Zainab Muntari is a Tourism Development Professional, Entrepreneur, International Speaker, and Advocate for Youth-Led Growth in Tourism, Hospitality, Culture, and the Creative Economy across Africa. With over six years of experience spanning tourism operations, hospitality, events management, business development, and international travel coordination, she has built a career focused on connecting tourism with economic empowerment, innovation, and sustainable development. As Founder and Chief Executive Officer of the Sixth African Region Initiatives (SARI), Zainab leads programs and partnerships designed to support young entrepreneurs, tourism SMEs, cultural practitioners, and creative industry professionals across Africa and the African Diaspora. Through SARI, she champions tourism as a catalyst for job creation, entrepreneurship, cultural preservation, regional integration, and inclusive economic growth. Her work has included destination development, travel operations, stakeholder engagement, customer experience management, event coordination, and tourism marketing. Zainab's expertise extends beyond tourism operations into tourism policy conversations, youth development, experiential tourism, hospitality management, tourism entrepreneurship, and innovation ecosystems. She has worked with diverse stakeholders including tourism businesses, hotels, destination partners, development organizations, entrepreneurs, and international delegates. Her leadership and contributions to the industry have earned international recognition. In 2026, Her team led the development and presentation of Njila, a USSD-based career navigation solution for Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) graduates in Zambia, which won First Place at the World Bank Group Youth Summit Innovation Lab Challenge in Washington, D.C. She has also been recognized as a speaker and participant at several international tourism and leadership platforms, including the Africa Youth in Tourism Innovation Summit in South Africa, the UN Tourism Gastronomy Tourism Forum for Africa in Tanzania, and global conferences in the United States, Saudi Arabia, and across Africa. Zainab is passionate about the future of African tourism and believes the continent's greatest tourism opportunity lies in developing sustainable destinations, strengthening tourism entrepreneurship, preserving cultural heritage, advancing experiential and wellness tourism, and creating pathways for young people to become active contributors to the tourism economy. Through SARI, Her mission is to contribute to a thriving African tourism ecosystem that empowers communities, connects the African Diaspora, promotes innovation, and positions tourism as a driver of long-term development and prosperity.