Khwela Tourism Stars aims to empower young women in tourism

Khwela Youth Tourism Stars is on a mission to empower young women in South Africa to pursue a career in tourism.

Kim Whitaker, co-founder of Khwela, was one of the recipients of the 2018 Booking Cares Fund which grants sustainable tourism projects around the world. Kim is also founder of Once Travel and an active member of Travel Massive Cape Town.

Kim shares more about Khwela and the inspiration behind the project.

What is Khwela?

Khwela which means “to climb” in isiXhosa language was founded in 2017 in Cape Town. Khwela is a cutting-edge tourism and hospitality organisation that contributes to providing women with jobs.

The program teaches previously disadvantaged women through an experiential learning methodology on how to find the confidence to thrive in a youth hospitality and tourism business.

The program incorporates internationally Swiss accredited online learning platform, weekly group activities, a 3 week road trip through the country, and a 6 month paid internship.

What motivated you to start the academy?

To decrease the percentage of youth unemployment by empowering young women and helping them to succeed in full-time jobs after our training and internship. In 2018, the rate of unemployed young people in South Africa was as much as 40%.

We heard you had some exciting news to share?

In 2018, we applied for Booking Cares fund and after a few weeks of interviews, we were delighted to find out we’d received €150,000 in grant funding to make an impact with Khwela.

Now, Khwela has been invited to pitch for funding in Amsterdam in which will enable the program to create opportunities for even more women in South Africa.

How are you executing your vision of creating an African sisterhood through tourism?

By creating African sisterhood of resourceful women which allows for a deeper level of trust and support between those who are going through the same transformation and learning journey. Also, by giving women the power to create their own future and to show up with a positive outlook despite their challenges.

How can Travel Massive members get involved?

Travel Massive can help in forming partnering through their diverse tourism vision.

Watch the video below to learn more about Khwela:

Follow Kim Whitaker on Travel Massive to connect with her and learn more about Khwela Youth Tourism Stars.