The Tourism Recovery Programme was a training, mentoring and financial support programme launched by enpact and the TUI Care Foundation. It´s designed to help travel & tourism entrepreneurs in Egypt, Mexico, Kenya, South Africa and Tunisia build resilient, sustainable tourism businesses and recover from the challenges of the pandemic.
Where did the programme take place?
The COVID-19 pandemic brought unprecedented challenges to the tourism industry. In destinations around the world, the absence of travel affected the livelihoods of millions of people working either directly or indirectly in the tourism sector.
The Empowering Entrepreneurship Initiative was therefore initiated by enpact e.V. to provide direct support for entrepreneurs in emerging markets.
The Tourism Recovery Programme was the third programme of the Initiative and supported 415 small and medium enterprises operating in the tourism value chain in Egypt, Mexico, Kenya, South Africa and Tunisia. The programme launched in August 2021 and closed in June 2022.
Stories from the supported businesses
Project Partners
How does the programme benefit the participants?
Which industry sectors are represented?
How were businesses selected?
The programme received over 2000 applications in total. All applicants underwent a rigorous, three-step selection process, which included:
- An automatic filter which screened all applicants against the fundamental eligibility criteria of the programme
- An evaluation process whereby two experts from enpact and the TUI Care Foundation graded each application according to the selection criteria
- An online, 30 minute interview with a programme manager from enpact and a tourism expert from the TUI Group
Criteria for businesses to be accepted into the programme
Programme Timeline
Support from TUI Group
The TUI Group provided an invaluable contribution to the training and mentoring components of the programme through their tourism expertise. All participation from TUI employees was offered on a voluntary basis.
The Berlin Landing Pad
The ‘Berlin Landing Pad’ was an additional component for 15 of the travel and tourism businesses which excelled during the programme.
It included 26 workshops, networking events and pitch sessions to help them increase their knowledge about market access and internationalisation and develop links with the German and wider European market.
The project ended June 2022.
About our Partner Organisation
Enpact
The non-profit organisation enpact supports entrepreneurs and their ecosystems in the context of economic cooperation and development. Founded in 2013, enpact’s goal is to strengthen entrepreneurship in emerging economies.
They work with entrepreneurs and support organisations across all stages of their journey to develop ecosystems in Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe, Middle East and Latin America. Their approach is based on entrepreneurial thinking, which combines capacity building, financial support, mentoring and network development.
Through entrepreneurial support, enpact facilitates sustainable growth of entrepreneurs and their teams.
Through organisational support, enpact fosters the development organisations and individuals that promote entrepreneurship and economic growth.
Since enpact was founded in 2013, the organisation has grown to over 50 employees at locations in nine countries.
