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Walter Mswazie Masvingo Correspondent
HE is eloquent, a man of celebrated business acumen and achievements, yet remains down to earth. Born 56 years ago to a Christian family in Harare, Fredrick Kasese’s story is a tale of patience and enduring passion for the tourism and hospitality industry.

He remembers the day when, armed with an Ordinary Level certificate, he bumped into a throng of job seekers at a local hotel, where he became employed for the first time.

Kasese, now the chief executive officer of the dominant Regency Hotel and Leisure Group in Masvingo province, says he has dedicated his life to serving the tourism industry, a key economic sector in the country.

He has served in different positions of authority in various hospitality entities across the country for more than 30 years.

Kasese joined Zvobgo Family Holdings in 2007, which he rebranded into a lucrative business venture, Regency Hotels and Leisure Group.

Under his stewardship, the group has grown from being a mere two-hotel business venture into a five-hotel enterprise, one establishment in Gweru and four in Masvingo. The hospitality group has 100 permanent employees with each hotel hiring more than ten tourism and hospitality students for internship per quarter.

Under Kasese’s tutelage the hotel occupancy for the group has grown from 32 percent to 42 percent between 2010 and 2012 and maintains an upward trend.

He says building a business empire in a challenging economic environment is no mean task.

“When I joined Zvobgo Family Holdings as a manager I was tasked to transform the business into a formidable outfit within the tourism and hospitality industry. The task looked insurmountable as the economy had started shrinking,” said Kasese.

“I, however, soldiered on and transformed the business.”

He says the economic meltdown experienced in 2008 coupled with hostile international publicity dealt a huge blow on the tourism sector, a situation he says required managers with spine to correct.

“We had to establish strategic linkages for the group to keep going, which have seen the birth of a win-win partnership with a competitor of stronger financial spine, Zimbabwe’s flagship hoteliers.

“I realised that although big hotels were not found in Masvingo, they have larger financial outlay and experience, which Regency Group can tap into,” said Kasese.

He said the strategy allowed both entities to coexist without outshining each other.

Kasese is grateful to his parents for inspiration. He says he was taught to sell eggs from a tender age to supplement the family income and never looked back.

He is a prominent figure in Masvingo and has contributed a lot to development projects and policy formulation in the country.

The University of Zimbabwe graduate says his vision is to turn Masvingo into a worldclass, mega tourism village.

He is already working with the Great Zimbabwe University in efforts to boost tourism earnings from the province’s facilities and create additional 1,500 jobs.

Kasese has produced several articles focusing on tourism development in Masvingo and the opportunities towards achieving growth.

Some of them focus on Malilangwe, a world class safari ranch, the Save Conservancy, Great Zimbabwe, Lake Mtirikwi and Gonarezhou National Park.

He has also crafted an economic blue-print for Masvingo, which is preoccupied with the Tokwe-Mukorsi dam under construction meant to assist 25,000 families through irrigation.

Kasese holds a PHD in Business Management and has a strong passion for youth empowerment.