Heirs Insurance Travel Festival signals new era for of inclusive travel ecosystem for Africans

L-R: Steven Ndukwu, film maker and content creator; Zim Erobu, travel content creator; Adenike Tejuso, travel influencer, and Ifesinachi Okpagu, chief marketing officer, Heirs Insurance Group, at the Heirs Insurance Travel Festival held in Lagos

The inaugural Heirs Insurance Travel Festival held recently has delivered an unforgettable experience signalling new era of inclusive travel ecosystem for Africans.

Held at Harbour Point, Victoria Island, Lagos, the event brought together travel enthusiasts, diplomats, creatives, business owners, and young Nigerians to celebrate cultural diversity and make a bold call for equity in travel policies and processes.

More than a cultural celebration, the festival served as a strategic advocacy platform, spotlighting the foreign policies, systems, and bilateral agreements that must evolve to expand travel opportunities for millions of Africans. Through this gathering, Heirs Insurance Group firmly positioned itself at the forefront of championing an inclusive travel ecosystem.

Designed around the theme, “Promoting Cultural Diversity and an Inclusive Travel Ecosystem,” the event opened with a high-level panel on “Passport Power and Diplomacy,” featuring Ambassador Manuel Innocencio de Lacerda Santos Junior, a Brazilian diplomat with five decades of service across four continents; Ambassador Jose Bamóquina Zau, Angola’s Ambassador to Nigeria and former deputy minister; Stephanie Busari, CEO, SBB Media and former CNN Senior Editor; moderated by veteran broadcaster, Jonathan Hanson.

The panellists emphasised the need for easier visa processes, stronger border control systems, and more harmonised travel frameworks to enable Africans move more freely across the continent.

The festival also featured a creator-led session, “Where Your Nigerian Passport Can Take You,” moderated by Heirs Insurance Group’s Ifesinachi Okpagu, the chief marketing officer. Popular travel creators, Zim Erobu, Adenike Tejuoso, and Steven Ndukwu advocated for a borderless Africa with fewer travel restrictions within the continent. They also called for refunds for rejected visa, highlighting the unfairness of the visa process and how this increases the financial burden of Africans.

Speaking at the event, Okpagu, said: “The Heirs Insurance Travel Festival provides the platform to address critical challenges within the often-overlooked travel ecosystem, ensuring that travel and migration policies are equitable for all. We believe access, safety, and empowerment should be for everyone. This is the reason why we are building the platforms and partnerships that ensure global mobility and migration are attainable to all. We also want to unite travel enthusiasts on one platform. This is in line with our mission to improve lives”.

The Heirs Insurance Travel Festival marks an important step in deepening conversations on Africa’s travel barriers while showcasing the company’s commitment to experiential engagement, innovation, and social impact.

Heirs Insurance Group is the insurance arm of Heirs Holdings, the leading pan-African investment company, with investments across 24 countries and four continents. With a rapidly expanding retail footprint and an omnichannel digital presence, Heirs Insurance Group, comprising Heirs General Insurance Limited, Heirs Life Assurance Limited, and Heirs Insurance Brokers, serves both corporate and individual customers across Nigeria.

Heirs Insurance Group is championing financial inclusion and leading the digital insurance play in Nigeria, demonstrating its mission to democratise access to insurance.

Modestus Anaesoronye is a leading Nigerian financial journalist with over two decades of experience reporting on the insurance and pension sectors across Nigeria and West Africa. He has held key editorial positions at major national media outlets, including The Comet, The Nation, and Financial Standard, and currently serves as a Senior Financial Analyst at BusinessDay Media Ltd.

A widely travelled reporter, he has covered industry developments in more than 14 countries across Africa and Asia.

Anaesoronye is a multiple award-winning journalist, honoured several times as Insurance Journalist of the Year and Pension Journalist of the Year by recognised industry bodies, including PensionScope and the Pension Fund Operators Association of Nigeria (PenOp), among others.

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