Airbnb Entrepreneurship Academy

We believe the South African economy can be genuinely inclusive and sustainable, and we want to be a good partner to the government on this work, to help more South Africans to participate in tourism, particularly historically disadvantaged people.

Platforms like Airbnb give anyone, anywhere the ability to earn and increasingly disperse the benefits of tourism beyond tourism hotspots to more communities. The Airbnb Entrepreneurship Academy is a skills development programme targeted predominantly at women and youth in township and rural areas to help them be successful on the Airbnb platform and benefit from tourism.

We also recognize that much work still needs to be done to distribute the benefits of tourism equally. We call on the public and private sectors to work together to address the complex and multifaceted issue that is inclusivity in South Africa and together, to find ways to lower the barriers to entry to ensure that all South Africans can benefit from the tourism economy.

Since 2017, we have delivered 24 in-person training bootcamps reaching over 500 women and youth from 36 underserved communities across South Africa. Our programme is delivered in partnership with public and private organisations, including municipalities, academic institutions and development organisations to jointly address systemic barriers to entry and distribute the benefits of tourism more equally.

The Airbnb Entrepreneurship Academy has been deployed in more than 36 communities around South Africa, including Western Cape, Gauteng, Eastern Cape, Limpopo and KZN. Partners have included Tourism KwaZulu-Natal, the Western Cape Government, Waterberg District Municipality (Limpopo), Limpopo Women in Tourism, Lapalala Wilderness School, Africa!Ignite, Phambano and ABCD Concepts.

The Academy was recognised in 2020 as best practice in Poverty Alleviation Through Tourism by the World Tourism Alliance, World Bank Group, and the International Poverty Reduction Center in China (IPRCC).