ERTA
African Wildlife Capital, a mission-based investment company has signed agreements with a British-Ethiopian venture to build a world-class boutique hotel in Ethiopia’s Simien Mountains National Park, one of the heritages of Ethiopia inscribed by UNESCO.
Called Limalimo Lodge, the hotel will offer high-end accommodation, tailor-made activities, and gourmet cuisine in one of the most beautiful places in the world, according to a press release the Lodge issued on Monday.
The Lodge, funded by African Wildlife Capital with one billion USD, is scheduled to open in fall of 2015 and bring benefits to area’s wildlife and people
The investment is believed to bring tangible benefits to the neighboring Limalimo community by employing locals to help during the construction phase and work at the lodge once open.
Shifteraw Asrat, CEO of Limalimo Lodge, said together with the African Wildlife Capital, African Wildlife Foundation, and the Ethiopian Wildlife and Conservation Authority, “we can develop long-term, sustainable conservation practices in the Simien Mountains and showcase the potential for well-managed tourism projects in Ethiopia.”
As the lodge draws more visitors to the Park, it will generate ‘much-needed’ revenue through conservation fees for the Authority and establish a financially and environmentally sustainable model for conservation tourism that can be replicated across other parks in Ethiopia, the statement said.
Listed as a World Heritage Site in 1978 by UNESCO, Simien Mountains National Park offers dramatic mountain scenery with a wide variety of endemic fauna and flora, including the Gelada monkey and the Walia Ibex, a type of mountain goat.