Travelstart has hired Philip Åkesson as Country Manager for Nigeria, effective 1 June 2016. Philip will be based at Travelstart Nigeria’s office in Ikeja, Lagos taking over the reins from Andre Van Straaten who has held the dual positions of International Markets Project Manager and Country Manager.
The ex-Konga executive will continue to manage strategic relationships with suppliers in West Africa, oversee the firm’s commercial and operational strategies for Travelstart Nigeria and spearhead initiatives to grow the brand across the region.
According to Travelstart CEO Stephan Ekbergh: “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.”
A Stockholm School of Economics alumni, Philip was previously a founding member of Konga.com which in only a few years rapidly grew to become one of Africa’s largest online marketplaces. At Konga, Philip 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,” said Mr Åkesson.
