African specialist OTA Wakanow to make UK its sixth market

African specialist OTA Wakanow to make UK its sixth market

A leading African online travel agent is poised to launch later this month in the UK. Wakanow will provide a “one-stop-shop” for travel to Africa. Continue reading

A leading African online travel agent is poised to launch later this month in the UK. Wakanow will provide a “one-stop-shop” for travel to Africa.

It says it will offer a diverse range of competitively-priced flights and hotels for key destinations including Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, South Africa, Tanzania, Seychelles, Mauritius, Zimbabwe, Uganda, Democratic Republic of Congo, and Gambia.

Wakanow describes itself as the only online travel agent selling Africa run by Africans.

It states its mission is to “extend the African warm welcome to its customers and provide hassle-free travel to destinations across the continent”.

An online and offline hybrid company with offices throughout Africa it offers on-the-ground support including airport transfers, guides, visa-processing and protocols.

The Wakanow name is derived from the Nigerian pidgin English expression meaning ‘Go Now’.

Wakanow operates DestinationsAfrica, a specialist booking platform aggregating holiday packages to over 23 African destinations. The packages will cover key themes including romantic getaways, spiritual holidays, cultural trips, wellness and spas, safari and adventure.

Wakanow is the brainchild of Nigerians Obinna Ekezie, a former NBA professional basketball player, and Ralph Tamuno and was founded in Nigeria in 2008.

Following rapid growth, it is now targeting rapid global expansion with the UK becoming Wakanow’s sixth market. Further expansion is planned for 2017 in Uganda, Rwanda, Senegal, Ivory coast and Tanzania.

Ekezie said: “We are delighted to be launching into the UK market, a decision which follows our insight that an increasing number of bookings on our Nigerian portal were coming from the UK.

“It is therefore a natural progression for Wakanow to extend into this market and we are delighted to be able to offer something different to UK customers when it comes to travelling to Africa.

“Through DestinationsAfrica we will leverage our vast knowledge of the African space and wealth of untapped destinations to create exclusive travel products that offer fresh experiences for our customers.”

To mark the UK launch Wakanow is offering special flight fares to key destinations