Partnering in Business with Germany
Partnership programme
for business cooperation
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Global support for small and medium-sized enterprises
Partnering in Business with Germany is a global programme of the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action and designed to promote foreign trade and investment. It seeks to help SMEs from developing and emerging countries forge successful business ties with German SMEs. Each year, around 1,000 managers from around the world are prepared to enter the German market and brought into contact with German companies that themselves are interested in entering new markets abroad. The programme leads to the establishment of long-term business partnerships and a global network of internationally active SMEs.
Partnering in Business with Germany cuts across all sectors. However, there is a growing focus on decarbonisation and climate action.
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17 partner countries – 17 markets. Learn more about our 17 partner countries.
1.400
German companies participate in the programme every year. Two thirds of these German companies are SMEs.
17.000
selected managers from abroad have been prepared for business with Germany under the programme since 1998. They form a global network of internationally active SMEs.
The special thing about the Programme is that the expertise of German SMEs gets taken straight across to developing and emerging markets, and that this leads to useful business contacts – to the advantage of both sides, because both sides learn from it. It’s a prime example of cooperation.
Forward-looking promotion of foreign trade and investment for a global network of competitive SMEs ready to take on the challenges of tomorrow.
25 years of support for cross-border business cooperation
Partnering in Business with Germany is the link between Germany and companies from 17 countries. Discover partner countries.
Award for Partnering in Business with Germany in Ukraine
In December 2025, the Partnering in Business with Germany programme received an award at the Ukrainian Employers Annual Meeting in the category “Support Ukraine – Support Ukrainian Business”. The award expresses the appreciation for the programme’s special commitment when it comes to supporting Ukrainian companies and promoting sustainable business cooperation with German small and medium-sized enterprises.
A new life for waste oil – how German technology and Indian passion are boosting the circular economy
A cooperation project between Lena Neumann from the German company Avista Oil and Sahil Bhargava from the Indian lubricant supplier IFP Petro is helping to drive forward the circular economy in both countries. Against the backdrop of growing industrialisation, an increasing need for energy, and global supply chains, the circular economy is becoming ever more important as an economic model.
Partnering in Business with Germany at MEDICA 2025: high level of participation and strong international interest
The Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWE) presented the Partnering in Business with Germany programme at MEDICA in Düsseldorf from 17 to 20 November 2025. At the stand, visitors had the opportunity to inform themselves about the programme’s scope and objectives for structured business initiation with currently 22 partner countries.
Visit of Parliamentary State Secretary Stefan Rouenhoff to Vietnam: meeting with programme alumni
Parliamentary State Secretary at the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy and Member of the German Bundestag Stefan Rouenhoff visited Vietnam together with a business delegation from 16 to 19 November 2025. The third session of the German-Vietnamese Joint Economic Committee, which took place in Hanoi on 17 November 2025, was one of the highlights of the visit.
Fresh impetus for cooperation: delegations from Central Asia and Latin America at AGRITECHNICA
International delegations from Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Colombia visited AGRITECHNICA – the world’s leading trade fair for agricultural technology – in Hanover from 11 to 13 November 2025 in the context of the Partnering in Business with Germany programme.
