Female Guides Program

The Female Guides Program is developing female safari guides through skills training, mentorship, job shadowing, and rotations at African Bush Camps in Botswana and Zambia. The launch of our first cohort in November 2021 was the start of our goal to have 25 female guides in the safari industry by 2025. Previously, more than 90% of the safari guides in the region were male and less than 5% of women received regular training and development to become safari guides.

The Female Guides program is a two-year program that offers theory, practical, and on-the-job training at ABC camps to become a safari guide. Participants undergo four weeks of theory and four weeks of practical safari training with the African Guiding Academy and one week of Mokoro training before they start as trainee guides at ABC. The program provides professional experience in travel and tourism, as well as related fields such as hospitality. Through mentorship and personal relationships, we aim to boost their confidence and build a competent group of female safari guides. Once the program is complete our female guides will be experts in wildlife, conservation, safe practices, photography, natural history, and tracking.