I am Håvar Bauck. Public speaking has become a natural extension of my work across tourism, travel tech, destination marketing, entrepreneurship, investment, and Africa’s digital economy since 2002.

I speak from the operator side. My perspective is shaped by more than two decades of building businesses, opening markets, forming partnerships, and working across sectors where technology, commercial growth, and customer demand meet. That includes telecoms, e-commerce, hospitality, travel, and tourism across African markets. I have been part of the growth of Africa’s digital economy since 2002.

I have lived in Oslo, Brussels, Nairobi, Lagos, and Kinshasa, worked for Norwegian, British, Greek, and Kenyan companies, done business across Africa, Europe, and Asia, and visited 57 countries. That gives my speaking both international range and strong African market depth.

My best-known operating role is as co-founder of HotelOnline, a pan-African travel technology company serving more than 6,000 hotels in 27 countries. That work sits at the intersection of tourism, travel tech, entrepreneurship, revenue growth, and market expansion, which is exactly where much of my speaking is anchored.

Selected Speaking Engagements

I have spoken at major tourism, innovation, telecoms, travel-tech, and business events across Africa.

That includes Africa Innovation Week 2019 in Addis Ababa, where I delivered a keynote on scaling HotelOnline across Africa. It also includes AfricaCom 2020, North AfricaCom 2021, and East Africa Com 2023, where the conversation was closer to startups, digital business, growth, and the wider African technology landscape.

In tourism and travel, I have spoken at the Africa Youth in Tourism Innovation Summit & Challenge 2024, the Africa Tourism Leadership Forum 2024, Africa MICE Summit 2025, and the 4th Global Tourism Resilience Day Conference and Expo 2026. I have also spoken at the Africa TravelTech Summit & Expo 2023, returned for the 2024 edition, and again at the 2025 edition.

What I Speak About

Tourism is one of the core themes I speak about. I am interested in tourism as a real growth sector with serious economic weight. That includes competitiveness, resilience, destination development, product strength, revenue growth, and the practical choices that make tourism businesses and destinations perform better over time.

Travel tech is another major thread. I speak about digital distribution, online visibility, booking, payments, hotel commerce, customer acquisition, and what it actually takes to build and scale travel technology in African markets.

Destination marketing is also a natural part of that conversation. I am interested in how destinations grow when they present a stronger and more complete offer around culture, heritage, cities, business travel, events, and lived experience, rather than relying on standard leisure messaging.

Entrepreneurship and investment complete the picture. I speak from direct experience of building and scaling businesses across Africa, navigating fragmented markets, entering new countries, growing through partnerships, and making the commercial case for scale. That also connects directly to the wider question of where Africa’s digital economy is going, and what makes businesses investable as they grow.

Why Event Organisers Bring Me In

Event organisers usually bring me in when they want a speaker who can connect tourism, technology, entrepreneurship, and investment in a way that is practical, commercially grounded, and relevant to African markets.

I don’t do abstract conference language. The value I bring is direct operating experience from across the continent since 2002, market perspective, and a clear view of how growth is built across real businesses and real destinations. That makes me especially relevant for conferences, leadership forums, investor events, tourism summits, hospitality events, telecoms platforms, and cross-sector gatherings focused on Africa.

My speaking formats include keynotes, panels, fireside conversations, roundtables, and moderated discussions.

For speaking enquiries, panel invitations, moderation, or strategic event collaborations, please get in touch through this form.