Support services for your foreign business in Africa

As part of the German government's expanded commitment to Africa, many new programs have been developed to support market entry in African countries, especially for German SMEs. The offer is often diverse and is implemented by various ministries and institutions. Especially in development cooperation, there are various programs which provide financing instruments, consulting and cooperation opportunities. You may find out more about programs and instruments that generally apply to all developing countries here (in German).

AfricaConnect offers support for European companies wishing to invest in Africa. It facilitates and promotes investments in Africa. The support instrument is part of the Development Investment Fund, which was launched in 2019 as part of the Compact with Africa Initiative. AfricaConnect is implemented by the German Investment and Development Company (DEG).

The program offers the following services, among others:

AfricaConnect is aimed at German and European companies wishing to make economically viable investments in African countries in compliance with sustainability standards. The focus is particularly on investments in the twelve Compact with Africa countries: Egypt, Ethiopia, Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, Guinea, Morocco, Rwanda, Senegal, Togo and Tunisia.

More information on the funding instrument and the application process can be found on DEG's website.

AfricaGrow is a fund of funds for the promotion of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and start-ups on the African continent. Established by KfW Development Bank, the fund provides growth capital for these enterprises by investing in African SME venture and equity funds. The aim is to promote sustainable economic growth and employment. The fund is expected to support an additional 150 companies and create 250,000 jobs.

DEG and institutional investors are participating in the fund with their own resources. There is also a focus on the twelve Compact with Africa countries.

More information on AfricaGrow can be found on the KfW website.

The Special Initiative on Training and Employment of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) has bundled a range of offers to support employment-generating engagement and investment in African partner countries. These are summarized under the brand “Invest for Jobs“.
Comprehensive advice, contacts and financial support to remove barriers to investment are part of the initiative. It aims to create up to 100,000 jobs and 30,000 training places. Thereby, it contributes to the implementation of the G20 investment partnership Compact with Africa and the Marshall Plan with Africa. Partner countries of the initiative are the Compact with Africa countries Ethiopia, Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, Morocco, Rwanda, Senegal and Tunisia. Efforts are being made to expand the activities to other partner countries.

More information can be found on the website of the special initiative.

Afrika kommt! is an initiative of the German business community for the further training of young executives from sub-Saharan Africa. It is implemented by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH on behalf of the business initiative. The program also receives support from the German Foreign Office and the German embassies on site.

Training opportunities for young, qualified specialists and managers from Africa are offered, as part of an internship, which takes place for eight months in German companies. The participating companies also benefit from the program. On the one hand, they invest in the expansion of cooperation with their African partner, and on the other hand, they receive highly motivated young executives with country-specific knowledge.

More information on the initiative can be found on the website of Afrika kommt!