Management services: AFRIKA KOMMT! (Africa is coming!) – a training programme for young managers
The AFRIKA KOMMT! initiative run by the German private sector offers young managers from Africa the opportunity to learn management skills.
Since 2008, leading German companies have been demonstrating their commitment to Africa with the AFRIKA KOMMT! initiative, which offers young managers from Africa the chance to gain insights into operations and management methods at the participating companies. During the 12-month programme, both sides can forge important contacts for sustained and successful economic cooperation.
In 2008, nineteen leading German companies launched a joint initiative called AFRIKA KOMMT! to train young managers from sub-Saharan Africa. As of 2019, the programme invites young professionals from all African countries to apply. The programme offers training opportunities for young qualified experts and managers, who spend eight months in German companies as part of an internship. In this way, companies invest in expanding their cooperation with African countries. At the same time, they benefit from the country-specific knowledge of highly motivated young managers, who bring with them new approaches and insights. They also support the awareness for diversity in the companies.
The Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH is implementing the programme on behalf of the private-sector initiative. The federal enterprise is an ideal partner for the initiative due to its many years of experience with different manager programmes and its contacts and infrastructure in Germany and Africa. The programme is supported by the German Federal Foreign Office and the German embassies in Africa.
Initiative with great appeal
AFRIKA KOMMT! is in great demand. This has become particularly clear in the application and selection phase: up to 6,000 young professionals apply each programme year for the 35 to 45 available places. Crucial for the mutual benefit of both parties is the selection of suitable candidates. GIZ organises the selection process, but the partner companies also play a key role by defining the profile of their ideal candidates and selecting the final participants during a comprehensive Assessment Centre in Africa.
The selected experts and managers attend a German course in Africa and then deepen their language skills in an intensive course after arriving in Germany. Three international management training courses organised by GIZ supplement the practical phase in the companies and provide participants with theoretical and practical foundations in the areas of project management, intercultural competence, conflict management and leadership. The participants are directly involved in the work processes at the companies. GIZ supports and advises all participants on personal and technical matters during their stay in Germany and the training period in their respective companies.
Building bridges for German-African economic cooperation
After completing the programme, the young managers return to their home countries and become members of the alumni network. Programme alumni can exchange ideas, while future participants can get advice and find support. The alumni become multipliers in their home country; by passing on their positive experiences with German culture and German companies, they can help shape views in their country.
But the alumni are also something more. With their cultural and corporate experience, German language skills and contacts in Germany, they are key contacts for German companies who would like to expand their activities in Africa. More than two-thirds of participants from last year’s programme were employed directly by their partner company and now work at these companies’ branch offices in Africa. For example, 14 alumni now work in Africa at Robert Bosch GmbH, one of the founding companies of AFRIKA KOMMT!. Some of the alumni were able to open new branch offices in their home countries for the partner companies. Patrick Okello, for example, opened the first office for ANDREAS STIHL GmbH & Co. KG in Eastern Africa. Other alumni, such as Lucy Wanjiku Mutinda from Kenya, have been able to develop and implement their own business ideas through participation in the programme. Her company, Ecocycle Ltd., has more than 20 employees and installs small, fully organic sewage treatment plants for wastewater processing that were developed by a company from Schleswig-Holstein in Germany.
Last updated: November 2019