Kasada Capital Management is establishing itself as a major player in hotel development in Africa. With the support of the Qatar Investment Authority and Accor, the private equity platform is working to transform the continent’s hotel landscape through strategic investments, cutting-edge expertise and a strong commitment to sustainability. With a portfolio of 20 hotels across eight countries, Kasada is responding to the challenges of a rapidly changing sector by focusing on innovation, standardization and social impact. Its commitment to ESG standards and its partnership with major events, such as CITHA 2025, confirm its key role in the development of modern and responsible African hospitality. Interview with Olivier Granet, Co-CEO.
Can you introduce Kasada Capital Management and its role in the development of the hospitality sector in Africa?
Kasada Capital Management is the leading independent real estate private equity platform dedicated to the hospitality sector in Africa. Kasada was established in 2018 with the support of the Qatar Investment Authority, the sovereign wealth fund of Qatar, and Accor, a global hospitality leader. In April 2019, Kasada closed its first fund, Kasada Hospitality Fund L.P., with equity commitments of over US$ 500 million.
Kasada’s transforming the continent’s hospitality sector with a world-class, multi-disciplinary team with deep sector expertise and successful track records across investment, construction, finance and operations. Driven by expertise, scale, strategic partnerships and industry networks, and a significant investment pipeline, Kasada is seizing attractive proprietary knowledge and investments ahead of the market.
Kasada leads the way in delivering truly sustainable and innovative best-in-class hospitality destinations and experiences to meet the strong, resilient and fast-growing structural demand in the region that is significantly undersupplied. We have become the largest and most active institutional investor in hospitality in the region and the solution provider of choice.
Our portfolio has grown to 20 hotels with 3,374 hotel keys across eight countries, each hotel is currently operated by Accor, leveraging its diverse brand portfolio and international acclaim. We operate hotels in Ivory Coast, Nigeria, Senegal, Cameroon Kenya, Rwanda and South Africa.
What are the major challenges facing the hospitality sector in Francophone Africa, and how does Kasada address them through sustainable investments?
African hospitality remains a very fragmented, underserved and unbranded sector that is set to continue to grow significantly and consolidate, and Kasada will continue to profitably grow its asset base across key African markets. Dynamic economic growth is backed by an emerging and growing middle-class, stimulating the development of infrastructure such as airports, transportation and communication networks. With the increasing penetration of international brands, implementation of best-in class standards and higher quality of the development pipeline, both international and local demand is expected to support significant growth of the sector.
As one of the largest employers in the region and a significant source of revenue for national economies, the hospitality sector is key to Africa’s successful development. Kasada is committed to ensuring its investments benefit all segments across the local hospitality value chain in Africa by increasing employment opportunities and attracting local, regional and international business and leisure guests to the region. A thriving hospitality sector encourages both continental and international travel, accelerating job creation and income generation for the region.
Why did Kasada choose to partner with CITHA 2025 as a host sponsor, and what do you expect from this event for the industry?
CITHA is a very prestigious event for African Hospitality. As one of the key players on the continent we are pleased to be a sponsor and are looking forward to some insightful panels as well as productive networking.
How does Kasada integrate sustainability and social responsibility into its projects to maximize its impact on local economies?
Kasada is committed to sustainability, leading the adoption of international ESG standards in Africa, and establishing a hospitality-focused ESG standard tailored to the African market, delivering long- term positive and sustainable impact and value to all stakeholders. Across our carefully curated hospitality portfolio, Kasada applies internationally recognized environmental, social and governance standards that are the foundation of our strategic and stewardship approach and embedded in every part of our entire business. Kasada secured a strategic partnership with the IFC through a US$160 million debt facility in July 2021, backing its plan to support the hospitality sector in Africa and instill globally recognised ESG practices in our hotels. We are committed to originating and providing positive sustainable impact and value in the local economies and communities we invest in. This includes Kasada working with our hotels to deliver low-carbon buildings, enhancing motivation, benefits and training for all employees, providing the best guest experiences, reducing consumption of energy, water and resources, and efficient management of resources and waste. We are dedicated to supporting the development of local talent and positively impacting job creation with true career opportunities, helping to transform the lives of our local communities.
Our approach is delivered over several steps:
- First, we have identified ESG focus areas that are material to the activities and projects we invest in, in general, and to the hotel sector as a whole, where we believe we can create positive benefit. These broadly include climate change, DEI and local community developments. Then, when we do an acquisition, we ensure that we screen for each of these areas throughout the investment process.
- Then, post-acquisition, we have identified frameworks, certifications which serve to inform both investors and guests that certain ESG standards are being met. As part of this screening, one of our key strategic initiatives to pursue was EDGE, a green certification method innovated by IFC. Now approx. 50% of our portfolio has been certified resulting in 30-40% utilities and energy consumption savings for brownfield projects and >40% savings for greenfield projects. In 2024, we introduced Green Key; a leading standard of excellence in the field of environmental responsibility widely recognized throughout the hospitality industry. Currently more than 40% of our portfolio has already achieved certification.
- On an on-going basis, we are reviewing frameworks and certifications which speak to the local social aspects, as we remain close to local schools, NGO’s and other social partners.
What is your vision for the future of hospitality in Africa, and how does Kasada plan to continue transforming the sector in the long term?
Home to the world’s fastest growing population, with rapid urbanisation and a strong and growing middle class with increasing spending power, the hospitality sector in Africa has strong, resilient and increasing local and international demand fundamentals, yet is hugely underserved, unbranded and fragmented in terms of ownership. There are significant, attractive opportunities for Kasada to profitably grow our asset base across Africa, further enhance our portfolio diversification and risk profile, and create and deliver further sustainable value and outperformance for investors and all our stakeholders.
The resilience of the African hospitality market has been very impressive despite several challenges for all key market players. In 2024, the market was approaching 2019 levels, driven by some very strong performances in key markets such as Nigeria, Morocco and Senegal, clearly demonstrating the potential of the region. We expect to see further significant growth, for instance from the African Continental Free Trade Area (AFCTFA) helping to facilitate business and travel between different African countries.
What role do major hotel brands play in the development of the hospitality industry in Africa? Some observers believe that these brands rarely take risks regarding land ownership and infrastructure—what is your perspective on this?
Major hotel brands are extremely important for the development of the sector in Africa because they give tourists the confidence that the standards they are used to will be met due to their established global standards and unified product offering. Global hotel brands also set standards on sustainability, which Kasada is always committed to meet, if not excel. The major brands also run training programs enhancing local workforce expertise in place which benefits local skills development through training programs. The global brands also have ambitious sustainability targets, for example a commitment to local sourcing, which also helps the local communities. Currently, Kasada has signed with over 9 Accor hotel brands and the latter is capitalizing on its international footprint and distribution to enhance operational performance. With global hospitality shifting to where ‘live, work and play’ is becoming embedded across the sector, Kasada has strategically partnered with the preeminent co-working platform Wojo under a master franchise agreement to develop, manage and operate this co-working concept across Sub-Saharan Africa.
