Magatte Wade, a prominent Senegalese entrepreneur and founder of Tiossan – a high-end skincare line using indigenous Senegalese recipes – has been appointed to the Global Wellness Summit’s (GWS) board of directors.

Wade will lead the organisation’s new African initiative to support and promote the African spa industry – based on figures from the 2014 Global Spa & Wellness Economy Barometer, which shows Sub-Saharan Africa is both the fastest growing wellness tourism and spa market in the world. This region’s wellness tourism has registered 60 per cent annual revenue growth and the spa market has risen 187 per cent from 2007 to 2013. The Middle East/ North Africa region represents the second fastest growing market, with wellness tourism expanding revenues 38 per cent annually and the spa industry growing 143 per cent over the last six years.

Wade will be the first African to join the board of wellness experts, spanning eleven countries, and she will attend the ninth annual Global Wellness Summit in Mexico in November 2015 – an event that is expected to attract a record number of delegates.

At the Global Wellness Summit 2014, Wade was awarded the Leading Woman in Wellness honour due to her on-going advocacy of African entrepreneurialism and the development of Africa in the global business community.

“Having the opportunity to play such a pivotal role in global wellness is an absolute honour,” said Wade. “I look forward to helping educate the world about the extraordinary, far too little understood health and wellness traditions across Africa – a continent that is often misunderstood by the mainstream media, which paints every country with the same brush. As a GWS board member, I’m excited about advocating for wellness tourism, which will create a clearer recognition of the indigenous cultural identities and unique approaches to health, wellbeing and beauty in the countries that make up Africa.”

Susie Ellis, CEO of the Global Wellness Institute (GWI) – the umbrella organisation that runs the GWS – commented on Wade’s appointment: “Magatte brings a unique wellness perspective to our international organisation and she will head up our new African initiative, which will be focused on expanding the message of Africa’s unique health, beauty and healing traditions to today’s receptive global wellness market.”

Wade will also attend the Spa & Wellness Africa Association’s (SWAA) first conference in Mauritius from 2-4 September 2015 to discuss branding of upmarket luxury products.

Among other honours, Wade was named one of the 20 Youngest Power Women in Africa by Forbes and a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum. Prior to forming Tiossan, Wade started her entrepreneurial career in the US with the launch of her first company, Adina World Beverages, which became widely distributed across the states and was based on indigenous Senegalese beverage recipes.