An Energetic Network for Entrepreneurship in Africa
Welcome to the Network for Entrepreneurship Education and Promotion in Africa
African German Entrepreneurship Academy (AGEA) is a joint initiative consisting of a dynamic network coordinated by the International Small Enterprises Promotion and Training (SEPT) Competence Center at Leipzig University (Germany). The network collaborates with its dedicated academic and business partners in Africa and Germany. The aim is to promote cutting-edge practice-oriented entrepreneurship education, entrepreneurship promotion and start-ups and businesses development in Africa. AGEA contributes to improving graduate employability through the inclusion of a high level of hands-on training in African partner universities.
AGEA empowers Higher Educational Institutions in entrepreneurship promotion activities, especially entrepreneurship promotion initiative, encourages the establishment of vibrant university-business linkages and knowledge sharing between universities and business associations in Germany and African partner countries.
Services
The AGEA network currently offers services in
AGEA offers training programs for entrepreneurship facilitators in our partner higher educational institutions in Africa. The program is based on a concept for the establishment of university-based entrepreneurship promotion. Offers include capacity building to establish entrepreneurship and incubation centres, curricular development for entrepreneurship and innovation management, and trainers’ training, among others. We introduce well-tested coaching tools and mentoring approaches to support start-ups that emerge from academic research and teaching. The Self Management Initiative Leipzig (SMILE), the entrepreneurship promotion initiative at Leipzig University, has applied these tools in its training and has effectively assisted the founding of over 560 Start-ups in Germany over the last 15 years. SMILE is an invaluable resource capacity available to AGEA for supporting entrepreneurship development in Germany and Africa.
Explore our entrepreneurship promotion training manuals in Resources.
Through our idea competitions, entrepreneurship trainings and workshops and partner project activities, promising business start-up projects are identified and supported. Through our network of experienced coaches and mentors, AGEA matches the start-up projects with interested coaches and mentors with the experience and expertise to improve the project ideas and move it to the required next development stage (prototyping, marketing analysis, market-entry, etc.).
Explore our Success Stories for more information on some successful businesses supported.
The annual AGEA Business Idea Competition provides students and AGEA Alumni in partner countries an opportunity to develop their entrepreneurial ideas. It serves as a platform for many young Africans to kickstart their entrepreneurial journeys. The main aim is to discover promising problem-solving business ideas generated by young African students and contribute to nurturing these ideas further for the market.
Applications are open in August for interested applicants to submit their ideas. Applicants share their ideas and prototypes, where available. A selected jury reviews the submissions, and a final shortlist of the top ideas made. The competition winners are selected through the jury or by public voting (digitally) on the final event day (usually in October).
Explore the format of the AGEA Idea Competition for 2020.
Relive the moments of our digital AGEA Idea Competition 2020 event.
Through the SMILE incubator initiative, German start-ups developed for African markets are supported to develop competitive business models. The businesses are registered in both Germany and the target African country. Support includes training, coaching and mentoring entrepreneurs and entrepreneurship promotion in Germany.
Explore our Success Stories for more information on some successful businesses supported.
Success Stories
Several start-up enterprises and projects have emerged to implement the ideas developed and nurtured during various AGEA project activities and interventions such as training, international summer schools, coaching and mentoring workshops, entrepreneurial idea competitions, etc. A number of these start-ups have become established businesses due to the support and opportunities provided through AGEA. We highlight a few of these start-ups as evidence of the impact (potential) of AGEA in unearthing and support entrepreneurship development in Africa and Germany.
Projects
Within the broader AGEA network, several projects contributing to entrepreneurship development in Africa are ongoing. Consistent with the collaborative spirit of AGEA, these projects are being implemented jointly with different academic and business partners in Africa and Germany. Unlike the main AGEA project with no specific focal area or industry of entrepreneurship promotion activities, these projects have focal topics, such as biodiversity, vocational training, information technology, education, etc. German public funds support these projects through the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD).
Resources
Implementation of projects within AGEA has generated valuable resources in the form of knowledge and expertise in entrepreneurship education and promotion in Africa. These resources include research publications, handbooks, guidelines, training materials, subject-matter experts, etc., for managing or providing support to the entrepreneurship development processes. Though these resources might be context-specific, they can be adapted to different situations.
You are also invited to explore our gallery to relive our exciting and educative events.
Team
Prof. Dr. Utz Dornberger
Director
SEPT Competence Center
Leipzig University, Germany
Bismark Agyei Yeboah
Coordinator
SEPT Competence Center
Leipzig University, Germany
An energetic and dedicated team supports the activities of AGEA at Leipzig University and in the African partner-universities. The team is responsible for coordinating various initiatives and activities within the AGEA Network in Germany and Africa.
Contact
Are you interested in joining our network or events? Please contact us or send us a message.
Office Address
International SEPT
Competence Center
Leipzig University
Ritterstr. 9-13
04109 Leipzig
Germany
Postal Address
International SEPT
Competence Center
Leipzig University
PF 100920
04009 Leipzig
Germany