SPEAKER

Shamil Manek

Director
The Merwest Company

After completing degrees in Business Administration & Economics at University in Pennsylvania, Shamil moved back to Kenya to join the family business and took charge of developing commercial & residential properties in the region on their behalf. Having little experience in the hospitality field, opportunities to diversify were rife and along with a partner sought to develop one of the first non-Government owned fully American branded hotels in Nairobi. This property was converted to a Four Points by Sheraton in April 2017 as Marriott & Starwood’s first property in Kenya. Later they opened the first airport hotel in Nairobi, the Four Points by Sheraton Nairobi Airport in Q3 2017. Currently they are developing other properties in both Kenya & Uganda in both commercial & hospitality spaces. Shamil further is involved with other parts of the family business, which include motor vehicle trade, financial services and logistics among others.