IH and Associates is a consultancy, and the business development home of iain Harris.
Together with a network of thought leaders across diverse sectors and geographies, iain leads and contributes to business development projects and business ventures.
At the point of market readiness, these ventures are operated by holding company African Creative Investments Pty Ltd, often as joint ventures.
Explore our projects and businesses below.
Business Ventures
Coffeebeans
Started in 2005, multi-award winning Coffeebeans has become the leading Pan-African cultural and creative tour operator, with tours in Cape Town, Johannesburg, Kigali and Nairobi, showcasing contemporary urban Africa.
Creative Travel Africa
Launched in 2018 as the Destination Management sister to Coffeebeans Routes, to facilitate longer form itineraries centred around the Coffeebeans specialist experiences and incorporating essential African wildlife, nature and adventures activities in several African countries.
Kurus English
Back in the years leading up to 2010, iain incubated and provided mentorship for the genesis of this game-changing English language business in Cape Town with its unique immersive Language Excursion programme. Started by German entrepreneur Johannes Kraus, Kurus continues to be a major client to both Coffeebeans and Creative Travel Africa
Visit Langa
A collaboration between iain and Tony Elvin, the founder of the Langa Quarter social enterprise precinct, to bring to life and to market the tourism opportunities inherent within the Langa Quarter and within Langa broadly through the Quarter’s various partnerships.
SnapStack
An innovative modular furniture brand that offers magnetised storage cubes designed to be stacked and reconfigured into various functional arrangements. The brand’s core proposition is “Snap, Stack, Create” - furniture that evolves with user’s needs. A JV with André Swartz.
Tamu Tamu Diner & Take-away
Tamu Tamu (Swahili for delicious) is a Pan-African diner and take-away franchise serving classic dishes from South Africa, Kenya, Ethiopia, Ghana, Tanzania, Morocco and Nigeria.
VuliZulu
A luxury eco-culture lodge in Ophondweni, KwaZulu Natal, about a 45 minute drive from the iSimangaliso Wetland Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site at St Lucia
EarthBond Bricks
Interlocking stabilized soil bricks (ISSBs) are made from local soil and a whisper of cement. They’re strong, sustainable and stunning - designed for builds that breathe and belong.
Advisory & Management
Tourism Development Consulting
iain specialises in Pan-African urban cultural and creative tourism product development, with clients including the European Union and Western Cape Provincial Government. In 2022 iain and Coffeebeans received the Recognised Leaders in Tourism Business Development - Africa award in the LuxLife Hospitality Awards.
Food Indaba
iain is the producer of the Food Indaba, a project of the South African Urban Food and Farming Trust. Food Indaba seeks to foster a healthier, more resilient and just food system, connecting with people shaping the future of food, and showcasing insights into our food culture.
Media adventures
Radio
iain has been a radio head since childhood, and was privileged at university to participate in radio documentary training at the Institute for the Advancement of Journalism. iain produced work for the Africa Search for Common Ground series in the 90s, Heart FM and GoodHope FM in the 2000s, and in more recent times has been producing his own projects.
Video
iain attended film school, and did a BA in English and Drama at the University of Cape Town. His video output has been focused on his tourism work. Click Learn More to meet a myriad of people as part of his series of shorts for Coffeebeans and Kurus English.
Blog
Writing, ranting, video, radio … a collection of thoughts, sketches and contemplations on life and work, dating back to 2010
Biography
iain Harris is a Cape Town-based entrepreneur and producer. He studied theatre and film at the University of Cape Town, trained in media production at the Institute for the Advancement of Journalism, and spent years working as a journalist at the nexus of economics, art and culture. Story has been the constant.
In 2005 he founded Coffeebeans Experiences, now the continent’s leading Pan-African urban cultural tour operator, with experiences across Cape Town, Johannesburg, Kigali and Nairobi. The Jazz Safari, launched that year, remains the longest-running musical tourism product on the continent.
In 2018 he launched Creative Travel Africa, a destination management company building longer regional itineraries across southern and eastern Africa — celebrating new narratives about and from the continent.
The Food Indaba, which he produces annually for the South African Urban Food and Farming Trust, extends that work into food systems — bringing together chefs and policy makers, farmers, food scientists and academics to work together in creating a better food future.
VuliZulu, a luxury eco-culture lodge near the iSimangaliso Wetland Park in KwaZulu-Natal, is being built from local earth using EarthBond’s interlocking stabilised soil bricks — a place where the land itself becomes the story.
His advisory work in Pan-African urban cultural tourism has drawn clients including the European Union and the Western Cape Provincial Government.
iain has two children and lives in Cape Town.
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