Selected Reference Projects

2004 - 2011 Training Workshops for Value Chain Promotion in Bangladesh, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Germany, Ghana, Great Britain, India, Kenya, Mali, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Sri Lanka, Thailand, United States, Vietnam, Yemen
(own organisation or in cooperation with GIZ, AFE and others)

  • Facilitation of a series of 45 value chain programme design training workshops for more than 1000 participants from international donor agencies, NGO’s and project staff
  • Training on latest principles and tools of state-of-the-art private sector development based on the GTZ approach ValueLinks and the AFE approach Promoting Market-based Solutions for MSME and Industry Competitiveness
  • 10 training-of trainers (TOT) courses for ValueLinks, 1 CAADP ToT workshop

2011-2014  Training on VC promotion and policy advice of the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment Protection in Benin
(on behalf of GIZ)

  • Support of component I of the GIZ programme ProAGRI
  • Project implementation in the framework of the consortium AFC Consultants International GmbH and IDC Unternehmensberatung GmbH (ARGE AFC/IDC) with a team of long-term and short-term advisers in Benin

2011 Evaluation of the effectiveness of Farmer Business Schools in Ghana, Cote d’Ivoire, Nigeria and Cameroon
(on behalf of GIZ)

  • Assessment of the effectiveness of a new toolkit to promote entrepreneurship of smallholder cocoa farmers
  • Programme co-financed by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and other private partners

2010 - Preparation of five value chain studies for the One UN programme “Green production and trade to Increase Income and employment opportunities for the rural poor” in Vietnam
(on behalf of International Trade Center - ITC)

  • Bamboo/rattan, sericulture, sea grass, lacquer ware, handmade paper
  • Available at: www.greentrade.org.vn

2009 - 2010 Programme Planning Mission for the ONE UN Programme “Green Production and Trade to Increase Income and Employment Opportunities for the Rural Poor, Vietnam”

(Client: UNIDO, Vienna)

  • Preparation of a Joint Programme Document for five UN organisations (UNIDO, ITC, ILO, FAO and UNCTAD) approved for funding of a three-year programme by the Spanish MDG Fund
  • Planning of value chain promotion activities in the handicraft sector in cooperation with the national handicraft exporters association VIETCRAFT.

2006 - 2009 Trade Promotion for Handicrafts from Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, Bhutan and Mongolia
(on behalf of the International Trade Center - ITC, Geneva)

  • Organisation of regular trade fair participations and trade fair visits of the international trade fairs AMBIENTE & TENDENCE in Frankfurt and Maison&Objet in Paris
  • Export promotion for silk scarves, felt products and other handicrafts, facilitating direct contacts with European importers, wholesalers and Fair Trade Organisations
  • Training of export staff on marketing, logistics, costing and customer communication

2009 Project Planning Missions for “Promotion of the national silk sector” and “Poverty alleviation in Kampong Speu Province”, Cambodia

(on behalf of the International Trade Center - ITC, Geneva)

  • Preparation of an activity plan for the Cambodian NGO Khmer Silk Villages
  • Planning of a two year project promoting handicraft products in cooperation with UNDP and the Ministry of Women Affairs

2009 Export Marketing and Branding Training Seminar Vietnam

(on behalf of the International Trade Center - ITC, Geneva)

  • Elaboration of a training seminar on export marketing and branding in cooperation with a Vietnamese marketing lecturer
  • Conducting a pilot training seminar in Hanoi with VIETRADE.

2008 Study tour on Land Use Planning in Germany

(on behalf of BoozAllenHamilton Kiev)

  • Organization of a Ukrainian delegation’s study tour for preparing an amended legislation on land use planning in Ukraine
  • Prepared information workshops on national, regional and municipal level with German ministries and administration

2006 - 2008 National Export Strategy for Crafts and Export Marketing Guidelines Vietnam
(on behalf of the International Trade Center - ITC)

  • Preparation of a national export strategy and export marketing guidelines for Vietnamese handicraft products in cooperation with VIETRADE
  • Organization of a market prospecting mission of the national association VIETCRAFT to Germany, Spain and Switzerland
  • Preparation of a manual on trade fair participations and training of local Vietnamese trade fair participation consultants

2006 - 2007 Trade Fair Participation Training Courses
(on behalf of AFC/GTZ Cairo, HEIA Cario, AFE Sarajevo)

  • Provision of 1-2 day training courses on improving international trade fair participation success of leading food products export companies
  • Training groups of exhibitors from Egypt and Bosnia attending the SIAL 2006 trade fair in Paris, FRUITLOGISTICA 2007 in Berlin and BIOFACH 2007 in Nuremberg
  • Assistance to exporters at leading international food trade fairs in France and Germany

2005 - 2007 Programme "Agricultural Development Burkina Faso"
(in consortium with AFC International Consultants GmbH; on behalf of GTZ)

  • Implementation of the programme components "Enhance market-based production" and "Improve the supply of services in the agro-sector"
  • Provision of guidance to improve value chains of selected agricultural products
  • Fielding of a long-term expert

2004 - 2007 Development of Local Value Chains in Cameroon
(in cooperation with Integration Consultants Frankfurt, on behalf of GTZ, Eschborn)

  • Analysis of selected value chains, design of sector specific support measures, training of project staff and representatives of regional authorities
  • Fielding of short-term experts

2005 - 2006 Training of Senegalese Welding Trainers

(on behalf of Inwent)

  • Short-term mission to design a three-months vocational training course for Senegalese welding trainers.

2005 - 2006 Monitoring of EU/ACP-Investment Promotion Conferences
(on behalf of PRO€INVEST - Centre pour le Développement de l'Entreprise (CDE))

  • Monitoring of regional investment promotion congresses in the IT sector (Caribbean 2005/West and Central Africa 2006) organized by PriceWaterhouseCoopers France
  • Monitoring of regional investment promotion congresses on Energy and Infrastructure (West and Central-Africa 2005/East Africa and Indian Ocean 2006) organized by Bernard Krief Consultants France
  • Guidance on conference organization and evaluation of results with a team of five experts.

2006 International Value Chain Analysis Manual
(on behalf of the International Trade Center - ITC, Geneva)

  • Development of guidelines for local consultants on how to collect relevant value chain information for programme planning purposes
  • Introduction of local consultants to main terms, concepts and tools used in VC analysis, interview questionnaires and reporting

2004 - 2005 Investment Promotion Estonia
(on behalf of Enterprise Estonia)

  • Organization of a series of roundtable meetings with German investors
  • Participation in foreign trade promotion conferences of German Chambers of Commerce

2004 - 2005 GTZ/OECD PovNET-Study on BDS and Pro-Poor Growth
(on behalf of GTZ - Gesellschaft für Technsiche Zusammenarbeit, Eschborn)

  • Elaboration of a background paper for the OECD PovNET working group within the GTZ initiative "Innovative Instruments of Private Sector Development"
  • Analysis of the relevance and the potential of the BDS-approach for pro-poor growth

2005 Support to the Crafts Sector in Rwanda
(on behalf of GTZ)

  • Short term mission to support three craft cooperatives in Rwanda to adapt their products to the requirements of target markets in Europe.

2005 Market development for glassware from Ukraine
(on behalf of DAI - Development Alternatives, Inc.)

  • Advice on improving product design and export marketability of Ukrainian glassware
  • Support of Ukrainian exhibitors at the 2005 Frankfurt trade fair TENDENCE.

2002 - 2004 Promotion of Embedded Business Development Services (EBDS), Ghana
(on behalf of Action for Enterprise, Arlington)

  • Participation in a DFID-funded research project on embedded business development services for micro enterprises in the Ghanaian crafts sector
  • Capacity building of crafts exporters relating to the provision of embedded services on quality management, product development and market access to a large number of subcontractors

2004 Design of a German Economic Development Progamme in Senegal
(on behalf of GTZ - Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit, Eschborn)

  • Feasibility study for a long-term programme on job creation for unemployed young people in urban areas
  • Components: SME development, business development services, promotion of start-ups, vocational training, micro-finance

2001 - 2002 SME Development in Bosnia-Herzegovina
(on behalf of the EG Tuzla)

  • Fielded international short-term experts to provide marketing, design and production management training in the furniture, metalworking and handicraft sectors
  • Provided technical assistance to prepare Bosnian companies to participate in regional trade fairs, organized business missions for Bosnian entrepreneurs to Germany