Jessica Myers, Who Was Youngest Hotelier, Now Developing New Property In Africa

Being the youngest person to own a hotel was not enough for Jessica Myers. Now, the ambitious hotelier has plans to develop her real estate endeavors in Africa.

Travel Noire reported that Myers has set her sights on various African nations to develop villages into sustainable communities.

This idea came from a recent girls’ trip that Myers took with her friends. After leaving Nairobi, Kenya, where the trip began and going to Zanzibar, Tanzania, she noticed the differences in the infrastructure between the two nations. Nairobi has both a mix of exotic landscapes and buildings on the horizon.

Over a meal in Zanzibar, their driver recounted a story about a woman in a nearby village whose husband had walked out on her and her children. He tried to give her $40 out of each of his paychecks to help her provide for her family.

Inspired, Myers and her friends decided they wanted to assist the woman as well. That pursuit turned into them purchasing groceries for the entire village. Now, the endeavor is a full-fledged project.

“My belief is that, if you first develop the people, they will then have the tools and knowledge to develop the buildings, and ultimately create an entire sustainable ethos,” Myers said.

Myers’s plan has a five to 10-year window. She wants to connect with leaders in Zanzibar to get the lay of the land and see what is really needed. Before an infrastructure can be developed, the people will need the resources in place to complete the job.

Myers’s pursuit has another rather poetic angle. To develop in the same areas where Africans were kidnapped, enslaved, or colonized is a form of sweet revenge.

“It’s the taboo of developing and owning places where our ancestors were once sold,” she said.

From hotels to the development of villages in Africa, Myers pursuits are a good way to help communities flourish.