The mission was to prepare the first pilot group of executives for their stay in Germany in November/December to strengthen the business relations between the two countries. As it is the first time for Ethiopia to participate in the programme, the significance of the endeavour is very high for all parties involved. Funded by the German Ministry for Economy and Energy the programme is managed by GIZ and carried out by IMAP as one of the training centres in Germany. The partner on the Ethiopian side, the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MoTI), selected the participants in cooperation with GIZ as well as organised the seminar in Addis Ababa.
The managers will arrive on the 24th of November in Düsseldorf and stay for four weeks, participating in various training sessions, learning from German companies and their business practices as well as establishing their own business contacts. The group consist of 22 executives and one representative of the MoTI. The Ethiopian cohort is very diverse: a third of the participants are female executives. All together the executives speak six different languages: Amharic, Gura, English, Oromo, Tigrinya and Gedeo.
More than half of the participants represent the Ethiopian coffee industry with a focus on exports. Their businesses are active along the entire coffee value chain (producers, processors and exporters). The managers are also active in the legume, leather and textile industries. One of the bigger topics of participants’ interest is in the packaging technology across all the industries. In terms of management skills, the executives expect to develop their knowledge in leadership skills and intercultural management.
During the preparatory seminar in Addis Ababa the group has been introduced to the IMAP team, got to know each other, explored the Manager Training Programme further and received a first insights on the German economy and business culture. Furthermore, the participant’s expectations were discussed, as with such a long training of 4 weeks it is essential that the programme caters to the needs of the executives. In the next weeks, participants will prepare their cooperation projects and contact German companies for a meeting. IMAP consultants will provide them support during the whole preparation phase as well as during their stay in Germany. Thus, the participants hope to find new business opportunities and to develop their executive qualifications. Finally, the executives hope to have a great and fruitful time during their stay in Düsseldorf.
The IMAP team is looking forward to welcoming the Ethiopian executives in Düsseldorf at the end of November.
If you are interested in connecting with the Ethiopian managers, please contact our consultant Ole Ringmann (ringmann@imap-institut.de; +49(0)211-513 69 73-27).