Germany Welcomes Indian Entrepreneurs with Open Hands

In 2008, Government of India and Government of Germany signed an agreement for promoting business ties between the two nations.Since then, a new dawn of India and Germany business relations have started. And now, this relation is becoming even more stronger with programmes such as German-Indian Manager Training Programme by GIZ came into action.

In an exclusive interaction with Faiz Askari of SMEStreet, Hanna Baetz, Senior Project Manager, GIZ, who is responsible for executing this programme in India, explained her experiences being in India and also highlighted the opportunity of working with German businesses through this programme.

The edited excerpts:

How is your experience so far being on your visit to India?

I am very excited to meet Indian entrepreneurs, business leaders and executives who are keen on exploring Germany. For me, it is really interesting to know about various Indian sectors such as energy efficiency, manufacturing etc. What is more important for me is to feel and understand their willingness to go global.

You have a manager training programme, please tell us a bit more about this program?

The German-Indian Manager Training Programme is an opportunity for both sides to come closer and do business together and know each other. This is a open gateway for those Indian entrepreneurs and business leaders who are interested in working with German companies and who are willing to understand the market. The German-Indian Manager Training Programme prepares executives from India for business relations and economic cooperations with German companies – with success on both sides. The programme participants come from companies with foreign trade potential wishing to establish contact with Germany. The focus is on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

What is the main agenda of this programme?

The main purpose of this activity is to let entrepreneurs and interested professionals know about Germany. Through this program, professionals can understand how business can be managed in  Germany and what are the important requirements of doing business with German companies. According to the motto of “Fit for Partnership with Germany”, the participants undertake a one-month programme in Germany. A group comprises around 20 participants. During their stay, they develop their management expertise, gain an insight into German business practices, and systematically establish contacts with German companies. The programme is aimed at executives from the middle and upper management levels of Indian companies and is in principle open to all branches.

How many people, so far, have attended this programme from India?

So far, around 340 entrepreneurs from India have taken training in Germany under this programme. The first batch of Indian entrepreneurs came in 2010 and since then we are getting regular candidates from India.

What are the key take-aways that you expect from this India trip?

India is one of the best suited country for this program. I have shown several interested Indian companies who are willing to work with German industries. I wanted to know more areas of possible synergy and more possibilities to strengthen the business relationship between India and Germany.

What are the milestones GIZ have achieved so far from this program?

As of now, the results are extremely promising. We have witnessed some very good agreements of worth millions getting signed between Indian and German companies. A variety of cooperation projects have been established so far. The programme also provides ideas for the modernization or restructuring of processes. The alumni work facilitates a long-term exchange with German industry and among programme participants. So we have achieved great amount of participation between the two countries.