Since its inception in 1991, the Lagos Business School (LBS) has been developing responsible business leaders for Africa and the world, with its hands-on programmes.
Today, individuals, business owners and corporate organizations, who have benefited from the several programmes of LBS, from academic to executive and to short and focused programmes in management and other areas, have better stories to tell.
However, LBS, the graduate business school of Pan-Atlantic University, Lagos, is extending its impact beyond business and management to the hospitality industry.
In view of the above, LBS, which has been ranked among the top 70 business schools in the world, every year since 2007, by Financial Times of London, recently established a hospitality initiative to further its business grooming executive leadership in the hospitality sector.
The LBS Hospitality Initiative, according to Belinda Nwosu, academic director, LBS Hospitality Initiative, is aimed at offering hands-on solutions for hospitality players as well as proactively building a pipeline of local talents for executive leadership in the hospitality industry, starting with Nigeria and to other African countries.
To further the goal, Lagos Business School has been seeking right collaborations for the hospitality initiative.
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One of such collaborations was sealed recently with CityBlue Hotels at the just-concluded Africa Hotel Investment Forum (AHIF) in Windhoek, Namibia, amid commitment to drive growth in the hospitality industry in Africa.
The collaboration resulted in the appointment of Jameel Verjee, founder and CEO of CityBlue Hotels, Africa’s fastest-growing local hotel chain, to the advisory board of LBS Hospitality Initiative alongside industry heavyweights such as Trevor Ward, CEO, W Hospitality and Mossadeck Bally.
Speaking further on the collaboration, Nwosu stated that the Initiative is a platform for developing and growing the hospitality industry in Nigeria and Africa, anchored on four main pillars – Advisory, Engagement, Research, and Capacity Building.
“We are happy that Jameel Verjee accepted to join our advisory board as his skill set, demonstrable resilience, and range of experiences in Africa will benefit our goal to co-create solutions for regional players and proactively build a pipeline of local talents for executive leadership in the hospitality industry,” Nwosu remarked.
CityBlue Hotels, a hospitality and technology business built from the ground up over the last decade across sub-Saharan Africa, has operations in five countries with significant expansion plans. By partnering with LBS Hospitality Initiative, CityBlue hopes to accelerate its expansion into West Africa to complement its plan to open in Accra, Ghana, later this year.
As well, the partnership with LBS Hospitality Initiative will strengthen the hotel’s focus on executive leadership development and critically expand CityBlue’s ESG and governance strategy across sub-Saharan Africa.
On his part, Verjee expressed his excitement at the opportunity to collaborate with the Lagos Business School.
“We are excited to take the next step for our group, both in partnership with LBS Hospitality Initiative and to learn from Belinda and her team. Nigeria has the largest population in Africa and the most potential for knowledge-based, tech-driven growth. This is both an honor and an opportunity for us,” Verjee said at the formalization of the partnership at this year’s AHIF.
Moreover, the partnership between LBS Hospitality Initiative and CityBlue Hotels will, among other things, revolutionise executive development in the hospitality industry in Africa, which aligns with the vision of Lagos Business School to develop responsible leaders to inspire Africa’s growth.
