Wellbeing as a lifestyle is the future, and I always believed so.

I’ve been in the wellness industry for the past 15 years, 8 from which here in Africa. This journey into wellbeing fascinates me every single day and I’m so grateful for the love, opportunities, inspiration and sense of belonging that Africa gives me. I first arrived in Ethiopia to lead the start-up of Tilla Health Club in Addis Ababa as a General Manager and through the years, my dedication and knowledge of the Wellness sector in Africa also led me to take over more roles, such as:

– Global Wellness Day Ambassador for Ethiopia (https://www.globalwellnessday.org/ethiopia/ )
– Director of Operations for the Spa and Wellness Association of Africa ( https://swaafrica.org).
– Director Of Sales – Global, for our new line of Cosmetics called “Tilla” (www.tilla.com) that we have just launched in Addis Ababa and are about to launch in Ivory Coast as well.

My approach to Beauty and Wellbeing as a lifestyle is my driving force to try to impact as many lives as possible, and this lately led me to expand my presence in the USA by co-founding “Say Solutions”( www.say.solutions), an innovative consultancy firm that we created to help Beauty and Wellness Professionals identifying weaknesses and finding personalized solutions to bring growth and sustainability to their businesses .

My view of the Wellness sector in Africa.

By being deeply involved in te African Wellness context, I can certainly say that the Wellness sector across the continent is one of the fastest growing worldwide. So far it was mainly focused on catering to the wealthy – and by implication – also tourists, but this is now changing.

There is a working class that is also more aware of wellness and fitness, and which can be tapped into by creating small, low set up cost, low maintenance but good quality facilities with high quality services in rural and urban
areas. Many people across Africa are physically active and participate in sports and active recreation activities for free, even in areas where infrastructure is lacking, and the fitness market is undeveloped. Outdoor gyms within community areas like parks are a growing trend in some parts of Europe and the USA, especially since COVID hit, while Africa is realizing that outdoor fitness has always been part of the culture here, and to utilize city spaces for green parks and Fitness activities will, for example, enhance an historical passion within many Africans which is the “Outdoor Running”, just thinking about all the great Ethiopian Runners, that are the pioneer of this movement by running in the mountain’s fields and winning Gold medals after Gold medals.

Based on that “outdoor culture”, and on the rich heritage of this amazing continent, I believe that the real “Game Changers” for the future of the whole wellness sector in Africa will be the following pillars:

1. Real Feel of “Africa”.
2. Mindfulness and reconnecting with nature.
3. Natural scents and Sounds and the use of Local Natural Products.
4. Wellness Communities

1 – Real feel of “Africa”: Considering that majority of the continent has a great climate for two third of the year, many new wellness establishments are now incorporating the “Real Feel of Africa” to their business model through
outdoor dynamic activities such as Runs, Hikes, Safari, Cycling or other nature related activities that have gained huge momentum lately as more and more people likes to escape in nature rather than be closed into static urban
indoor environments. This applies as well to the Spa sector that is offering more “Outdoor” facilities & services which will take clients to that “Feel the nature” journey and gives them an unforgettable experience.

2 – Mindfulness and Reconnecting with nature: Studies proves that being in contact with nature helps our whole wellbeing, which also reflects into productivity in our workplace. Africa has amazing landscapes and creating
wellness programs and activities that would help locals & tourists “Disconnect from urbanity and development” and “Connect with nature” will be the switch to help the new generations grow with a wellness mindset.

3 – Natural scents and Sounds: More and more Spas and wellness resorts in Africa are starting to explore the possibility to use raw plants and ingredients in services and products, in order to give that organic feeling to clients
that indeed enhances their experience, while using Local Natural Products creates a bridge between community and direct consumer that pays back in terms of brand sustainability.

4 – Wellness Communities. Based on my experience living and working here and also visiting more that 90 countries worldwide, a key difference between the wellness sector in Africa and other parts of the world is the “Sense of Community”, of belonging to a “tribe”, an organization, a facility, a Spa, a Health Club or just a gym itself.

Among all wellness economy sectors in Africa, three of them represent those critical, interrelated environments with highest growth for me :

– Wellness lifestyle real estate and communities,
– Cosmetics and beauty products,
– Tourism with wellness activities (Resorts with Spas & Salons, Outdoor Fitness, Yoga retreats, Historical Sites Visits etc).

“Tribes” is a key word in explaining why, wellness communities are the future in the African Wellness growth as a whole. A large part of the population in Africa still lives in rural areas where Tribes were the communities on which the sustainability of the society was depending on, and considering that population is moving into big cities and middle class is rising, people loves to associate themselves to communities where to network, exercise, work, relax, or just socialize. It helps them keeping that feeling of their youth or what their ancestors transmitted them while growing up, and they apply it to the urban city life.

It is then up to us “Wellness Expertise” to apply this feeling into our businesses and environments which will certainly bring benefits to staff, clients and last but not least the society around us.
We shouldn’t just think of Wellness communities from a client prospective, but we should instead also implement this vision with our employees across the whole continent. Representing that sense of Community by applying simple “Workplace Wellness” practices with the Staff has proven to reflect into high staff retention and brand loyalty and this is the way to make a real impact.

All mentioned are essential components of a “wellness ecosystem” that nurtures a lifestyle of wellbeing and longevity, because the population is starting more and more to consume wellness goods and services in their
homes and communities where they live, where they work, or when they travel. It is proven than, based on my experience on managing “ Wellness Ecosystems” through my projects, that Wellness Communities within employees and customers, starting from a small Spa, to a Wellness Resort, to Health Clubs, is the biggest opportunity in Africa, however the lack of sufficient training, equipment, products and quality of infostructures is the biggest challenge.

Get in touch with Simone Lipari