Female Guides Training
Our Female Guides program aims to develop female safari guides through skills training, mentorship, job shadowing, and rotations at African Bush Camps. 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.
About our Project
Our 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, tracking, communication, and patience
We launched our second cohort of female guides in Botswana with a new intake of 3 guides in July 2022. Over the past few months, our female guides have been learning the ins and outs of the guiding industry and are becoming experts in critical skills in wildlife, conservation, safe practices, photography, natural history, tracking, communication, and the mokoro.
We launched the third cohort of female guides in Zambia in March 2023. The growth and expansion of the program to Zambia represents a significant step towards developing female talent in a largely male-dominated industry.
We are hoping to see the launch of female guides in Zimbabwe in the coming years. This will complete our foundation’s vision to have female guides in all three regions in which we operate and develop more female talent in our business and the safari industry as a whole.
Through this project, we are actively contributing towards addressing gender inequality in the safari guide sector by creating access and opportunities for women who are interested in pursuing a career in this field. Our goal is to develop 25 female guides in this community by 2025. We have great expectations for this project, hoping that it will be a catalyst for other safari companies in the area to invest in female talent, opening doors for more female guides to access work opportunities in various regions in Africa.
