Nicolas Bry is an innovation executive at Orange designing places where good innovation thrives. He currently helps 20 innovation managers at Orange Africa to develop their projects locally and mentors African entrepreneurs toward product-market fit.
Previously he created various open innovation programs: innovation with employees (Orange Intrapreneurs Studio), innovation with consumers (Imagine with Orange), innovation with entrepreneurs (Orange African Toolbox).
Incorporating the experience of 40 corporations, he wrote in 2019 The Intrapreneurs’ Factory, a practical guide to leverage intrapreneurship and innovation for your company. Passionate innovation speaker (TEDx) and lecturer (@Google Academy and Tech/Business Schools), ISPIM Prize laureate for innovation management in 2016, Nicolas is the author of the blog RapidInnovation.fr.
PRESENTATION
Christy Tawii is a Research Manager at Euromonitor International. Her role is focused on researching industries such as travel & tourism, retailing, consumer foodservice, digital consumers, and consumer finance in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Prior to Euromonitor, Christy worked on consulting and research projects covering industries such as energy, manufacturing, and mining in Zambia, Namibia, South Africa, Nigeria and Mozambique.
PRESENTATION
For travel retail to stay ahead of the changing wants and needs of today’s travellers, it is not just about making more effective use of technology, but about creating and nurturing a spirit of innovation. This session will explore how companies can collaborate more effectively to ensure they stay ahead of the game.
Delegates will hear from Orange Africa Innovation Booster Nicolas Bry, who has a wealth of experience helping companies in Africa to harness the region’s potential. The session will also hear case studies from travel retail companies aiming to bring fresh ideas to the market in the Middle East & Africa, including Beam Suntory Global Marketing Director Manuel Gonzalez.
Last year in Bahrain, delegates at the MEADFA Conference heard a blueprint for creating a more sustainable and equitable travel retail industry in the Middle East & Africa. Since then, sustainability has risen up the agenda for every company in the travel ecosystem, and the issue’s importance to the end consumer cannot be overestimated.
In this session MEADFA’s Sustainability Lead, Dubai Duty Free Senior Vice President Bernard Creed and Lagardère Travel Retail CEO Saudi Arabia Munif Mohammed will update delegates on the progress made and the challenges ahead.
Africa may be travel retail’s smallest region in terms of duty free sales, but its increasingly affluent travellers are among the highest-spending customers in some airports and on certain long-haul routes. In this session, delegates will hear from some of the companies with experience of catering to African shoppers, and of adapting to their brand and product preferences, motivations to purchase and attitudes towards local and international brands.
Featuring Tourvest Retail Services CEO Clive Jones and Lagardère Travel Retail CEO West Africa Sountou Bousso.
Having witnessed an encouraging recovery in 2022, the Middle East could see international travel return to pre-pandemic levels this year, according to the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO). In Africa, tourism is still recovering but business travel is expected to boost traffic across the continent. This session will look at the latest traffic data and travel forecasts and understand trends & emerging destinations as well as challenges facing the travel industry.
Featuring Martina Bednarikova, Economist and Policy Analyst at leading global airline association IATA; this session will look at the latest traffic data and travel forecasts and understand trends & emerging destinations as well as challenges facing the travel industry.
The opening keynote address on day 2 of the MEADFA Conference will focus on the factors that make the African continent so rich in potential. Award-winning business leader and sustainability champion, and the youngest African to be inducted into the African Leadership Hall of Fame, Roberta Annan is a fashion entrepreneur and the founder of the Africa Fashion Foundation (AFF), created to empower designers and brands in Africa. Born and based in Accra, she will share her insights on building brands in Africa and tapping into the potential of the continent’s consumer market.
