In the wake of strong successes in key markets around the world, US-based accommodation marketplace Airbnb plans to significantly grow its business in Africa, where the company has already seen some impressive growth.

Founded August of 2008, Airbnb now provides users accommodation – whether an apartment for a night or a castle for a month – at any price point, in more than 35,000 cities and 192 countries while letting people monetize their extra space and showcase it to an audience of millions.

In just the last year the number of listings in Africa has more than doubled, people staying in Airbnb listings in the region has increased by 145%, and the number of Africans using Airbnb to travel has increased by 139%, an official report claimed.

In Kenya itself, there are currently over 1,400 listings available to book through Airbnb with the greatest concentration in Nairobi (788). Kenyans are also embracing Airbnb as a way of traveling, with the number of Kenyan guests using Airbnb tripling in the last 12 months.

The San Francisco-based has company hired former Facebook growth and partnerships lead for Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, Nicola D’Elia as its General Manager for Middle East & Africa, to build out a team to accelerate its growth in the region.

Also, Airbnb revealed lessons learnt from strategies it adopted in Cuba to overcome challenges around internet literacy and mobile payment infrastructure will guide its growth in Africa.

Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky Photo Credit: My News Desk

Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky is currently on the continent, visiting as one of Barack Obama’s Presidential Ambassador for Global Entrepreneurship (PAGE) at the 2015 Nairobi Global Entrepreneurship Submit.

This week’s trip, which includes a visit to the iHub incubator in Nairobi, is also an opportunity to hear from local entrepreneurs, and understand the opportunities and challenges facing Airbnb and other sharing economy leaders.