africon as a cooperation partner for the East African delegation to K trade fair in Düsseldorf, Germany

africon as a cooperation partner for the East African delegation to K trade fair in Düsseldorf, Germany

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africon as a cooperation partner for the East African delegation to K trade fair in Düsseldorf, Germany

As the official representative for Messe Duesseldorf in East Africa, africon supported the organisation of an East African delegation to K trade fair.

K, the world’s no. 1 trade fair for plastics and rubber, is a trade fair by Messe Düsseldorf, which took place from 19-26 October 2022. The main themes at the K trade fair were Circular Economy, Digitalization and Climate Protection. At K, companies from all over the globe presented their latest products in categories such as raw materials, auxiliaries, machinery and equipment, plastics, products and processing, services, research and science.

The delegation posed a vital opportunity for East African companies to network with sector experts, inform themselves about the latest global technologies and source machinery from Germany. The participants were representatives of 13 companies from Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda and Tanzania, and most of them were women-led. The focus topics for the delegation were recycling management, efficient processing, waste avoidance, and environmental pollution prevention.

The delegation started with a warm welcome from Messe Düsseldorf, and was followed by presentations from the NRW Ministry of Economic Affairs, Circular Valley, VDMA, PreVent Waste Initiative and the East African Business Council. The program included guided tours to different exhibitors. At the Covestro booth, the focus was on the many possible uses of polymers with special references to the area of ​​application in East Africa. At Krones, participants were given an overview of the entire plastic bottle cycle (‘from bottle to bottle’). At the Kautex booth, intelligent production solutions in the field of extrusion blow moulding technology were presented. Examples of other companies that the delegates visited were EREMA, Vecoplan and Arburg.

africon organised some meetings and accompanied the delegation to all the appointments and company visits. Participating companies had a good overview of the K trade fair, and in the following days, they visited other booths and events independently. The delegation was successful as the East African companies learned about circular economy solutions and innovation in sustainable plastic processing and material usage. They also networked with other global companies.

About the delegation

The East African delegation to the K trade fair happened from 19th to 26th October 2022, in Messe Düsseldorf and was organized by the Business Scouts for Development program on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), which is implemented by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH. The Business Scouts are development experts, located in Germany and more than 30 other countries around the world. In cooperation with the Federation of German Industries (BDI) and local partners the program aims to strengthen industries in East Africa and create sustainable perspectives and partnerships. The cooperation partners for this delegation were Messe Düsseldorf and africon.

 

africon featured in the HOFFNUNG IST KEINE STRATEGIE podcast

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Over the past 11 years, africon advised more than 150 companies on their Africa strategy which motivated Christian Underwood to invite our CEO, Marc-Peter Zander, to a talk about how German companies develop their Africa strategy. In the podcast HOFFNUNG IST KEINE STRATEGIE, Christian and Marc discussed the following questions:

• Where can German medium-sized companies focus today?
• Which regional growth strategies and markets can German medium-sized companies take?
• Is Africa the last great frontier?
• How can you leverage hidden potential for your company with an Africa strategy?

If you would also like to get some insights into our work in Africa, this is an exciting episode to listen to. Explore this and more in the podcast.

You can also consume the podcast in a written form here.

If you have any questions, you can write us at info@africon.de

George Watakah joins africon as a Visiting Associate in Kenya

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In line with our mission, ‘to be the leading European consulting company delivering solutions for Africa to companies worldwide by 2030’, we are happy to bring on additional in-country or sector-specific professionals from different regions in Africa. East Africa is one of the fastest-growing economic blocs in Africa, and many international companies are interested in the region. We are strengthening our team in East Africa by hiring a new team member, George Watakah, in Nairobi, Kenya.

Kenya is the largest economy in the East African region and the third largest in sub-Saharan Africa. Over the past decade, the country has made remarkable progress in enhancing economic growth. This high level of performance is underpinned by a stable macroeconomic environment, improved security perceptions, and ongoing structural reforms.

George holds a bachelor’s degree in Actuarial Science from the University of Nairobi. After his studies, he worked as a Growth Analyst at Yusudi Limited Africa where his role was to inform key business decisions and drive long-term impact for companies. In his capacity, he gained experience in driving significant and sustainable growth across the business cycle for companies in Kenya. Being a data enthusiast, he gets excited about opportunities where he can turn data into easy-to-digest content & reports for large & small businesses.
‘I am excited to be part of a highly motivated and dynamic team where I will be able to help Africa achieve its enormous potential by building bridges between the continent and the rest of the world’, he says.

So far, George has already started working on a project in the printing industry in Africa and we are delighted to have him on the team.

Read more about the africon team here.