Yesterday, together with Lutz Hethey and Caroline Flohr, we attended the first Regional Africa Forum hosted by the IHK Osnabrück – Emsland – Grafschaft Bentheim. The event sent a strong signal for dialogue between German companies and African markets—characterized by openness, practical insights, and long-term thinking.
Our sincere thanks go to Bianca Untied for her confident moderation and for the invitation to this successful inaugural event.
Practical Insights from Companies with Africa Experience
Particularly valuable were the contributions from our fellow panelists, who have already established their first operations in Africa and openly shared their experiences:
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Agricultural technology & farming:
AMAZONEN-WERKE (represented by Wilfried Koldehoff) and GRIMME (represented by Frank Nordmann) -
Logistics:
Meyer & Meyer (represented by Benedikt Osterheider) -
Energy & decentralized supply:
INENSUS GmbH (represented by Nico Peterschmidt)
Their reports made one thing clear: African markets offer great opportunities, but they require a deep understanding of local conditions and a willingness to invest for the long term.
Africa, Patience, and Digitalization
An important impulse also came from Claudia Voß of the Africa Association of German Business. She emphasized that engagement in Africa requires one thing above all: patience. At the same time, she pointed out that in many areas—especially digitalization—the continent is already ahead of Europe.
This perspective aligns perfectly with our approach of patient capital. Sustainable development emerges where long-term thinking meets local innovative strength. Patience does not mean stagnation; rather, it means recognizing that fast-growing, less-saturated markets operate differently from European ones. Africa’s 54 countries each have distinct conditions and market dynamics—which is precisely why partnership-based approaches are essential.
Why Africa Needs More Venture Capital
Beyond industrial market opportunities, Africa needs one thing in particular: more venture capital—especially patient capital. Many African start-ups and growth companies are highly innovative and deeply rooted locally. What they often lack, however, is exactly what they need for sustainable growth: time and long-term-oriented capital instead of short-term return expectations.
This is where we come in. With our impact-driven investment approach, we provide patient, purpose-driven capital and close a critical financing gap—exactly at the stage when young companies need to stabilize and scale their solutions. We see ourselves as bridge builders for future industrial hubs on the African continent.
Shared Value Creation for Africa and Germany
Small and medium-sized enterprises create the majority of jobs in Africa—often without access to capital, structured markets, or growth infrastructure. By combining capital with a strong regional network, non-profit venture capital providers like us make an important contribution: to urgently needed jobs in Africa as well as to the successful market entry of German companies that rely on trustworthy local partners.
Our conviction:
When local SMEs grow, stable value chains and future industrial hubs emerge—a foundation from which African and German companies alike benefit.
We thank all participants for the open exchange and look forward to continuing this important dialogue.
