AINA RAVELOSON, PRESIDENT OF THE TOURISM CONFEDERATION: “Women can evolve without gender complexes”
With several strings to her bow, Aina Raveloson has built a reputation as a “leader”. The president of the Madagascar Tourism Confederation (CTM) retraces the paths she has traveled and shares her opinion on women in the professional worldL.
The Southern Eco: What made you decide to move from the public sector to the private sector?
Aina Raveloson : After obtaining my baccalaureate, I flew to France and the United States to continue my studies. Returning to Madagascar, I decided to devote my life to the country, working for around fifteen years in the public sector. I held several positions, first in the Senate, then in the Ministry of Finance. Then, I worked for thirteen years for the Integrated Growth Poles (PIC) project, which is a government project financed by the World Bank. Later, I decided to move into the private sector, with the ambition of helping to make the investments on which I worked so hard in the public sector. I told myself that it was time for me to be where I could move forward in something concrete. So, for five years, I have worked for the private Malagasy group Talys, as its development director. It is to this group, which has evolved spectacularly, that we owe, for example, the establishment of Radisson hotels in Madagascar. At the same time, I have chaired the Madagascar Tourism Confederation (CTM) for two years.
You are also vice-president of the Madagascar Business Group (GEM). How are women perceived and represented in this group?
Joining the GEM office is a great support since I have collaborators, entrepreneurs and colleagues around me who support me. You should know that it is very important to have self-confidence when you are a woman and you evolve at this level of responsibility. This group is an example to follow in the promotion and development of women leaders. And this can be seen in the parity efforts implemented in the composition of his office. I think that the professional world today is making more and more room for women. And there is really the possibility for women to evolve without there being a gender complex. However, I had to work tirelessly. This perseverance allowed me to find a place for myself and to be respected.
How do you manage your responsibilities in the professional world?
It’s more complicated for me as a woman. Already, we women have obligations to manage in our private lives. In the professional world, people also expect us to prove ourselves. So I had to redouble my efforts to prove the value of my performance. This is what I tried to do, in the face of the prejudices that I had to face, particularly in the public sector which is a fairly macho world. I also had to manage to avoid predators. This is a risk to which women can be exposed. I have been a victim of harassment myself.
How can we better contribute to women’s entrepreneurial successes in a society where patriarchy can be dominant?
The context in Madagascar is a bit paradoxical. We have conservative and patriarchal generations or regions. And there are, on the other hand, more professional and more cosmopolitan environments where women occupy positions of great responsibility. As far as I am concerned, I have evolved since my childhood in a very masculine environment. Which necessarily builds character. Not letting yourself be disturbed by the environment and charting your course should be the credo of every woman. She must know how to demonstrate the value of her professional qualities. I affirm that a woman entrepreneur, manager or leader is a warrior. Women also have many assets, starting with their perseverance. And there’s the fact that they can be multitaskers and think ahead. These are all qualities that are very useful for being a good manager.
But how can we inspire women and lead them to assert themselves and become leaders in their field?
Most women do indeed lack self-confidence and we must work to help them. They can be inspired by women who have succeeded in life and realize that it is possible. Yes, they must realize that it is possible to have successful children, have a happy husband and have a successful job at the same time. I am not an activist in the women’s cause because I believe that the sex of the person does not matter, it is the performance in the work that counts. However, I am committed to supporting women to gain self-confidence and personal development, whether as professional women or as mothers, among others. In any case, it’s really important to me that women have the same chances as men to succeed in life.
What projects are close to your heart and in which you are involved today?
What is important to me in this post-covid crisis context is to work so that tourism can really regain its place. It is a sector which directly and indirectly supports nearly 300,000 families in the country and which can contribute up to 15% of GDP. It is also an economically strategic sector. The project that I am trying to bring forward, whether with the government or in discussions with the country’s technical and financial partners, is to put in place the context favorable to the relaunch of tourism. This leads to several points to be considered, including, among others, roads, airlines, security and training of young people.
The missions of the Madagascar Tourism Confederation : Led by Lova Ratovomalala (a man) and chaired by Aina Raveloson, the Madagascar Tourism Confederation (CTM) is an influential, proactive and innovative institution, representative of the private sector. It wants to be the “spearhead of the tourist economy” in the Big Island and has set itself several major missions: Lobbying with institutions : Lobbying with institutions, administration and regulatory authorities for a business environment favorable to tourism. Participation in public-private dialogue and its facilitation : Participation in dialogue for visibility and recognition of tourism operators and their contribution to economic and social development. Facilitation of this dialogue to bring the professions together, discuss and implement common solutions meeting the interests of a majority of members. Information for members on sector news : In particular information relating to the business and investment climate and major market trends (supply and demand), but also that concerning insecurity, natural disasters and epidemics. Capacity building : Capacity building through effective communication towards priority audiences (including the public sector), increasing the number of members for optimal representativeness, governance to establish credibility, the search for partnerships and the mobilization of members in the activities.