24 tourism professionals hold equal shares through Zamara Investments, which owns 20% of AURUM Africa and has board representation and voting rights.
AURUM Africa marked a defining moment in its journey on 22 August when it formally welcomed 24 employee shareholders at a ceremony held at One&Only Cape Town.
Held under the theme “Shaping the Future of Inclusive Tourism”, the AURUM Africa Shareholder Officiating Ceremony brought to life a powerful belief: the people who create exceptional travel experiences deserve to share in the value they help build.
The 24 shareholders each own an equal, direct stake in Zamara Investments, a private company that holds 20% of AURUM Africa. Zamara Investments serves on the AURUM Africa board and exercises voting rights, making the arrangement one of genuine ownership and participation rather than profit sharing.
“This represents far more than a corporate milestone,” said Mohamed “Mo” Baba, founder and Group Managing Director. “Genuine transformation requires us to move beyond rhetoric and establish structures through which people can participate, contribute and own a share of what they build.”
With more than 30 years of experience in African tourism, Baba has worked extensively across ground operations, luxury travel arrangements and complex transport logistics. His track record includes building Ilios Travel, which before Covid-19 employed 255 permanent staff nationally, including 154 drivers and guides.
Baba also founded Travel Black and Africa Calling and speaks on tourism transformation and employee ownership. In 2026, he authored The Extraction Playbook, a free resource sharing lessons from his entrepreneurial journey and how to protect what you’ve built.
Under Baba’s leadership, AURUM Africa has positioned itself as a brand with heart and conscience, combining quality and value to offer discerning travellers authentic, seamless experiences without unnecessary extravagance. The company launched in April 2025 and began trading in June. By March 2026, ten months after commencing operations, it had achieved a profitable trading result – a significant milestone for a new business in an industry where sustainable profitability can take several years.
AURUM Africa currently employs 52 people and expects to reach its full complement of 70 by 2028. The business is also expanding its national logistics footprint through operations in Hoedspruit, Hazyview, Durban, and Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth).
AURUM Africa also forms part of the expanding AURUM Group, alongside Travel Black and Africa Calling, which currently employ 20 people each. By 2028, these businesses are expected to employ 40 and 50 people respectively. A fourth business is planned for September 2027, launching with 50 employees and growing to 100 in 2028. The AURUM Group projects a workforce of 300 permanent employees across four brands by 2029.
The Group’s growth is underpinned by a commitment to inclusive enterprise development and empowering Black women in tourism. In August, it launched its enterprise and supplier development (ESD) programme through its first partnership with Grace Destinations, led by Chantal Groenewald in the Cape Winelands.
“A more inclusive tourism industry will not emerge by chance; it must be designed intentionally,” Baba said. “Through shared ownership, responsible growth and genuine local partnerships, we want to demonstrate that commercial excellence and transformation can strengthen one another.”
The ceremony signalled the beginning of a new chapter for AURUM Africa and its shareholders. As the company looks ahead, it aims to help shape a tourism industry in which those who create value share in it – and in which travel enriches visitors while delivering lasting benefits to the people and places that make each journey possible.