Services for foreign companies
Do you want to do business with Germany and experience partnering together? Then this is the right place for you!
You can learn about the benefits of the programme for your company and find information on how to participate here – in other words everything you need to be successful on the German market.
How participating in the programme benefits you
Are you looking for German business partners or do you want to export your products to Germany? Are you interested in technical know-how “Made in Germany” and in expanding your business internationally? Partnering in Business with Germany is currently offering wide-ranging opportunities to companies from 17 countries to get to know potential German business partners and to expand their business operations internationally.
Your company will benefit from participating in this programme in many ways:
Build business contacts with German companies:
The programme offers many opportunities to talk, to explore opportunities for cooperation and to develop joint projects.
Create networks:
Create networks with successful managers from Europe, Afrika and Latin America - and with alumni from your own region. More than 17,000 managers have taken part in the programme over the last 25 years.
Expand your management expertise:
Be it the efficient use of resources, change management or international quality certificates: our interactive training courses teach you how to implement change within your company in order to guarantee its successful internationalisation.
Get to know the German market better:
Knowledge of foreign markets and intercultural skills are decisive for your success. Partnering in Business with Germany offers you both. On top of that, the direct contact to German business partners also enhances the international reputation of your products.
Benefits for your SME:
The programme specifically supports small and medium-sized enterprises in our partner countries that are put in touch with German companies - a win for both sides.
Direct willingness to change: 75% of foreign managers implement improvements in their companies immediately after having participated in the programme – these changes relate to working conditions or the introduction of innovations, for instance.
Impressive levels of satisfaction: 89% of participants say that they were either satisfied or very satisfied with the programme.
Apply for the programme now
You are eligible to apply if you are managing a company and have a concrete idea for cooperation with German businesses, if you have several years of experience as a manager and have a good knowledge of English.
You apply via the local partner organisation that will first hold a brief interview with you about the cooperation project that you wish to develop and implement with German partners.
To learn about how to apply, please contact the local point of contact in your country.
Our contacts in the partner country
Depending on the country, business agencies, chambers or associations are responsible for the implementation of the programme. They advertise the programme and recruit potential participants. Together with the GIZ, they select the participants either in a virtual meeting or in person in a partner country.
In a second step, our partner organisation prepares selected managers for their trip to Germany before the mentoring is taken over by German Business Development Centres. Our partner organisations keep in touch with former participants and support the networking of alumni in their country.
You can find contacts on the page for your country.
This is how the programme works
Partnering in Business with Germany is practice-oriented and requires commitment.
The programme is divided into several stages and begins in your home country with an onboarding part and an introductory workshop. In online training classes you and other participating managers learn more about how to successfully deal with German business culture. Experts help you to develop your cooperation idea. The highlight is a two-week trip to Germany where you proactively contact German companies.
This also includes meetings with German entrepreneurs. Experience first hand what quality and technology “Made in Germany” means and gather valuable knowledge about German business culture. In other words: you will be creating top contacts and find business partners you can trust.
After your trip to Germany, you will continue to promote your cooperation project with German companies. Training courses and our expert tutors will be supporting you.
Establish contacts with alumni from previous years and meet representatives of the German business network in your country. By receiving our graduation certificate, you will become part of the international alumni network of Partnering in Business with Germany!
Find out more about the individual elements of the programme:
Preparation
Well-prepared for your professional and personal goals
Partnering in Business with Germany is a blended learning programme that provides a combination of both online and face-to-face modules. Modern methods of skills development (social learning) such as learning groups, tandems and a range of coaching techniques allow participants to share their professional experience with others. The online training modules are conducted on the ‘PG Campus’ platform, which has been specifically designed for digital learning and communication, and ensures continuous support throughout the entire learning process. Participants can communicate directly via the platform.
Training is provided for groups of 20 managers at a time. A two-day introductory workshop in the home country allows participants to get to know one another and creates an atmosphere of trust that is useful when working in smaller groups. The managers share their opinions and experience on current challenges and their personal goals and set out a plan for how they want to realise their individual cooperation project on their own.
During the 6-week online preparation phase, virtual training sessions and company visits take place on 2-3 days each week. Company visits – this time on-site – and training sessions and rounds of reflection continue throughout the 2-week stay in Germany. The preparation phase teaches practical knowledge and essential skills for forging successful international business ties. The skills conveyed are tailored to the needs of the individual groups and usually include management skills (e.g. quality management, marketing and logistics, innovation and change management) and cooperation skills (such as intercultural management, giving successful presentations and contract preparation).
The online training sessions provide participants with intensive preparation for their B2B talks in Germany, making them fit for reaching their professional and personal goals.
Matchmaking
Careful matching and a partnership-based approach are at the heart of the programme.
The matchmaking process starts during the preparation phase and is completed in Germany. In your home country, online coaches will help you find the right partners for cooperation. In Germany, you will forge contacts with representatives from the German business community and hold B2B talks with your potential business partners.
Contracts
Now comes the most important part: signing contracts!
The preparation phase has given you the skills your need to specify your cooperation project, and the matchmaking phase has helped you establish contacts with the companies on your wish list. Many of these contacts will result in business cooperation: around 10% of the managers taking part in the programme sign one or more contracts with German companies during their stay in Germany.
Testimonials from companies based in the partner countries
The programme’s most important contribution to reaching our goals was that it allowed us to present ourselves as a reputable company to potential partners in Germany, a company that has received support from the German government for taking part in the programme.
Our partnership with German company DIVE Turbinen has had a very positive impact on our business. It has given us access to new and innovative technologies and new ways of thinking. The programme has allowed us to place innovative equipment on the markets in Central Asia, which helps reduce overall construction costs.
I know Germany a little because I studied there. But if you want to do business in Germany, you really need to know how to hold talks, how to negotiate and how to approach business partners. The programme has helped us understand these dynamics.
Focus sectors and topics that bear responsibility for the future
Partnering in Business with Germany cuts across all sectors. At the moment, in particular participants from the following sectors are joining the programme:
Agriculture
Construction industry
Energy efficiency in industry
Renewable energy
Healthcare industry
Industry 4.0
Circular economy/environmental technologies
Food industry
