Four months after the presentation of the Pro! Africa concept of the German Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy, many of the measures contained in it have already been implemented.

Economic Affairs Minister Brigitte Zypries said: “I’m delighted that Pro! Africa is getting going. We are steadily expanding the network of bilateral German chambers of commerce: the chamber in Kenya is being provided with more staff in order to help companies to train young people in the country. And the new regional competence centres for southern Africa and east Africa are already advising and supporting our companies as they invest. I particularly want to bring young entrepreneurs together. I have therefore invited African and German digital start-ups and established firms to a Start-up Night Africa on October 26. We are helping to provide funding for start-ups in Africa. In total, we want to invest 100 million euros in the context of the Pro! Africa concept.”

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Other policies have also been rolled out for Africa. These include additional business missions as part of the market development programme, energy dialogues with Kenya and Ghana in particular, having German firms at more trade fairs, and additional activities under the Manager Training Programme. The export initiatives in the fields of energy and health are also being expanded. The requirements imposed on Hermes insurance for transactions involving the public sector are to be relaxed in the near future, and the instrument of investment guarantees made more widely known. Also, the Federal Economic Affairs Ministry is installing a contact point providing expertise and support for German companies on doing business in Africa.