africon on Interpack

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From 4th to 10th May 2017 africon GmbH was present with a stand at the worldwide leading trade fair on packaging solutions – the „interpack“ in Düsseldorf, Germany. There, africon had the chance to proof itself in three roles: presenting as itself, being one of the leading consulting companies with sole focus on the Sub-Saharan region, as the new official foreign representative of Messe Düsseldorf for the East African region and as one of the major partners of Messe Düsseldorf in the organisation of the “Food Processing and Packaging Exposyum” (FPPE). In all three roles interpack was a major success for africon. Being able personally meet quite a number of international companies that were very much interested in the African market in general and in participating in FPPE in particular. Read more →

Germany Africa Business Forum

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On the 23rd of March 2017, Marc Zander, CEO of africon, participated in the Germany Africa Business Forum (GABF) as the moderator of the panel discussion “Germany grows abroad – venturing to Africa for new markets”. In the presence of high ranked African politicians such as the former president of the Republic of Benin, Boni Yayi and the Minister of Mines and Hydrocarbons of Equatorial Guinea Gabriel M. O. Lima, German and African business men and women came together in the prestigious Adlon Kempinski Hotel.

In absence of German politicians, one could assist to very openminded and trustful discussions. So, Mr. Lima expressed his wish that Germans should be “as aggressive as the other nations to show to the Africans that they are interested”. Also, Mr. J.H. Muhindo, Deputy Head of Mission of the embassy of Uganda, stressed the wish of his country that Germany would rather invest into Uganda’s industrialisation than continuing paying traditional development aid as there are many graduated young people in Uganda who were not able to gain suitable jobs. Altogether, the image of a strong and innovative Africa was drawn during the GABF, that stands in extreme contrast to generally published image of a poor continent in need. This was mainly due to the presence of modern and successful African business people such as Erick Yong, Onyeche Tifase or Rebecca Enonchong.

Between the panels, there were many occasions for exchange between the participants of the forum so that newcomers in the German African business scene could benefit from the experiences of established players.

Watch here a video-summary of the fair:

 

As a longterm project partner, africon inaugurates the new Azuri production plant

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Sonja Mattfeld inaugurates the new Dried Mango production plant

In 2013, German trade fair Messe Dusseldorf and SAVE FOOD initiative hired africon, to perform research on the Kenyan food market. The study revealed a dramatic statistic: 300,000 tons of the mango harvest is lost because the fruits are not picked in time or cannot be processed quickly enough.

After an analysis of the reasons of losses and a deep insight into the Kenyan mango sector and its few processing techniques (mango pulp, mango juice, dried mangoes), africon together with Messe Dusseldorf and committed members of the SAVE FOOD initiative formed an active group and chose the Kenyan company Azuri Health Ltd. as their local partner in actually tackling the problem and invest in the niche market of dried mangoes.

This year on 8th February Azuri Health could, as a result of the successful business implementation, open a bigger production plant. Here, the production staff doubled from 5 to 10 persons and additional 25 casual workers during the peak production periods. Also, in terms of production capacity, the new plant evaluated to from 2 to 10 tons of dried mango per month.

Sonja Mattfeld, Partner at africon and Project Manager of “The Mango Project” was invited to hold a speech and cut the ribbon at the inauguration of the new plant. Just as was Dr. Clemens Schütte, Director of International Business at Messe Düsseldorf, a long standing partner of africon and “The Mango Project”.

Tei Mukunya, Founder and CEO of Azuri, states: “The Mango project is indeed the much awaited solution. They came to Kenya asked the right questions and realized what was needed.”

 

africon participates in the GABF

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“The GABF aims at bringing together shrewd entrepreneurs, key opinion leaders and social influencers, CEO’s and selected politicians and non-governmental organisations to develop fresh commercial and social concepts that shape business, as well as economic thought and institutions.” (GABF)

The German-Africa Business Forum is a one-day event enabling exchange between German and African business communities. New potentials for cooperation can be identified during these days but also the interaction between economic, political and social development is discussed. Side by side with African and German politicians and businessmen Marc-Peter Zander, CEO of africon, will be speaking about opportunities of investment in Africa and share his experiences from the private sector.

The GABF will take place on the 23rd of March in the Adlon Kempinski Hotel in Berlin.

 

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German-African Business Summit (GABS)

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The German-African Business Summit goes into its second round. This time the summit will take place in Nairobi, Kenya where africon will also be present with some of our clients. The event is organised by SAFRI, the “German Initiative for Sub-Saharan Africa” and counts many high positioned celebrities such as the German Ministers Sigmar Gabriel and Gerd Müller. It is announced as a “perfect platform for decision-makers in business and politics from Germany and the African continent.” Further information can be found on the according website.

Marc Zander, CEO africon speaks on Africa conference in Dortmund

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More than 300 representatives from Germany and world wide attended the 4th Africa conference on “investment potential in Africa for German companies” in Dortmund. The conference brought together various speakers and company representatives from all over the world.

Marc Zander, CEO and Partner of africon GmbH has been invited as key note speaker and spoke on various topics being chances for German companies in Africa, the food value chains in Africa and most importantly on opportunities in more than 54 countries.

As a supporting paper for the conference africon was contracted to publish a German study on the chances of companies in Africa. The study can be found a download here.

 

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africon publishes study for 4th German-African economic forum in Dortmund

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Spätestens seit der Jahrtausendwende befindet sich das Bild Afrikas, des vormaligen ‚Kontinents der Kriege und Katastrophen‘, in einem radikalen Wandel.

Read more →

africon at the AGBF in Dubai

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The CEO & Partner of africon Ltd. Marc Zander, visited the AGBF in Dubai to discuss investment in Africa with various investors. Outcome of the discussion has been that the African markets are a key focus of various investors in the Middle East region. This results in new Africa strategies of most UAE and GCC countries for Africa.

Marc Zander, CEO & Partner africon speaks at ALN Conference

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The conference brought together approximately 500 thought leaders on investing and doing business in Africa to discuss the sectors and regions in Africa that provide the greatest opportunities for foreign investors, while analysing the legal and regulatory implications of doing business on the continent. Marc Zander spoke on the opportunities for FMCG companies in Africa being an expert in the Nigerian FMCG markets. Read more about the conference!

Marc Zander speaks at A.D.A.N Network on market entry strategies for Germany SME

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XCOM Africa has been key note speaker on “Market entry in Africa” during the A.D.A.N meeting in Frankfurt. More on: http://www.ada-netzwerk.com/

 

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