Airbnb is a beast. Started in 2008, Airbnb has over 1.5 million listings globally in over 190 countries covering over 34,000 cities and has served over 40 million guests to-date. According to its website, Airbnb is a trusted community marketplace for people to list, discover, and book unique accommodations around the world — online or from a mobile phone or tablet.

Earlier today, I received a press release via my blog that Brian Chesky, the CEO of Airbnb is in Nairobi this weekend for the Global Entrepreneurship Summit (GES) which US President Barack Obama attended earlier today. According to the press release, Airbnb is making serious headway in Kenya, given the following metrics:

• 1,400 properties available in Kenya
• 788 properties located in Nairobi
• Kenyan guests using Airbnb tripled in the last 12 months

So, in a nutshell, Airbnb is going big in Kenya. This could not have come at a better time since Kenya’s tourism sector is really struggling at the moment. However, also interesting are the following metrics for Africa where Airbnb is concerned:

• The number of listings in Africa has more than doubled
• The number of people staying in Airbnb listings in the Africa has increased by 145%
• The number of Africans using Airbnb to travel has increased by 139%

To cap it off, and demonstrating serious commitment to Africa in the process, Airbnb has also appointed Nicola D’Elia as General Manager for Middle East & Africa. Previously, Nicola was responsible for Facebook’s growth and partnerships in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. D’Elia is expected to build out a team to accelerate Airbnb’s growth in the Africa.