Capitalizing on Africa's Beauty

The Washington Post has an interesting article today on the booming tourism industry in African countries like Tanzania.

Depending on what the situation requires, Fay Amon can say "Hello" in French, "Thank you" in Dutch and "Welcome to Arusha!" in German. He can say "How are you?" in Italian, "I have nothing" in Spanish and "Where are you from?" in Japanese.

One challenge in promoting the safari industry is ensuring that it is environmentally sustainable. Through its Equator Initiative - which promotes sustainable development in tropical countries - UNDP has launched Equator Ventures,

an innovative development and investment initiative capitalized by grants and loans from resources in the public and private sector. Its mission is to provide a “blended” offer of debt finance and enterprise development support to viable small and medium sized biodiversity businesses.

Because developing countries often lack a strong banking system and other capital sources to turn good business ideas into good businesses, Equator Ventures acts as a venture capital fund for innovative businesses like WildLife Adventures that have created jobs for thousands of people around the world. Learn more.