Travelstart appoints New Country Manager

Travelstart, an online booking startup, has announced Philip Åkesson as its new Country Manager for Nigeria, effective June 1, 2016. Akesson will be based at Travelstart Nigeria’s office in Ikeja, Lagos.

According to statement issued by the company, Akesson will be taking over the reins from Andre Van Straaten who has held the dual positions of International Markets Project Manager and Country Manager.

Under Akesson’s leadership Andre will continue to manage strategic relationships with suppliers in West Africa.

Akesson will also be responsible for overseeing commercial and operational strategies for Travelstart Nigeria and spearheading initiatives to grow the brand across the region.

“Philip brings a wealth of experience and we are delighted to welcome him to the Travelstart Nigeria team. As an ecommerce business leader he will be an asset to Travelstart and will bring a depth of practical knowledge that our customers and partners will benefit from,” said Travelstart CEO Stephan Ekbergh.

A Stockholm School of Economics alumni, Akesson was previously a founding member of Konga which has grown to become one of Africa’s largest online e-commerce platforms.

At Konga, Akesson took on various roles ranging from operations, strategy, investor communications, business intelligence and strategic partnerships which equipped him with a goldmine of commercial and online expertise in the region.

“I am excited to start a new challenge within the Travelstart group and look forward to working with the team to expand its presence across verticals in the region, leveraging my experience in the local ecommerce space,” Åkesson said.