S5E11: Building ROAR AFRICA: Founder & CEO Deborah Calmeyer on Conservation, Business, and Market Strategy
Update: 2025-08-19
Description
Growing up during Zimbabwe’s Bush War, Deborah Calmeyer moved to New York at 24 and built ROAR AFRICA from a side project to help her zoologist father into a leading luxury safari operator. Now she runs 200+ trips annually across a continent where geography comprehension and operational logistics challenge even seasoned travel companies.
Our host Fred Moore examines Deborah’s business model, built from her unique perspective across multiple worlds—a childhood in the Zimbabwean countryside and decades living between the urbanity of New York and Cape Town. The conversation covers her operational philosophy of removing friction points, from hot espresso waiting on runways to managing complex multi-country itineraries through destinations like Botswana’s Okavango Delta (Deborah’s top recommendation).
They discuss the economics of conservation tourism, high-value low-traffic models, and the measurable impact of COVID-19 on wildlife protection when tourism ceased. Deborah explains her deliberate strategy of building a predominantly female-led company in a traditionally male-dominated industry, the challenges of scaling supplier networks, and her private jet initiative connecting multiple destinations efficiently. An episode exploring market positioning, operational excellence, and how conviction-driven leadership can reshape entire industries.
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