EXPERIENCE:
- Founder, Kagera Heritage Organisation
- Founder & Managing Director, Kiroyera Tours
- Chairwoman, Association Of Women in Tourism Tanzania (AWOTTA)
- Founder UWANDAE EXPO
- Global & Brand Ambassador for the African Tourism Board (Tanzania)
- East & Central Africa Director, Women of Value Africa
- Membership Director, Africa (WITIA)
- Head of Human Resource Development in Tourism Training, Education and Public Awareness plus Ecotourism at National level Botswana
- Researcher and Research Supervisor – Senior Environment conservator
- Founder and coordinator of The Tanzania Traders in Services Platform aiming at deepening integration in the East African Community and SADC
- Tourism Development advisor
- Business cluster competitiveness advisor
EDUCATION:
- Master of Science (Msc.), Wildlife & Terrestrial Ecology (University of Dar es Salaam)
- Bsc. Zoology, Biology & Statistics (University of Dar es Salaam)
- Deputy Principal, Botswana National Wildlife and Tourism Training Institute
- Lecturer, University of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
- Tourism business practitioner
- Senior Wildlife Biologist
- Industry coalition leader
Mary has over 40 years working experience in business management, consultancy services, cluster competitiveness, fundraising, human resource development and operational management in the areas of Tourism, Land use, Environment and Wildlife in Tanzania and Botswana. She sits on various Government advisory boards in Tanzania and is recognised within Africa as a female pioneer and innovator in new business practises and sustainable development, as well as being an industry leader in tourism services in Sub Sahara Africa.
She has organised and successfully run more than 60 seminars in the area of sustainable Tourism, Customer Care, Supervisory Development, Operations Management, Cluster competitiveness, Tourism Training, and Tourism awareness seminars for Rural Communities.
Mary currently holds executive management positions in Kiroyera Tours, Association of Women in Tourism Tanzania (AWOTTA), UWANDAE EXPO, Women in Tourism, Women of Value Africa (WOVAFRICA), International Alliance (WITIA) and the Tanzania Platform for Traders in Service.
“Mary’s very personal and collaborative approach is her greatest strength compared to other consultants.”
With a breadth and depth of business experience needed to quickly understand the challenges and deliver suitable solutions to achieve both short and long term objectives, Mary is a highly respected and sought after expert in both locally and internationally.
CLIENTS INCLUDE:
United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)
Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism (MNRT)
Eastern and Southern African Management Institute (ESAMI)
Danish International Development Agency (DANIDA)
Eastern and Southern African Universities Research Programme (ESAUR)
KEY PUBLICATIONS:Mary has published white papers for academic, government, private & public sectors inc.
Lake zone development as a tourist destination: Developing Mwanza as an alternative gateway to Serengeti (2010)
A comparative study of the role of cultural tourism in its economic impact and job creation
Cardno Emerging Markets, Cluster Competitiveness Report (Arusha, Dar es Salaam, Mwanza, Pemba, Tanga and Zanzibar)
Evaluation Study of the Impact of Implementation of the East African Community Customs Union in Tanzania & Common Market Protocol (2017)
CONTRIBUTIONS:Mary is regularly asked by authors to contribute to their published work. The most recent include:
“Community Archaeology and Heritage in Africa: Decolonizing Practice” (2016) by Professor Peter R. Schmidt and Innocent Pikirayi
“The World of Women Tanzania” (2015), a unique insight into the role and contribution of women in their country. Forward by Mary Kalikawe.
2020: Appointed African Tourism Board Brand Ambassador (Tanzania)
2017: Tourism and Leisure sector, Country and Regional Winner awarded to Mary Kalikawe in South Africa by CEO Global
2012: Tanzania Women of Achievement (Business category), awarded to Kiroyera Tours MD Mary Kalikawe
2011: Tanzania Women of Determination, awarded to Kiroyera Tours MD Mary Kalikawe
2007: Tanzania Chamber of Commerce (TCCIA), SME sector excellence Award in “Service & SNV/Zonal Governance award, Tanzania
2006: United Nations HABITAT Mashariki Innovations in Local & GovernanceWinner of Tanzania ZEZE (Cultural Promotion Excellence)
2005: World Bank top ten Pan African Women Inventors and Innovators Award
2004: Millennium Tourism Award
The report was clear, professional, and persuasive, and the investors and advisors who have seen the materials loved them. They know what investors want!
Intellectual rigour, deep knowledge of organizations and a commitment to the communities we work within — for those reasons, Mary is an invaluable partner. Our teams have collaborated to tackle tourism’s most complex human and environmental problems. We couldn’t—and wouldn’t want to — do it without her.