PERSONALITY PROFILE
Build trust and keep it Peter Mwanja, 49, managing director of Uganda Safari Chapter (a DMC) and Lasta Events (MICE), Uganda, is a travel enthusiast with three passions: incentive travel, people and writing.
P
eter is a Site Africa board member and is head of the Site Africa Young Leaders. He also sits on the Uganda Association of Conference and Incentive Industry (UACII) board. Mr Mwanja, said: “I have a passion for people. I am curious, an avid reader and a life-long student. My life and work are guided by my personal values: trust, love, warmth, respect, and integrity. It is my fundamental belief that all people are naturally creative, resourceful and whole; it is from this perspective that I coach, train, consult and facilitate,” he said. Where do you see the incentives industry in Africa at present and where do you see it heading in the future? Today, the incentive industry is still untouched in my part of the world. There are a small number of major incentive companies dominating the field, the majority of whom are DMC outfits and not full incentive houses. We must emphasise training and specialisation in incentives as we head into the future. That is on the supplier side. On the buyer’s side, hundreds of companies’ reward staff and customers with a wide variety of incentive products. The focus is on much more than just the sales programmes due to the number of studies that show the power of incentives to drive employee engagement and customer loyalty. The concept of Corporate Social Responsibility has also emerged as a significant element for many programmes. Competition and the economy have added significantly towards the quality of incentive programmes awarded. With Covid-19, there has been astounding growth in all things virtual. Today, we have virtual money, virtual employees, and virtual meetings. As we see it today, virtual meetings could replace up to 70 per cent of internal travel (to and from an organisation’s own facilities) and 10 per cent of external
travel (trips to visit customers). This could lead to an aggregate reduction of 21 per cent in corporate travel spending. Accommodating virtual products and solutions into incentive plans will be an important part of programmes moving forward. The industry remains cautiously optimistic and primed for rebound. What role do you see the African young leaders playing in the incentives industry? Young leaders are the future of the incentive industry. I have had the chance to work with the SITE Africa Young Leaders. I am so impressed by the energy and potential. They totally understand the next generation trends, are technologically smart and are quick learners. SITE Africa is empowering and giving the right opportunities to young leaders so that they will be effective drivers of change. The board encourages participation from the young leaders in decisions affecting them and offering platforms to enhance their skills through networking and education. From this there will come employment opportunities, knowledge transfer and development of strategies for the future, as well as cross-pollination of lessons learnt between the African countries. Where were you born and raised? I was born and raised in Uganda. After school, I graduated with a bachelors degree in marketing. Due to my love for accounting, I took on ACCA and on completion, practiced in the hospitality industry, until my passion for travel took over. I dumped my accounting career to venture into tourism. I did my masters in hospitality management and later an MBA in leadership and sustainability. On the incentive side, I am a CIS and looking forward to my CITP. Where did you begin your career? While on college vacation, I enrolled as a trainee at a government hotel – The Nile
42 Business Events Africa August 2021
Hotel and International Conference Center (now Kampala Serena), and fortunately I was on the room service desk. I was asked to deliver 12 one 1 litre mineral water bottles to the suite where two top officials of East Africa were about to hold a meeting. The president of Kenya – His Excellency Daniel Arap Moi (RIP) was on a state visit to his counterpart, President Museveni. Here I was, with a tray in my hand, and standing at the executive lift when it opened, and there befor me were two presidents that I had never dreamt that I would meet face-to-face. Anxiety and shock hit in. But with courtesy, I was invited to take a ride with my heroes, the two presidents. Not knowing what to do, www.businesseventsafrica.com
