The fund was established in 1994 by former US President Bill Clinton, former South African President Nelson Mandela, and the US Congress for the specific purpose of providing funding to stimulate the creation and expansion of small and medium-sized indigenous businesses throughout Southern Africa.

SAEDF provides wholesale and retail long-term risk capital to promising enterprises from indigenous groups that might otherwise have been ignored by potential investors in the general marketplace. It also co-invests with other institutions or organizations that share the same investment objectives.

Zabulan Chief Executive Rowald Kresfelder says these aims mirrors those of his own organisation. Large hotel developers, he says, tends to swallow up the businesses they consult to, resulting in an internationalization that leaves no room for local character or entrepreneurship.

While the high level of expertise within the management structure of Zabulan Hospitality allowed owners to hand over conceptualisation, development and day to day operations – including brand development co-inciding with financial growth - Zabulan did so without compromising their ownership of the project or ability to operate the facility.

"We see our role as assisting local business and governments in Africa to help entrepreneurs build and successfully manage good hotels run by locals. We never own the hotel. We will come in at the greenfields stage and develop, project manage and train the staff up to a standard where we can slowly ease out and implement an exit strategy."

"We retain involvement with monthly visits, performance appraisals and consulting, but the day to day management is performed by the owner's nominated party."

Kresfelder said the consultancy had become known through the continent and in the Indian Ocean islands as a specialist in turning around struggling hotels.

"Our reputation is built on developing and then managing, and but also on the marketing of the identities created by developers of boutique hotels and thereby driving up their occupancy rates."

A typical project would include the appointment of staff, setting standards for all operations, installing management procedures and day to day management responsibilities for all staff and maintaining service levels throughout the hotel.

Kresfelder, a former managing director at Gatsby International Hotels who has been involved with 23 new hotel developments and the restructuring and revamping of 19 hotels and lodges, says the company's objective is to keep catering for a niche market.

"Through our years of experience we have ensured that the specialists on our staff and consultants focus on the training of employees and future employees.

"Our focus of opening, consulting, management and marketing of hotels has ensured that we can use our history in the business to adapt each business plan in such a way to ensure that we can train locals in each area to perform the duties of a functioning hotel.

"Our aim is not to build up our company to a chain of hotels, but to grow each individual hotel to a success in their own right," he added.

An honourable dwelling

The name "Zabulan" means "dwelling of honour" and that sits beautifully with the passionate abandon with which this team approaches every new project.

Through their collective national and international experience in the fields of hospitality, sales, marketing and management, the team is truly practicing what they preach in their vision to be the leading solution to current and new developments in the hospitality industry in Africa.

They tout their passion, hard work and commitment to excellence as premier driving forces in their continued quest to build renown for Africa. This is not only for the spectacular scenery and fascinating tourist attractions, but specifically for the hotel industry, to build a reputation of superior service and first world flair.

They constantly strive to focus on the needs of a developer or owner to have access to expert knowledge of the hospitality industry, to create cost-effective planning solutions for new developments and to set up, develop, manage and market practical and ultimately revenue generating establishments in Africa.

"Excellence is not something you are born with, it is something you are born for" says Executive Director of Zabulan Hospitality, Anton Perold, himself a seasoned campaigner when it comes to breathing new life into a seemingly impossible challenge.

This statement also rings true when it comes to the team behind Zabulan Hospitality with Chief Executive Officer Rowland Kresfelder at the steer. They rely on their unquenchable appetite for new challenges, their years of collective expertise as well as their constant thirst for knowledge and new ideas, to make a success of every venture they take on.

"Passion, apart from being thoroughly contagious, is our elixir for success, and with a project set against one of the most magnificent backdrops in the world, it is difficult not to become totally addicted to your pursuit" says Perold about the makeover of the Mount Meru Hotel in Tanzania.

With the 2010 FIFA World Cup nearing its swansong, many in the hospitality industry who experienced the influx of not only tourists, but demands as well will either shudder at the prospect of another tournament like it or be confident in the knowledge that their hospitality management company is not only in the know and up to the task, but always on the ball.

And if you spend a few minutes in the company of the team from Zabulan Hospitality, you will rest assured that your investment will be handled with integrity (first and foremost), professionalism and a personal touch.

This is sure to result in great client service, customer satisfaction and a pleasant work environment, guaranteed to see not only new business frequenting your establishment, but also returning business time and again.

"The 178 room Mount Meru Hotel will change the landscape of hospitality in Arusha," said Rafique Symonette, managing Director of Inflection Capital, which represents the property's owners, the Southern African Enterprise Development Fund.

"Those 276 positions will make it one of the larger employers in the hospitality industry in the city."

Mr. Symonette said that that 147 of these positions would be created in the Food and Beverage Department, which will run four restaurants on the property, while the Rooms Division will create 75 positions, and the rest will work in administration and support services.

He said that Holtan, the company contracted to complete the building of the hotel, was currently employing 400 people on the project - the majority of whom are drawn from the local community, and have been employed over the last eighteen months.

"The Southern African Enterprise Development Fund has committed itself to using local talent in all departments of the hotel, and we aim to have the Hotel managed and run entirely by Tanzanians within one year of opening," said Mr. Symonette.

"We've employed some trained professionals that will assist in the launch opening and management of the Mount Meru Hotel - and to ensure that the highest standards are achieved and maintained - because the Mount Meru Hotel will be of a world class standard, which we'll only be able to attain by embracing skills and technology from across the globe."

Apart from direct, formal income generated by the salaries it will pay, Mount Meru Hotel is expected to boost the local economy through the establishment of small and micro enterprise within Arusha and the surrounding region.

"The hotel expects to purchase fresh produce from local communities - which will boost local economies by creating a secure and reliable market for small vegetable growers," said Mr. Symonette.

Zabulan Hospitality - whose CEO, Rowald Kresfelder, and executive director, Anton Perold, have been involved with the opening, renovation and re-launch of various top hotels in Africa - has been contracted to manage the Mount Meru.

"Zabulan Hospitality has more than 60 years of international management experience in hospitality, and will be a real asset to the Mount Meru Hotel, and to the Tanzanian hospitality industry," said Mr. Symonette.

"I'm sure that the residents of Arusha, our esteemed clients, and the public at large are as excited as we are about the opening of the Mount Meru Hotel," he said.

EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES: Prospective employees should send their credentials and contact details to the Human Resources Manager - applications@mountmeruhotel.com.

Initially positioned as self-catering units, the Winelands Golf Lodges, heartbeat of the prestigious De Zalze Winelands Golf Estate just outside Stellenbosch recently underwent a radical management makeover converting the units to exclusive lodges with all the comforts of a hotel, but with the privacy and put-your-feet-up pleasures of individually catered chalets.

This bold swing to 4-star luxury and lavishness, masterfully driven by the team of Zabulan Hospitality Management, is set to put Winelands Golf Lodges on the fairway to becoming one of South Africa's leading golfing, corporate and family retreat destinations. Through their collective national and international experience in the fields of hospitality, sales, marketing and management, the Zabulan team have reinvented the concept of service and are once again living up to their quest to become the leading management company in the hospitality industry in Africa.

"This venture is a great new challenge and a feather in the cap of our entire team whose enthusiasm, passion and insatiable drive to excel have them constantly setting higher benchmarks for themselves and achieving them with flair and brilliance. It is amazing (and sometimes downright frightening) to be a part of such a motivated crew. The team was extremely excited to be stationed in such a beautiful part of the country and was eager to get stuck into their work," says Chief Executive Officer Rowald Kresfelder.

"The word 'Zabulan' means 'dwelling of honour'. That is what we as a company and team want to bring to each and every project we are involved in and we will not rest until we are certain that the dwelling of honour we are working on will resonate as magnificent in guests' minds and hearts as it does in ours."

Well, clearly, their drive has hit the sweet spot on this green and their commitment to excellence as proven by reputation already is sure to have guests returning again and again to this magical dwelling in the heart of wine country. It sounds much like the phrase out of the old folk tune that fittingly says, "Stellenbosh die roep my en ek moet gaan" (Stellenbosch is calling and I must go).

So what are you waiting for?

With many other more established hospitality companies also vying for top honours for their hotels, the team from Zabulan whisked away the top spot with grace and integrity. "It is never a goal to beat the opposition, because then you lose focus on what your priorities are. After any project, you need to be able to look at what you have achieved with a sense of joy and accomplishment, knowing that a piece of you will inevitably always remain there," Executive Director, Anton Perold explains.

Now as legendary as Mount Meru, the summit against which the hotel was built, Zabulan is ensuring that Mount Meru Hotel becomes a legend in its own right. Through the concept of bringing in Indian Ocean Island staff from Mauritius to add in the service and flair and combining this with the cuisines from East Africa, the Hotel offers visitors a resort feel mixed with legendary African hospitality. This has proven to be a roaring success. It has built its reputation on the belief that exclusivity and individuality are key elements of true luxury. A true citadel of lavishness and serenity for the business man, the weary traveller or the passionate adventurer, guests are ensured of the best accommodation, the finest cuisine and the service excellence you'd expect from a real class act.

When asked about their triumph, CEO Rowald Kresfelder mentioned that they were ecstatic that the hotel had, in such a short time, managed to capture the imagination and admiration of the public, guests and adjudicators alike. He added, "an award is a mere piece of paper adorned on a wall – the real challenge is an ongoing one; to make every guest feel at home, to ensure that the restaurants provide innovative and exquisite tastes and that the promise of African hospitality is more than mere legend, but the heart and soul of the hotel. I would like to believe that, if there was an award for that, the Mount Meru Hotel and its amazing staff would win hands down, every time."

They have already made a name for themselves by taking mere myths and creating bastions of comfort and luxury, building and equipping a strong, passionate and dedicated team to carry a new torch in Africa; one of style, service and sheer opulence. Africa is a treasure-trove of opportunity and the Zabulan team is already negotiating with important players in the African Hospitality Industry to work their magic across the continent. Exciting times, but as level-headed and grounded as ever, the team, already focused on their next summit is set on making Africa's fifth highest peak a stepping stone to the stars.

And the magic, they say, is just beginning…