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Africa is such a beautiful continent that I am sure that everyone of us would like to travel and see more of it. However, travel within our beloved continent can be a nerve racking affair due to the restrictive visa regimes, expensive air tickets and general lack of information about destinations within Africa. Also Africans traveling within the continent are often seen as a nuisance rather than a source of income. This has meant that there are no travel packages designed specifically for the African traveler due to the false notion that we don’t have the money to spend.

Wakanow a travel management company is trying to change all this. Wakanow was founded back in 2008 in Nigeria by Obinna Ekezie and Ralph Tumano. This was after Obinna a former professional NBA player in the U.S came back to Nigeria but was unable to book a flight back. He was inspired to create a travel company the served all the travel needs of Africans who were largely neglected. The company which was launched in Kenya earlier this week has grown in leaps and bounds since then. In 2013 Wakanow was awarded the honour of 5th fastest growing company in Nigeria at the AllNigeria 50 Awards organized by the AllWorld Network and the Tony Elumelu Foundation among other accolades.

Here are the reasons why you should make Wakanow your travel partner;

  1. Pay Small Small Scheme

We all want to travel and see the world but our wallets simply won’t allow us. But travel is possible if one starts saving early. However, saving for some like myself is often a challenging affair because I always find myself dipping into the savings every time something comes up. I usually tell myself that I will return the money after I get paid but somehow that never happens.

With Pay Small Small one only needs to pay 25% of the holiday budget upfront and pay the rest within a 6 month duration. Once Wakanow get this money, they top up with their own funds and use it to pay for your desired holiday package as you make your monthly installments. What this does is enable you to take advantage of the cheap prices on flights and accommodation when one books early. So not only does it make it convenient for you to save up for your trip but it also makes it cheaper.

2. Visa Assistance

Getting a visa to some destinations like South Africa can be a real pain. This is due to the numerous questions one has to answer, visits to embassies, statements to name a few. What this service by Wakanow does is to take the hustle of obtaining a visa from you. Just give them the necessary documents and let someone do the donkey work for you as you concentrate on planning your holiday.

3. Travel Sim

Roaming charges while travelling can take the shine out of a holiday especially if you have to call back home on a regular basis. This is because when roaming one is charged for both incoming and outgoing call often at exorbitant rates. However, the travel sim provided by Wakanow takes care of this as the sim allows one to get great roaming rates from as low as 10 cents per minute, free incoming calls while in 72 countries which include the top travel destinations and global data bundles that allow you to surf in peace.

4. Prepaid Travel Card

While travelling out of the country one needs a card that can enable one access money conveniently. However, due to instances of fraud one finds that some of the cards issued by local banks don’t work online or you have to notify your bank in advance if planning on travelling so that they enable payments abroad. You can do away with all this hustle by getting a Wakanow prepaid travel card. The card allows you to make payments anywhere in the world and it can also be used online. An added benefit is that every time you use the card, you get loyalty points which you can redeem to pay for movies, airtime, movie tickets and even pay for your next flight. How cool is that??

5. Destinations Portal

Earlier I had mentioned the lack of information on various African destinations as a hindrance to travel. The good people at Wakanow took up the challenge and created a destinations portal which with all the information that one needs to travel around Africa. The travel packages for the various African destinations are also quite affordable as such you do not have an excuse not to travel and see your continent in all its beauty.