Building Kenya’s Luxury Hospitality Industry, Nairobi’s Creative Economy, and the Future of Tourism with Shamim Ehsani

[00:00:00] You're listening to the Unlocking Africa podcast. So we started developing Tribe with my brother when we both moved back from Boston where we studied and that was in 2003 and took about five years to develop. Our aim from the beginning was to have Nairobi feel like more of a destination rather than a stopover and that we've seen has started to change as well.

[00:00:24] If these concepts are being so well accepted around the world, then how can we create something that's truly African for Kenya? There's so much richness in what Kenya already has and heritage and really trying to showcase that. Stay tuned as we bring you inspiring people who are unlocking Africa's economic potential.

[00:00:46] You're listening to the Unlocking Africa podcast with your host, Terser Adamu. Welcome to the Unlocking Africa podcast where we explore the ideas, innovations and strategies that are unlocking Africa's economic potential. My guest today is Shamim Ehsani, co-founder of the Tribe Group, the force behind Tribe Hotel in Nairobi, Hero Bar and the upcoming Tribe Beach House in Califi.

[00:01:16] But this isn't a conversation about hotels for the sake of hotels. It's about how hospitality becomes economic infrastructure, how art, food and culture translate into commercially viable, globally competitive businesses. And what Kenya's evolving lifestyle economy can tell us about where the country is heading next. Let's welcome Shamim to the podcast. Shamim, welcome, welcome, welcome to the Unlocking Africa podcast.

[00:01:46] How are you? Thank you so much, Terser. Doing well, thank you. Thanks for having me on your show. Oh, it's a pleasure to have you on the show. As always, I like to get straight into the podcast, start from the beginning. So I was hoping you could give us a brief introduction into who Shamim Ehsani is. Of course. So it's a multi-layered answer. Originally, our family's from Iran.

[00:02:09] And so we're Persian and my parents moved to Kenya before I was born, just when the revolution started in Iran. So that sort of formed a lot of my identity, who I am, you know, and where a lot of my ideology comes from as well, just from our family background and our moves to Kenya. But yes, I grew up in Kenya. I was born in the US and I spent most of my life here.

[00:02:35] You've spent most of your life in Kenya, but how much of your life has been actually dedicated working within the hotel hospitality industry? So we started developing Tribe with my brother when we both moved back from Boston, where we studied. And that was in 2003 and took about five years to develop the concept and all the plans and everything. And then finally opened.

[00:03:02] So since then, that was in 2008 when we opened. And so, yeah, 18 years ago. Fantastic. So I guess working within the hospitality industry has given you an insight, not just about hospitality, but how hospitality hotels have a wider impact within the communities. Because I know when people think about hospitality in Kenya, they often default to, say, safaris.

[00:03:28] But from your perspective, what role do you believe urban hospitalities in cities like Nairobi actually play in the wider economy? I think the impact over here is significant. When you look at the level of jobs that we're creating and the level of income that it gives people who work with us, it supports not only them and their immediate families, but their wider communities as well.

[00:03:56] You know, and having been in the business for 18 years now, we've seen people who have stayed with us throughout that time. And they've put their children through school. They've supported their extended families with the jobs that they've had. And some of them have gone on to greater things as well. As you mentioned, the planning started in 2003, but you officially opened in 2008 to fill a gap in Nairobi's luxury market.

[00:04:26] So looking back, what problem would you say you were trying to solve, whether that's economically or culturally? Sure. I think when we looked at the opportunity, we saw that no hotels had opened in Nairobi for 30 years. So it was a bit of a sale market. It was very much based on traditional hospitality, even colonial style hospitality, very white glove service, very subservient.

[00:04:54] And that's something that we really wanted to break away from. We wanted to present something that was more representative of the city that we were in, something that spoke to the arts, which is a very big part of the values of our family as well. We're very engaged in the arts. And so something that probably that would really embody the culture of Nairobi, as well as the art scene,

[00:05:19] and bring a fresh take to hospitality so that it wasn't this subservient attitude anymore, whereas what we wanted to present was more of a service attitude of being in hosting guests as you would friends or family who are visiting you. You touched on something quite interesting there in terms of positioning the service, not so much almost like a subservient service-led offering,

[00:05:48] also incorporating culture and arts. Would you say that approach has almost changed the style of clientele or guests that you would attract compared to some of the other hotels? It has for sure. I think we've definitely appealed to a sort of younger global traveler, sort of the jet set mindset, who didn't really have options in Nairobi previously. And our aim from the beginning was to have Nairobi feel like more of a destination rather than a stopover.

[00:06:17] And that we've seen has started to change as well. And not only that, but I think the service culture in the city has become less formal and still at a very professional and high level, but not as rigid and formal as it used to be. Which actually leads me to my next question, because I know you've described hotels as part theatre, part game theory.

[00:06:42] How would you say that framing changes how you think about hospitality and the overall economic infrastructure? I think in many ways, I say it's like theatre because it is putting on a show and we're very much directing a sort of choreography in a way.

[00:07:06] So everything's a balance between finding the right level of being approachable and still professional, being worldly, but still holding true to our culture and representing Kenya. And these are all factors that play into how we do the business and what also appeals to the guests when they come visit us. Going back to something you mentioned about the type of clientele, that it's a lot younger, dynamic, jet setter type of clientele.

[00:07:36] I know the tribe sits within a diplomatic and commercial hub where there's agencies, embassies and multinational businesses nearby. How does that positioning shape the type of tourism or value chain that is attracted or associated with the hotel group? So I categorise it in two different types of business. There's the business that we seek out and the business that seeks us out.

[00:08:03] And the business that seeks us out is very much to do with our immediate area. The people within the one square mile of where we are situated in Nairobi, which is a diplomatic district. And so those are people that come to us because it's a convenient location, because it's a luxury product. And then there's the clientele that we seek out, sort of culturally minded. They're looking for an experience that's local.

[00:08:30] They're looking for something that has to do with the arts and they appreciate the arts. So those are the two travellers that we sort of work with at Tribe. And they seem to coexist quite well. With that in mind, from your experience, where would you say hospitality creates the most downstream economic impact, specifically in Kenya? So tourism in Kenya supports about 10% of the economy, of the GDP.

[00:08:59] So in general, that's a very big part of the economy for Kenya. You know, our responsibility we see is sort of staying up with making sure that we're paying fair wages to people, that they have opportunities beyond what we provide through our training. And, you know, the professional on the job training that we do will give people opportunities beyond what we can offer as well.

[00:09:27] And so that's really our focus with what we're doing with our organisation. We've talked about it from the employee perspective. So if we look at it from the guest perspective, I know only a small percentage of your guests are visiting Kenya, say for safaris. So what would you say that tells you about how Kenya's tourism economy is evolving or changing?

[00:09:51] Well, it's refreshing, actually, because Kenya has finally understood that to succeed with tourism, it needs to be a more multilayered approach. So they can't just rely on this romanticised vision of safari in Africa that's been supporting the industry for the last 40 years. You know, there are other places that are doing well in that space as well. But Kenya has so much more to offer.

[00:10:16] Kenya has its beaches, it has Nairobi, it has cultural tourism, it has shopping, healthcare. And these are all things that Kenya is now focusing on to create a more multilayered approach to supporting their tourism efforts. You mentioned Nairobi, so would you say Nairobi is probably still underestimated as a global city? Very much so. But people are starting to see it as a global city more and more.

[00:10:44] Especially with the dynamic food and beverage offerings that the city has, and all the cultural events that we're hosting over here now. You know, the number of art galleries that have opened in the past few years. It's all creating this landscape that really makes it a much more dynamic city, a much more livable city for people who are here, but also an attractive place for people to visit from the region and also from outside of Africa.

[00:11:12] So following on from what you said about the arts, the culture, I know a defining feature of Tribe is how deeply art and culture are embedded into the business model. I think I read that you feature over 900 works of African art. So how do you think about art not as just decoration, but as value creating assets inside such a commercial enterprise?

[00:11:36] So from the beginning, we wanted it to be a platform for the arts and not in a sort of cliche Disneyland decor kind of way, but more expanding that more into how can we get involved in film, in fashion, in music. So we regularly have concerts in our lobby.

[00:11:58] We work very closely with an organization called Ghetto Classics, which trains children and students on music and instruments. And it's taking children from one of the slums that is closest to area, one of the informal settlements that's closest to Tribe, and teaching them music and really giving them an opportunity through that. So we work very closely with them. We have concerts very regularly in our lobby.

[00:12:27] We have international artists that come before. We also have an annual fashion show, which is actually coming up this weekend. Oh, wow. And that's been running. This is the 15th year that we're doing it. And, you know, just having a consistent feature for the fashion calendar in Nairobi has really been important in establishing Nairobi as a fashion destination as well.

[00:12:52] I know that many African businesses, they do struggle to monetize a culture without diluting it. How do you go about translating local identity into something that is globally competitive and still maintaining the true identity? So for us, the cultural part has never been about making money. And in fact, we have a policy where we don't make money from any of our events that are to do with the arts.

[00:13:20] So anything that we raise through the fashion show or through the concerts is given back to the community, either through an organization or, you know, as a fundraising initiative. So it's never really been about the cultural value. It's been more about the DNA of the company, the DNA of our culture,

[00:13:40] and who we want to be as a promoter of the arts and a real supporter of all the different creative visual arts as well. Interesting. As you mentioned, you never make money from the culture. So how would you say that philosophy shapes guest experience and also the impact on the local creative industry?

[00:14:03] So we've seen a lot of people get their leg up or their first sort of their first main stage at Tribe. And that's something that's really been a source of pride for us. Whether it's been models who, you know, it's their first walk on our Tribal Sheet fashion show, and they get recognized from that and they get big exposure and global opportunities from that.

[00:14:29] Or fashion designers who've gone from doing their first show at Tribe to then doing New York Fashion Week or LA Fashion Week, which has happened in the past as well. So these are things that are really creative impacted. We've always wanted to sort of spotlight talent and seek out people who are maybe lesser known in the Kenyan landscape and find a way to give them a stage for their art.

[00:14:55] I think from my experience, art usually tells one story about an economy and food and nightlife often tell another. And I know Nairobi has quietly become one of Africa's most interesting food and beverage cities. What would you say this evolution signals about economic growth or consumer behavior? Well, Nairobi people love to go out and spend money on dining.

[00:15:23] So it's been quite a natural progression for the economy to sort of move in that direction. And certainly there's a big service culture here as well. So what we've seen is very interesting concepts that have come up, and it's sort of transformed from being very outward looking, where, you know, we saw a lot of Italian restaurants, for example, or concepts that were coming from outside of Kenya.

[00:15:50] And the transformation that's happened in the last five years has really been much more inward looking, looking at what ingredients and dishes and recipes and things that are available locally and how they can be presented in a new dynamic way. And that, I think, says more about the cultural shift in Kenya than anything else, is that it's gotten to the point where it has its confidence in itself,

[00:16:20] where it's not trying to imitate or mimic things from outside, but it's really creating new concepts from within. Interesting. What would you say has been the catalyst for that more inward looking approach? I think there's a level of pride that has been across Africa through music and certainly through more exposure of the culinary arts as well. You have great chefs across the continent who are doing incredible things.

[00:16:49] Some of them have gone on to do great things in markets like London or Paris or New York as well. And that's been sort of an inspiration for people over here saying, well, if these concepts are being so well accepted around the world, then how can we create something that's truly Kenyan, truly African for Kenya? I'd say the focus of the market has changed,

[00:17:13] whereas before it was always looking to cater for the foreign palette, you know, the European palette or the North American palette. And now with the increased sort of spend that's coming from Kenyans, everyone's trying to appeal to the Kenyan market, the indigenous Kenyan market. And so that's sort of the recognition that that's really where the value is in the market and understanding that that's who we need to cater to,

[00:17:41] not to a tourist that comes in once every 20 years or once every 10 years, but really catering to the people around us. So that realization, I think, was the catalyst that brought us to where we are. So with that in mind, in terms of catering to a more local taste, I'm assuming you've seen a shift in demographic in terms of the customers, more local customers rather than international customers? Absolutely. Yeah.

[00:18:08] I mean, the percentage of Kenyans who visit our Jiko restaurant, for example, which is our main restaurant at Tribe and it's sort of our flagship restaurant, which has an African-inspired menu. And it's, I'd say, about 85% local business now, whereas before we mainly cater to the hotel guests and international tourists. I'm assuming with the more local uptake,

[00:18:36] there's a lot more consistency or sustainability in terms of guests and business? Absolutely. But it's been an interesting balance sort of finding that space and finding ways of interpreting it for the palate that's sort of more local. And so when we opened Hero almost six years ago now, we realized that the Kenyans don't really love sushi. The idea of raw fish doesn't want to appeal to Kenyans.

[00:19:03] I mean, I love sushi, but most Africans don't like the idea of raw fish. Exactly. So we had to adapt our menu. And when we created the menu, we kept that in mind. We said, well, what can we create with local ingredients and with cooked fish that will really appeal to people? So it has a strong element of shellfish on the menu and cooked ingredients that are more palatable for Kenyans and less of the raw ingredients that you'd normally see at a sushi restaurant.

[00:19:32] So we've taken sort of the format of the sushi roll and made it our own in the way. Brilliant, brilliant. So I'm assuming with this success that you're having with your different venues and ventures, are you seeing any competitors businesses or copycat type of businesses that are popping up? Oh, for sure. I mean, we take pride in that because it's something that we want to sort of be a source of inspiration.

[00:20:00] We don't look at it as people trying to mimic us or copy us. We see it as how we're changing the landscape. So when GECO opened, that was the first African-inspired menu in a five-star hotel in Kenyans. And now we see several hotels across the city that have incorporated African menus into their restaurants. So that's something that's a source of pride for me. I don't see it as a bad thing

[00:20:28] or as people trying to copy us or seal our spotlight. I see it as us shaping Nairobi into something that we want to create, which is something that sees pride and value in what's local. And with that success comes growth and with growth comes expansion. You now have Tribe Beach House in Khalifi. What economic opportunity do you see in Kenya's coast that remains untapped?

[00:20:56] I think there's a huge opportunity over the Kenyan coast. You know, it's such a beautiful coastline. There's so many beautiful places and towns and cities across the coast. And it's really been underserved by hospitality concepts. There are very few that would stand sort of on an international level in terms of hospitality concepts.

[00:21:23] And so we want to sort of revolutionize that space, bring more attention to the Kenyan coastline, create opportunities there, and also hopefully inspire some more growth along the Kenyan coast as well. So that Kenya is known for its beach destinations and not just for its safaris. And what lessons would you say you've learned from the work you've done in Nairobi that is relevant for second cities

[00:21:51] and also coastal regions across East Africa, Kenya? A lot of it has to do with building community. And that's something that I think we achieved quite well when we started Tribe, is really bringing in the creative community especially and giving them a platform that wasn't oppressive in any way, wasn't trying to take advantage in any way, but just really looking out for the best interests

[00:22:19] of the artistic and creative communities in Kenya. And so taking that to secondary cities, we'd look at how to incorporate the value that's naturally inherent in those places. So whether it's through craftsmanship or storytelling or other creative aspects, how can we build a community of people that will surround it?

[00:22:46] And a big focus of that property will be wellness as well. And so looking at the wellness practitioners in the area and how can we bring them together and give them a home in our property? Fantastic. So stepping back from hospitality and I guess looking at some of the broader lessons here, for entrepreneurs building Africa facing globally relevant brands, what would you say is the hardest balance to strike?

[00:23:16] I think the balance will be to find the space where you're operating at an international level, but still showing the pride and the dignity of the African cultures. So really presenting Africa as something that has inherent dignity and not trying to impose a concept that's from outside to the continent because that just feels like it's forced

[00:23:45] and doesn't feel like it has a place in Africa anymore. I think there's so much beautiful color and texture and textiles and fabrics and design that's coming out of Africa that incorporating that into your business is sort of a recipe for success, I think, over here. And if we look at it from more the financial investment side, what would you say are some of the mistakes that investors and developers make when entering African hospitality or creative spaces?

[00:24:15] I think culturally there's differences in the way that Kenyans operate and I'm fortunate to have lived here all my life so I have some understanding of how things operate over here. But we've seen concepts that are trying to impose sort of a different standard, a Western standard to Kenya and it doesn't get adopted very well. And that's, I think, a pitfall of companies that are looking to invest in Africa

[00:24:43] who come in with sort of an almost condescending approach and not trying to learn what Kenya has to offer, but trying to impose what they know on Kenya. I think that's the wrong approach. I think to approach the landscape with humility and understand that there's so much richness in what Kenya already has and its culture and its ingredients and its heritage

[00:25:11] and really trying to showcase that more than trying to present it in a Western way. Fantastic. And if we look ahead, look to the future, say in the next five to 10 years, what would you say success looks like for Kenya's hospitality or creative economy going forward? I think in five years, we'll see more interesting concepts coming up. You know, there's so much innovation coming through from young chefs,

[00:25:40] from fashion designers, musicians. And I think what success will look like is when Kenya starts exporting those concepts around the world. And I see that as something within reach, whether it's culinary ideas and concepts, restaurants opening up in other parts of the world and really taking Kenya and its culture to the world. I think that'll be a success story that we can enjoy in five years.

[00:26:09] And what contribution do you hope Tribe will make to this change? We're trying to do our part through the restaurants and bars as well. The Hero Bars currently ranked the number one bar in Africa on the world's 50 best bars list. You know, we hope to improve our standing on that list. We hope that inspires other places, other countries, other cities, other bars around the continent

[00:26:36] to reach the great heights that we've enjoyed as well. We've been fortunate that we've had so much recognition for the programs that we've built and the properties that we've put together. And I think now that the lens is focusing more on Africa and people are starting to understand that the continent is so dynamic and presents so much opportunity that I think there'll be more opportunities

[00:27:04] for African businesses to grow into the global landscape. I think previously what we've seen and it's been so controversial is that, you know, for example, Western companies use African fabrics or African text patterns, for example, and don't credit the work of the African people who created it. And I think that's going to start changing because there's more recognition of what Africa is actually building and offering.

[00:27:36] As people, we often have quotes, mantras, proverbs or affirmations that keep us going when times are challenging or when times are good. Do you have one that you can share with us today? I'm not sure I have a mantra that's succinct and elegant or eloquent, but I think it's just the realization that the market always comes back. And, you know, we've been through a lot in Kenya. We've been through turmoil politically.

[00:28:04] We've been through challenges with security and the market here is so resistant. So just knowing that having the confidence that Kenya can rebuild itself constantly and always bring things back really is pivotal for us in our business going forward because we don't want to be held back by inconveniences. We want to keep on being positive

[00:28:30] about the country, about the economy, really realizing that the way forward is African. Shamim, that has been a great conversation and a great way to end today's conversation. We've talked about from urban Nairobi to the Kenyan coast, art, fashion, food, nightlife. I think this conversation shows that when culture is prioritized rather than a afterthought,

[00:28:59] it can also power globally relevant businesses that are rooted in local identity. And that is something that you are doing at Tribe. So well done. Great to hear what's been going on and look forward to hearing more as you continue the journey. Thank you, Tristan. That was a beautiful summary. No, it's been great. It's been great. I really enjoyed that conversation. Thank you. Likewise. Thank you to everyone who has listened and stayed tuned to the podcast.

[00:29:28] If you've enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, share, or tell a friend about it. You can also rate, review us in Apple Podcasts or wherever you download your podcast. Thank you and see you next week. For the Unlocking Africa podcast.