Tourists love the hood

KatuTours, which offers guided tours by bike through the culturally and historically rich township of Katutura, has experienced tremendous growth since it obtained a licence from the Namibian Tourism Board in July.
Anna Mafwila, who has nine years’ experience in the tourism industry, says bookings are growing rapidly and that so far, the feedback has been overwhelmingly positive. “My first 50 clients have been very happy, and I’ve already had some great reviews,” Mafwila says.
The tours commence at Penduka, a craft centre located on Katutura’s Goreangab dam that provides employment and support for disadvantaged women, and takes in the unique Katutura flavours of Eveline street and the Single Quarters Market.
A KatuTour is quickly becoming a must for visitors to Windhoek, who often lament the capital city’s lack of options for tourists. There are also plans for tours to begin in central Windhoek soon.
KatuTours is not just for tourists though, it encourages locals to see their city from a new perspective.
“Many Windhoekers have a very limited experience of Katutura. Our trips make an ideal team-building activity, and I’d love to hear more from local human resources managers to book their staff on our trips,” said Mafwila.
KatuTours was founded after Mafwila and the Bicycling Empowerment Network Namibia (BEN Namibia) discussed the opportunity for a bicycle tour business in Windhoek. It was founded with an Innovation Fund loan from the Development Bank of Namibia. Bicycles have been provided through BEN Namibia from Re-Cycle in the UK and the Institute for Transportation Development Policy (ITDP) in the US.
BEN Namibia is well known for its network of community based bicycle shops and bicycle ambulance projects, and provides ongoing business development support to KatuTours.
“We’re really excited to see KatuTours up and running, and look forward to seeing Anna’s business expand in the future”, said Michael Linke, BEN Namibia’s managing director.