Givemore Chidzidzi is a Zimbabwean business executive. He is the Zimbabwe Tourism Authority (ZTA) Chief Operating Officer and acting Chief Executive Officer.

Givemore is a holder of a Bachelor of Business Studies (BBS) Degree majoring in Tourism and Transportation from the University of Applied Sciences, Worms, Germany and a Master’s Degree in Business Administration (MBA) in Marketing from the City University, Bellevue, Washington, USA.

He joined the tourism industry straight form university in 1986, starting his career as an Assistant Research and Planning Officer for the then Zimbabwe Tourist Development Corporation. He rose through the ranks of Research and Planning Officer, Research and Planning Manager, Head of the Research and Planning Division and served in the Diplomatic Field as the Tourism Attaché for Zimbabwe responsible for Continental Europe and based in Frankfurt, Germany from 1996 – 2001.

Chidzidzi returned to Zimbabwe as Marketing and Communication Director for the Zimbabwe Tourism Authority and rose to the position of Chief Operating Officer of the Zimbabwe Tourism Authority, a position held since 2010 interspaced with several stints as Acting Chief Executive. In this position, he has been involved in the development of tourism legislation and policy, marketing strategy, destination branding and institutional capacity building, representing Zimbabwe on the Regional Tourism Organisation of Southern Africa (RETOSA), regional initiatives such as the Kavango Zambezi (KAZA) Transfrontier Conservation Area, African Union Tourism initiatives as well as the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO).

He also serves on several Boards in Zimbabwe.Among these are the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Corporation (SMEDCO), Council Member of the Manicaland State University of Applied Sciences (2017 – 2019) and Zimbabwe Tourism Authority representative on the Tourism Business Council of Zimbabwe Board.

On 8 July 2021, Givemore Chidzidzi was part of a six-member interim board appointed by Transport and Infrastructure Development Minister Felix Mhonato stir the affairs of Air Zimbabwe and restore it to efficiency.

Lilly Ajarova is a tourism expert and passionate conservationist currently serving as the Chief Executive Officer of the Uganda Tourism Board (UTB). Popularly referred to as “Mama Chimp,” Ajarova has been recognized for contributing to the Uganda’s economic development through tourism marketing and wildlife conservation and management.

She is a recipient of the prestigious National Golden Jubilee Award, Tourism Excellence Award, Wildlife Conservation Award, Top Africa100 Women in Travel, Africa’s most influential women in business andgovernment among other accolades.

Ajarova has also provided leadership as a member on the advisory committee of Pan African Sanctuary Alliance (PASA) who developed policies, standard operating procedures and best practices for the 22 sanctuaries and wildlife centers in 13 African member countries of PASA. She is a proud Rotarian, mother, mentor, and educator.

Themba joined South African Tourism in September 2019 as Chief Marketing Officer. He is responsible for defining, establishing and driving the South African Tourism brand in the domestic, regional and global markets as well as driving the overall marketing effort in order to achieve the economic outcomes required of the tourism sector from the National Development Plan (NDP).

A seasoned professional with entrepreneurial flair, Themba has held senior marketing executive positions in blue chip companies like Unilever, Coca-Cola, MTN, Cell C and Telkom among others. He also has aviation and tourism experience, having held executive positions at South African Tourism (2003-2006), Airports Company South Africa and South African Airways where he was prior to joining South African Tourism.

A lawyer by training, Themba holds a Bachelor of Arts Law degree, masters certificates in marketing and organizational behaviour, as well as a certificate in Digital Marketing. Themba serves on the board of the Marketing Association of South Africa. Themba is a certified Chartered Marketer and serves as a board member of the Marketing Association of South Africa.

Dr. Kagure, holds a PhD in Tourism Management.

Her areas of interest include Climate change vulnerability, mitigation and adaptation, Crisis management in tourism, Geospatial analysis, tourism governance and regional development, tourism management and marketing and Community tourism development.

Roland Vorwerk is representing the Global Environment Facility (GEF) funded African Nature-Based Tourism Platform which is focussed on facilitating access to COVID-19 relief and recovery funding for communities, nature-based tourism enterprises and conservation areas in 11 countries across southern and eastern Africa.

Previously, Roland was the marketing manager of Boundless Southern Africa for 12 years, raising awareness about southern Africa’s Transfrontier Conservation Areas. During this time he was based in Pretoria at the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment.

In the course of his work, Roland developed close working relationships with stakeholders across the region while finding innovative ways to promote tourism to these Transfrontier destinations. He has worked in a variety of tourism related fields for more than 20 years – as a tourist guide, developing tourism products in rural communities and working on several destination marketing initiatives.

Roland’s current focus is on building greater resilience in conservation landscapes by supporting initiatives that achieve inclusive rural economic development outcomes whilst securing the natural capital of these landscapes. Recent assignments in the Department included leading efforts to develop a national Wildlife Economy Certification Scheme and developing a Biodiversity Sector Investment Portal.

Karen Matsiko is a skilled and savvy banking maven with a sterling reputation for achieving impeccable results. Having successfully grown businesses revenue at Absa Africa by over 20%, Karen maintains the perfect balance between client-focused executive and innovative leadership.

With over 15 years of experience in finance including a tenure on Wall Street managing high-stake portfolios, Karen brings her extensive background to the Trade and Working Capital sectors, a growing need in Africa today.

Karen currently serves as the Head of Working Capital Product Management at Absa Capital, a Pan African Bank headquartered in South Africa. In her current role, she designs and implements the Africa Working Capital sectoral value propositions and customer value propositions to obtain growth and primacy by responsively adapting to the ever-changing regional needs of clients.

Outside of work, Karen serves on the board of Save Our Watoto, an organization that advocates for children’s rights. She is also the Board Pillar lead of the Young Leaders Connect, an initiative of the IWFSA Leadership, and actively volunteers as a youth mentor.

Karen maintains an active presence in several prominent committees, including serving as Vice-Chair of the Employment Equity Forum at Absa, Banking on Women (Absa Africa Group), Elevate New York (Formerly 85 Broads), New York Women’s Foundation, and African Business Networking Group.

Karen holds a BBA degree Magna Cum Laude from Berkeley College and an MBA from Cornell University with a concentration in Emerging Markets. She also has taken several leadership programs, notably at IMD, Switzerland, and Duke University.

Ms. Sisulu was appointed as Minister of Tourism on 5 August 2021. She was Minister of Human Settlements, Water and Sanitation from 30 May 2019 to 5 August 2021. She was Minister of International Relations and Cooperation from 27 February 2018 to 25 May 2019. Ms Lindiwe Nonceba Sisulu was the Minister of Human Settlements of the Republic of South Africa from 26 May 2014 until 26 February 2018.

She has been a Member of Parliament since 1994. She has been chairperson of the Inaugural of the African Ministerial Conference on Housing and Urban Development since 2005. Ms Sisulu is member of the National Executive Committee of the African National Congress (ANC) and a member of the National Working Committee of the ANC. She was a trustee of the South African Democracy Education Trust; trustee of the Albertina and Walter Sisulu Trust; and a member of the Board of the Nelson Mandela Foundation.