking at 300,000 tourists. I think what we would like to see that number grow to about 600,000 high spending visitors. We need to increase the visit to arrivals in Zambia. That’s our first priority. To raise Zambia’s profile in the key source markets and increase interest to come into Zambia either through leisure tourism or for business travel. Certainly both components have interest,” says O’Donnell.
Tourism in Zambia is difficult. O’Donnell says a ban on Zambian aircraft by the European Union (EU) has discouraged North Americans and Europeans.
“The agents won’t book internal flights due to insurance reasons. It’s purely to do with some technicalities that the EU won’t deal with, with our civil aviation authorities,” he says.
But his greatest challenge lies with Zambia’s marketing. According to O’Donnell, 60% of wealthy foreigners in North America, Asia and Europe have never heard of Zambia.
“Our customers demand a high quality sort of product. Just because this is Africa it doesn’t mean you can’t offer top class products to the market. Zambia is generally unspoilt, an environment untouched by commercialization. In some places in Africa you would find 20 minibuses around a lion, this doesn’t happen in Zambia. You can’t compare what we have with London and New York, but you have something different,” he says.
In a city that was little more than dirt roads, O’Donnell had a dream that many struggled to envision. Where people queued for hours to get their hands on commodities he saw malls with refrigerators. Today, O’Donnell’s buildings run alongside tarred roads and Zambians are eager to see what his next dream will be.

The Mall King And His New Toys

It’s refreshing when you come across a foreigner passionate about Africa. The continent has become the new big market for multinationals all over the world. But Ewan Cameron, CEO of Lonrho Hotels is not jumping on the bandwagon, he’s had his sights set on Africa for a long time, and not only for business, he’s also ardent about the continent and its people.
“My interest in Africa came at an early age, I’ve always been interested in the people and the culture,” says Cameron.
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Cameron has a long history in the hotel industry though he’s only 39. Born and raised in Glasglow, Scotland, he started out waiting tables and cleaning rooms at the Swallow Hotel and Conference Centre in Dundee, while he studied Business Sciences at the University of Dundee. After graduating in 1992, the Swallow Hotel Group offered him a position as front house manager of the hotel. His keen interest in hotel management won him a transfer to the Glasglow Swallow Hotel, where he became the business development manager. Then the United Kingdom’s two biggest hotel groups, at the time, Thistle Hotel Chain and the Forte Hotel Group, noticed him. Cameron went with Forte, because of its international exposure. Thistle is the biggest hotel chain in the UK but had no hotels outside the region. Forte has hotels all over the world. Cameron’s portfolio included some heavyweight clients like UBS, the Ford Motor Company and PricewaterhouseCoopers. He later took over new business development at Forte. In 1999, Forte bought the Holiday Inn franchise. And in 2002, Cameron moved over to head up franchising. This is where he got his real feel for Africa. He travelled extensively overseeing operations in the Middle East and Africa. Cameron worked closely with Southern Sun, which at the time was running some of its hotels under the Holiday Inn brand. But in 2008, Southern Sun cut ties with the Intercontinental franchise and dropped the use of Holiday Inn.
Cameron also decided it was time to cut ties.
“I tried for years to convince Forte to expand in Africa, but they were not interested, they wanted to expand in Asia and the Middle East, I wanted to grow Africa. I drew up a strategy for Africa and Lonrho liked it,” Cameron recalls. The Lonrho Group has been operating in Africa for over 100 years. It is invested in luxury hotels across Southern Africa. It also runs airlines and is involved in the agricultural sector. The group took Cameron’s strategy and made him CEO in 2010. Since then, he has wasted no time in implementing his ambitious plan. Lonrho has partnered with easyHotel Group to roll out 50 new hotels by 2016.
“There is growing demand in Africa especially for the business traveler,” notes Cameron. Lonrho has five-star luxury hotels in 16 countries in Africa. The group is now moving towards building more business-friendly hotels.
“These hotels wouldn’t have the luxury that our high-end hotels offer, but they’re comfortable for the business person going on a quick trip,” he says. His strategy is to open hotels with a fresh and modern design. They will offer all the services a businessperson needs, like a conference venue, gym facilities, a coffee shop for meetings and full Wi-Fi. Hotel managers are also being trained.
“Our managers should be able to link travelers to local businesses and help link them to potential clients and vice versa; the hotel needs to become a one-stop shop,” he says.
The new low-cost easyHotels have opened in some countries with rooms from $35. In June, Lonrho opened a hotel in Gaborone, Botswana. Another hotel opened in Beira in Mozambique in July. There are plans for new hotels in Nairobi in Kenya, Dar es Salaam in Tanzania and Accra in Ghana.
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Later this year, Lonrho will also open its first hotel in South Africa in the Johannesburg city center. The hotel will be situated outside the new Gautrain rail link from O.R. Tambo International Airport. In recent years, several international hotel groups have opened hotels in the affluent Sandton area, but not many have ventured into the city’s center.
Cameron is not one to follow the herd; he believes that not everyone travelling to Johannesburg wants to go to Sandton. He is also not too worried about going into areas that pose political and social risks. Lonrho recently purchased a second hotel in Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). For decades, the country has been torn apart by war and civil unrest. This has not deterred Cameron who believes there’s rich tourism potential in the country’s capital. Cameron is certainly a risk taker but he does his homework and says he has an exit plan for every hotel the group owns. He works closely with the Mckinsey research group for facts, figures and other data on Africa. According to Mckinsey research, the DRC will be the fastest growing economy in Africa by 2026.
But not everyone has an appetite for risk. Tsogo Sun Holdings, Africa’s biggest hotel and gaming group, is not convinced there is a real demand for hotels in Africa. It already has a strong footprint in Africa with its Southern Sun hotels and feels more confident in South Africa than the rest of Africa.
“There are no volumes in Africa,” says Tsogo Sun CEO, Marcel von Aulock.
“African economies are small and there’s still very little corporate activity to propose new hotels.”
Tsogo recently posted a solid set of annual results. The group raised earnings 39% to R9 billion ($1.1 billion). Von Aulock is also no newcomer to the industry. He joined Tsogo’s finance department in 1999. Ten years later, he took over as the group’s CEO. He believes he understands the hotel industry and while he does see opportunities for further expansion on the continent, he feels the timing needs to be right.
Tsogo’s approach to the hotel industry differs from Lonrho’s. The group is focused on taking full ownership of hotels; it doesn’t just take over the management and operations.
“We want to own the land the hotel is standing on, we want to manage and operate it and own the brand, and it’s not always easy to do that. But we are not about taking the easy approach,” adds Von Aulock. The group recently closed its famous Southern Sun Grayston Hotel in Sandton after 30 years, because it didn’t own the land. The tenants raised the rent and Tsogo felt it was no longer feasible to remain on the property.
“This served as a lesson for us, that’s why it is more important now that we stick to our business model,” says Von Aulock.
But he concedes this is one of the main reasons it’s hard to penetrate Africa.
“Land is still a very controversial issue, the operating costs are very high. If we build a hotel in Africa, we have to set up our own power generation, our own water purification and sewerage systems—it requires a massive cash injection,” says Von Aulock. This is where Tsogo and Lonrho differ. Lonrho takes over existing hotels, rents the properties and provides the management and operational expertise to run the business.
Tsogo has also done well with its gaming business in South Africa, but says it has no plans to open casinos anywhere in Africa.
“Again there’s no market for gambling in Africa. The South African market is very different—our casinos here are doing very well, even in tough economic times, there’s still spending capacity in South Africa, not in Africa, there’s no middle-class in Africa and unfortunately that’s where the spending comes from.”
But Tsogo Holdings is not staying away completely. It’s still positive about future growth and says it will continue to look for opportunities. It owns 95 hotels in southern Africa, most of which are four- and five-star hotels. But last year, it ventured into the business traveler market opening a two-star StayEasy hotel in Lusaka, Zambia. The hotel is a nice fit for corporate travelers looking for tourist activities. It is attached to a shopping mall, another strategy Tsogo is exploring.
“We want our guests to have quick and easy access to any services they may need,” says Von Aulock.
Tsogo has also taken over distressed hotels successfully. The group recently bought The Grace in Johannesburg’s northern suburb of Rosebank for R85 million ($10.12 million). The iconic boutique hotel closed its doors in August last year after the operating company ran into financial difficulty. Tsogo Sun has spent over R20 million ($2.4 million) on refurbishing the hotel. The new 54 on Bath hotel opened its doors in July.

Staying In Hotels

There is an old adage that says people who live in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones.
But the good news is you can live in a glass house and make money. Hidden in the hot Kitengela plains of Kenya is a 30-year-old factory that uses recycled glass to transform homes, hotels, offices, churches, museums and other buildings into spectacular sights.
Kitengela Glass is located on the outskirts of Kenya’s capital and borders the Nairobi National Park. The factory stands out like an oasis in the desert. It’s home to glassblowers, glasscutters, artists and sculptors who turn the recycled glass into amazing works of art.
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The studio is owned and run by 68-year-old Nani Croze. A muralist turned glassblower, Croze has been in the business for over three decades. “I am still a German, although I feel completely Kenyan. I am waiting to be given an honorary citizenship,” she says. Croze came to Africa with her first husband in the late ’60s. “We studied elephants in the Serengeti. We planned to go back after four years in a VW van we had converted for our three children. But by that time, my eldest son had grown too big to fit into the van, so we decided to stay.”
Her scientist husband got a job at the University of Nairobi, where he taught animal behavior. The family lived in Limuru, in the highlands, in a rented home. When the owner died, the house was sold to people who felled the trees in the compound. “I decided to look for somewhere with no trees so I could plant my own and no one would be allowed to cut them down,” says Croze. The search for land took them to Kitengela, an environmentally protected area where her husband had previously worked.
“He went to Geneva for a conference and his colleague said: ‘Excuse me, Dr Croze, I think you have a tick on your neck!’ We were living in the bush and he could not take it any longer.” Divorced and with three children to bring up, one of her architect friends advised that she try her hand at stained glass. “I was not going to make enough money to pay for my children’s education painting murals,” said Croze.
She went to the UK for a three-week course. She was told she would need 30 years to learn. So she learnt through experience. “The major milestone for us was that importing colored glass is very expensive, heavy and fragile—it breaks very easily. So I thought, ‘Why don’t we make our own?’ Slowly, we built a furnace with the help of a Finnish glassmaker, and I started collecting waste glass.”
Croze soon discovered that not all glass was compatible as it melts at different temperatures. “It took a long time but I am happy we invented glassmaking in East Africa!” Croze’s son, Anselm, joined her and now does his own glassblowing. She credits a Dutch Catholic priest in Uganda for teaching her some of the tricks of the trade. “I visited him because he also made stained-glass windows in the 1970s. He made his own lead and tools and imported glass from France. He showed me how to make glass in the bush.”
Kitengela Glass prides itself on being the pioneer glassmaker in East Africa. Glassmaking traces its roots to Egypt and part of the Middle East in the second millennium BC. “To my knowledge, glass was never made in East Africa. My interest is in a new craft for East Africa—making glass from recycled glass. We make colored sheets for stained-glass windows locally. We import only what we cannot make.”
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From waste glass, Kitengela produces vessels—anything that can hold a liquid—bowls, flower vases, tumblers and glasses as well as sculptures, jewelry, chimes and chandeliers.
But Kitengela Glass is perhaps best known for making dalle de verre (French for glass blocks), a new technique of making stained glass. “My work with dalle de verre can be seen in various buildings in Nairobi like the Barclays Plaza, CFC Bank and the American Embassy canteen wall. Dalle de verre is popular with banks because it is secure—made of thick glass, concrete and metal reinforcing.”
Used bottles and waste window glass are taken to Kitengela Glass to be smashed and melted before they are blown into vessels, beads or flat glass or cast into dalle de verre blocks. The difference between dalle de verre and stained glass is that dalle de verre is an inch thick and set in concrete, with metal reinforcing for stability. Traditional stained glass is much thinner and can be painted and fired. It is attached piece by piece with strips of lead which are soldered at the corners, then puttied for stability.
“I made traditional stained glass long before we started melting glass. I realized the cost and difficulty of importing colored glass and therefore started to make our own.”
Croze compares glassblowing to flying an airplane. “You must do it all the time to be good at it.” She is currently working on a major project that involves making a centerpiece mural from dalle de verre for a new Catholic church in Tanzania. “The foreground in the lower section is to have images of creation like the savannah grassland, the acacia tree, some footprints to represent Africa as the cradle of mankind and above this will be a scene of the Holy Spirit hovering over the earth.”
Dalle de verre is also used for making staircases, tables and memorials. “We made a memorial in honor of Dan Eldon, a Reuters correspondent killed in Mogadishu, Somalia. The memorial has a lens, representative of his profession, in glass. It looks nice when the sun shines through. Glass needs light from the opposite side.”
Kitengela Glass also decorated the Kenyan home of the French billionaire businessman, art dealer and racehorse breeder, Alec Nathan Wildenstein, who died in 2008. Croze is presently making a memorial piece for Kenyan Nobel Laureate, Professor Wangari Maathai.
“Our handmade glass is like the early medieval glass with bubbles and striations. No-one knows about medieval glass anymore. It is like the taste of tomatoes: people have forgotten what an organically grown tomato tastes like,” she says.

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