TECHexplore: Visit from Africa
The African continent has become a hotspot for entrepreneurship and innovation. From technology start-ups to social enterprises: Africa is rich in innovative business ideas that not only strengthen local communities but are also recognised at the global level.
Entrepreneurship, innovation and digitalisation - these were the keywords under which an African delegation visited Baden-Württemberg and KIT at the beginning of October 2024. TECHexplore - a module of the Tech4Transision project - enabled six players from the innovation and business ecosystems in Nigeria, Kenya, Senegal and Rwanda to enter into direct dialogue with their colleagues in Germany.
The highlight of the trip was the 4th Economic Summit Africa in Stuttgart, organised by the Baden-Württemberg Ministry of Economic Affairs, Labour and Tourism and the Stuttgart Chamber of Industry and Commerce (IHK), where the guests were able to exchange ideas with leading representatives from business and politics.
Another highlight was the workshop organised by KIT-Gründerschmiede on the topic of ‘Co-creating a sustainable future: How can we strengthen co-creation and collaboration between African and German innovation ecosystems to jointly solve global challenges of the next 50 years?’. Participants discussed our image of Africa, the continent's innovative strength, the similarities between the start-up scene and the challenges and opportunities of future collaboration.
The focus was on the possibilities of networking between relevant actors and stakeholders. Participants used a problem tree to identify the challenges of this cooperation. This highlighted superficial structural challenges such as lack of digitalisation, bureaucracy or restrictions on movement, for example due to visa regulations. But it also highlighted deeper issues such as intercultural misunderstandings, lack of interest and feelings of superiority.
On this basis, the participants were able to develop a kind of map with creative ideas for the future. It became clear that there are cultural, financial, structural and entrepreneurial ways of working together, and that in addition to more seed investments and joint ventures on the African continent, a European Erasmus programme for Africa, for example, would make sense.
Throughout the workshop, there was a strong emphasis on the need to strengthen the ecosystem in Africa. For example, Jude Adejuwon from the largest innovation hub in Nigeria (CC Creation Hub Africa) stressed: "We need to be able to explore and enable innovation for our continent in our universities.” At the same time, the workshop underlined the urgency of exchanging ideas to enable peer-to-peer learning.
In this sense, the delegation trip was also in line with the objectives of the Tech4Transition project. It also provided a valuable platform for intercultural dialogue and cooperation between Africa and Germany during the rest of the week.
About IP Management
From the idea to the impact: Together with our partners CcHUB (Co-Creation Hub), we discussed the importance of technology transfer and commercialization of research at the end of May 2024.
At the virtual roundtable, we spoke with IP specialists from Ghana, South Africa, Kenya and Germany about opportunities, experiences, strategies and best practices.
The event made it clear that despite the different contexts in Germany and Sub-Saharan Africa, the strategic and operational tasks in IP management are similar and require holistic thinking and integrated management in both countries.
Dr. Ludwig Witter, head of the IP Management (IPM) department at KIT, presented the IP policy at KIT by breaking down the knowledge transfer process - from technological innovation to commercialization - and describing the tasks of his department: identifying and protecting IP rights, negotiating licenses with the industry, but also offering guidelines and support.
A similar Institution presented by Ayanda Noma, Director of the DITTC (Directorate Innovation, Technology Transfer and Commercialization) at the University of South Africa, supports innovative ideas through to marketable products. For this purpose, incubation programs, training for researchers, but also specially designed projects such as accelerator programs for women in the green tech sector are offered.
“The University of Ghana has also set itself the goal of transferring technologies effectively and efficiently for the benefit of the society,” emphasized Diana Adobea Owusu Antwi, Research Development Officer at the University of Ghana. At the still young university, IP management stands for the protection of researchers and the promotion of innovation. The university especially supports inter- and transdisciplinary transfer efforts, for example in the field of climate or malaria research.
Mungai Muturi, a Incubation Manager at the Kenyan innovation hub iHub, who helps academic innovators across Africa to develop their research-based solutions and products, summarized the exchange: “Creating awareness of intellectual property and IP rights is an important undertaking all over the world. But today we have also seen how important it is to exchange ideas across national borders.”
Soft landing: Egyptian start-ups meet the German ecosystem
"Informative, exciting and inspiring" - this was the initial conclusion of the Egyptian delegation that visited KIT, the Gründerschmiede, Karlsruhe and Berlin at the end of November 2023. Among them were six finalists of the Rally Accelerate competition, representatives of the Arab Academy Entrepreneurship Centre and representatives of other institutions.
The journey through the German ecosystem began at KIT with presentations on the Gründerschmiede, technology transfer and Karlsruhe's business development and start-up scene. The participants were able to find out from BW-i what programmes and other initiatives "The Länd" has to offer. Using the example of AXEL - The Energy Accelerator, they were given an insight into local accelerators. They were able to discuss the latest ideas and international collaborations with representatives of the KIT Innovation Hub.
Their trip also took them to the FZI House of the Living Labs, where they gained insights into the latest experiments in autonomous driving, AI and robotics. At a networking breakfast at the IHK Karlsruhe, the participants exchanged ideas with representatives of the IHK, Steinbeis Europe and GIZ Business Scout about opportunities for international networks and cooperation.
Africa Startup Connect Week
In the middle of the week, the delegation travelled to Berlin for the African Startup Connect Week, organised by GIZ Make-IT in Africa. During the event, which lasted several days, the Gründerschmiede took part in three events: A World Café focusing on scientific innovation and, building on this, a panel discussion looking at transfer and spin-offs from an African and German perspective.
The third part of the programme was a public pitch workshop in which the six Egyptian start-ups presented their ideas to a high-calibre jury and an interested audience. The meeting of many start-ups from the African region, the networking and the exchange with investors formed the overall framework of the Africa Startup Connect Week.
Finally, the delegation used their time in Berlin to learn about international programmes and projects with an African focus at the German Chamber of Industry and Commerce (DIHK) and to get to know the Berlin ecosystem at the Startup Migrants initiative.
It was a successful week with very informative discussions, a German-Egyptian exchange of ideas and many stimulating conversations.
Start Up Economy in Egypt
The TECH4Transition project team travelled to Egypt together with partners from GIZ in September 2023. The highlight of the trip was the Start Up Festival at the Entrepreneurship Center of the Arab Academy for Science and Technology in El Alamein, which marked the end of the accelerator programme TECHgrow.
More than 60 Egyptian start-ups participated in TECHgrow since spring 2023 - 10 each from the fields of GreenTech, Smart Manufacturing, HealthTech, Supply Chain, AgriTech and FinTech. Over the past few months, TECHgrow has offered the selected start-ups lectures and workshops on topics such as sustainability, customer understanding, growth processes, and internationalisation.
The final event of the accelerator programme took place in Egypt, where the five best start-ups were selected. We are looking forward to welcoming the finalists of the programme to Germany and KIT in November 2023, where they will get to know the German start-up ecosystem.
In Egypt, the team also visited various innovation drivers such as the Knowledge Hub Universities campus - a multidisciplinary academic centre that brings together courses from internationally renowned universities from around the world. The programme also included a visit to the Information Technology Industry Development Agency (ITIDA), which plays an important role in the development of the local IT industry.
Roundtable
What is the German-Egyptian start-up scene like? What platforms or exchange programmes exist? How can existing cooperation be networked? What factors could contribute to a more start-up and investor-friendly ecosystem? The TECH4Transition team explored these and other questions together with representatives from GIZ, DAAD Egypt, Arab Academy Entrepreneurship Center, Flat6Labs, El Sewedy Knowledge Hub, enactus Egypt, enpact EGYPT, Youthinkgreen Egypt, RAYA Holding for Financial Investments and AHK Egypt.
The roundtable discussed the benefits of a common start-up database, the importance of bi- and multinational programmes, the place of entrepreneurship in traditional professions, and the importance of creating a link between entrepreneurship and industry.
We would like to thank our partners and all participants for their active participation. The findings, lessons learned and different perspectives will feed directly into the work of TECH4Transition as well as the local ecosystem.
About the Egyptian-German partnership
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The first session of the TECHgrow module focused on the German-Egyptian start-up scene. The TECH4Transition team as well as funders and partners presented support offers for companies and start-ups and discussed possible synergies.
Nermin Siam and Ralph Henn from the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) spoke to over 100 participating Egyptian entrepreneurs about the goals of TECH4Transition and the start-up scene in Karlsruhe, Baden-Württemberg and Germany. Andrea Denzinger and Agnes Jansen from GIZ reported on German-Egyptian relations. They presented the work of GIZ as well as projects and cooperation between Egypt and Germany. Dr Wael Desouki and Heba Al-Ashry from the Arab Academy gave an overview of their work at the Entrepreneurship Centre and reported on the highlights of the Rally Accelerate programme so far. Alumnus Mohab Attia rounded off the exciting session by sharing his experiences as a young entrepreneur.
The full TECHgrow programme and all information about the module can be found on the overview page.