AIT Alumni 2024

Take a look at the companies that joined the AIT Swiss-Africa Program in the last 10+ years.

On this Interactive Map you can find out more about the successful companies.

Interviews with our AIT Start-Up Companies

Read the key messages about the journey of one of our prominent AIT companies:
Download Growth challenges and Benefits of the AIT Swiss Africa Program

Vision and the (self-) leadership it requires:

 

Staffing your company:

 

Recommended reading (on meaningful goal setting): Measure what Matters, John Doerr

Are you interested in reading the whole Interview?
Download the Full-Text-Interview here

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AIT Alumni Conference 2024

 

Save the Date: 2024, November 20th-21th

Starting with a Swiss – South African approach, the program and its focus on initiating and strengthening collaboration in research and innovation has grown into a multinational venture involving Switzerland and South Africa, Rwanda, Nigeria, Kenya and Ghana.

Funded on the Swiss side by the State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation (SERI) since 2007 participating countries have been contributing in-cash and in-kind to the successful development of this program. Strong partners emerged as the Technology Innovation Agency (TIA) in South Africa, the Entrepreneurship Development in Higher Education (EDHE) of Universities South Africa (USAf), Ministries, Embassies, Universities, private sector stakeholders. They all have been contributing in an important way to take this program to the level at which we can enjoy it today.

2024 will give us the opportunity to celebrate 10+ years of joint university – entrepreneurship action. With start-up companies selected along these years and many of them operating successfully today we will dedicate the Year 2024 to the issue of company growth and address various aspects of it in webinars and on-site meetings.

On this page, you will find the announcement of our webinars and the AIT Swiss Africa Alumni Meeting in South Africa in November 2024.

We look forward to a year of intensive discussion, experience sharing and growing awareness of how much knowledge is available in our own communities and our daily work.

Read more about 10 years of the Swiss-South Africa Joint Research Program (SSAJRP).
SSAJRP 2008 – 2018

Social Media

Thursday 21^st September 2023, 14:30 – 15:00 CEST

Moderator: Mr. Erich Thaler

Dr Moses’ advice to other entrepreneurs in a similar field:

 

The impact of running a startup on an entrepreneur’s mental health:

Speaker

Dr. Moses M. Kebalepile A medical data scientist and research coordinator at the University of the Witwatersrand, in the School of Clinical Medicine. He is also the Founder of a MedTech startup called KTI. Dr Moses graduated with a PhD in Public Health specialising in Computational Epidemiology.His academic research used Artificial Intelligence paradigms (Deep learning, particularly Artificial Neural networks) to study and predict asthma outcomes due to air pollution in the cities of Johannesburg and Tshwane. It was the unique algorithm from this doctoral research that he soft computed into a patented medical device called the Asthma Grid.

 

Webinar 2

On 5^th of October, a webinar with MLaw Mr Stephan A. Hofer will follow and address the important topic of international visibility of companies. How to set up international business infrastructure and to operate from abroad will be the questions that Mr Hofer will address.

Thursday 5^th of October 2023, 12:00 – 12:30 CEST

Moderator: Mr. Erich Thaler

Find out how the Double Tax Agreement works:

 

What is the Investment Protection Agreement?

Can non-EU entrepreneurs settle in Switzerland?

Speaker

MLaw Mr. Stephan A. Hofer A lawyer from Switzerland, admitted to the Swiss and Bern Bar since 2013. Since his admission he worked as a legal practitioner for several companies in the financial sector in Geneva and Basel prior to joining business law firm GHR in 2016, where he was promoted to a partner in 2022. Mr. Hofer provides for legal advice in corporate law for Swiss and international SME’s and particularly focuses on restructurings. Furthermore, he is responsible for the privacy law division in the firm, providing legal advice for Swiss companies with special consideration of GDPR.Mr. Hofer heads the Africa Desk within the firm, wherein he cares to maintain cross-continental relationships with fellow lawyers all across Africa, as well as he is further responsible for relationships with Asian clients as well. Since this year, he is elected co-chair of the League of Lawyers, a network of independent law firms with the goal to connect legal practitioners from Asia and Europe.

 

Webinar 3

On 26^th of October the third webinar will take place. Mr. Mbuso Ngcongo will talk about his workbook that is entitled  “In the Beginning: Literacy, Numeracy and Coding the World”.

Mr Mbuso will share insights in his entrepreneurial journey and engage with entrepreneurs present in feedback discussion on talk and suggestions of how to increase sales.

Thursday 26^th of October2023, 13:00 – 13:30 CEST

Moderator: Mr. Erich Thaler

Speaker

Mr. Mbuso Ngcongo Bachelor of Computer Science from the University of South Africa (UNISA) Founder and CEO of the AIT Startup UMbalabala, an educational toolkit that uses pedagogical methods to advance learning for those at a foundational level of schooling.

 

Webinar 4

The fourth webinar will be held on 16^th of November. The topic of this webinar will be “How to get your business investor ready?”. Ms. Amne Suedi Kagasheki will give a presentation on this question.

Thursday 16^th of November 2023, 13:00 – 13:30 CEST

Moderator: Mr. Erich Thaler

Speaker

Ms. Amne Suedi Kagasheki A Swiss and Tanzanian international lawyer turned entrepreneur who founded Shikana Group, a legal and investment advisory firm focusing on foreign investments in Africa. Her company, based in Switzerland and Tanzania, collaborates with entrepreneurs, international companies, and financial institutions investing in East Africa. In 2023, she founded BintiBiz, an education technology company supporting female entrepreneurs in Africa through online courses and mentoring. Ms. Suedi, fluent in French, English, and Kiswahili, has a background in finance and banking and has worked with notable companies, receiving awards like TOP 100 Executive List 2022 and TOP 50 Women in Management in Africa 2023.

Webinar 5

The fifth webinar will be held on Friday 23^th of February. The topic of this webinar will be „How to make your business resilient and how can digital tools help you with this task?“. Mr Dieter Puganigg will give a presentation on the topic “Resilience and Digitization”.

Friday 23^th of February 2024, 12:30 – 13:30 CEST

Moderator: Mr. Erich Thaler

Speaker

Mr Dieter Puganigg  Dieter Puganigg, MSc, is an Executive Consultant and Academic Lecturer specializing in Digital Transformation, Resilience, and Sustainability. He is the founder and CEO of Digiwise e.U. in Vienna, where he leverages 25 years of international corporate leadership experience, notably in IT at HPE, services at Microsoft Corporation, and FMCG at Nestlé Nespresso S.A., with a focus on B2B. In academia, Dieter serves as an Academic Lecturer covering Digital Transformation, E-Strategy, Customer Loyalty, Leadership, Resilience and Sustainability. He also heads a Diploma Program in E-Commerce Management. Dieter holds an MSc in Digital Business from the University of Applied Sciences Technikum Vienna and is committed to continuous learning in the dynamic digital landscape. He is a Certified Digital Consultant (ISO 17024), reflecting his dedication to industry excellence.

Guidelines to develop a resilient organization

 

Organizational Resilience

Attributes from ISO 22316:

• Resilient leadership
• Knowledge and information
• Resources
• Organizational development
• Designing the future
• Business purpose
• Corporate environment

 

Business Resilience

Components of a strong business model:

• Market attractiveness
• Customer loyalty
• Scalability
• Cross-selling / Up-selling potential
• Profitability
• Xaas (“Anything” as a service)
• Entry barriers

 

What to do now for your own business? Describe, understand, measure and develop resilience!

Webinar 6

The sixth webinar will be held on 16^th of May. The topic of this webinar will be “How to fund Swiss-African business collaboration”. Ms. Susanne Grossmann from SECO Start-up Fund will give a presentation on this interesting topic.

Thursday 16^th May 2024, 12:00 – 13:00 CEST

Moderator: Mr. Erich Thaler

Speaker

Ms. Susanne Grossmann Susanne Grossmann brings a multi-year expertise in private sector finance in emerging markets with a focus on private equity and lending to small- and mid-sized businesses (SMEs). Before joining the SSF Susanne worked 10 years in Swiss development cooperation, followed by several years in the private sector, where she was involved in social projects and impact investing in emerging markets. From 2011-2023 Susanne served on the Board and IC of the Swiss Development Finance Institution SIFEM (Swiss Investment Fund for Emerging Markets). She has also been active as jury and board member in the impact investing space. Susanne holds a Master’s Degree in History and Economics from the University of Zurich and a Post Graduate Degree in European Integration from the University of Basel.

Webinar 7

Thursday 06^th June 2024, 11:00 – 12:00 CEST

Moderator: Mr. Erich Thaler

SWISS SOUTH AFRICA WEBINAR Hosted by: Swiss Academy of Sciences Switzerland (SCNAT) Swiss Commission for Research Partnerships with Developing Countries (KFPE) Co-Funding Success & Partnership – 10+ years of collaboration in research and innovation between Switzerland and South Africa Download the program

AIT Alumni Webinar 1

Thursday 04^th July 2024, 12:00 – 13:00 CEST

Moderator: Ms. Pauline Koelbl

Next Webinar: Thursday, 04. June, 12h00 – 13h00 Topic: “Dos and Don’ts in Investor Relations” Pauline Koelbl, Founder and Managing Partner of ShEquity and CEO of AfriProspect, in talks with two eminent investors from Africa who are serial entrepreneurs themselves with a global exposure. Erick Yong, entrepreneur, investor, advisor and African carbon credit expert and Hema Vallabh, engineer, turned entrepreneur, turned investor. A unique opportunity to listen to investors and decision makers on what they are actually looking at while deciding on whom to invest! With over 20 years in international affairs and venture philanthropy, Pauline Koelbl invests in African female-led businesses and connects African innovators with global markets. She has 11+ years of experience supporting SMEs and startups in Africa, focusing on innovation, entrepreneurship, and empowering youth and women.

AIT Alumni Webinar 2

Thursday 29^th August 2024, 12:00 – 13:00 CEST

Moderator: Ms. Pauline Koelbl

Next Webinar: Thursday, 29. August, 12h00 – 13h00 Topic: “Team Building/ Handing over the CEO position” Pauline Koelbl, Founder and Managing Partner of ShEquity and CEO of AfriProspect, in talk with Nick Draeger, a scientist, engineer, financial expert, entrepreneur, and business leader with global experience. Skilled in building, financing, and leading projects in various sectors, especially healthcare and nutrition, with rapid learning and decisive action. Excited about creating innovative commercial opportunities across diverse businesses and geographies to achieve results. Nicholas holds a BSc (Hons) in Chemical Engineering from the University of Natal, a PhD in Biochemical Engineering from the University of Cambridge, and an MBA from the University of Warwick. With over 20 years in international affairs and venture philanthropy, Pauline Koelbl invests in African female-led businesses and connects African innovators with global markets. She has 11+ years of experience supporting SMEs and startups in Africa, focusing on innovation, entrepreneurship, and empowering youth and women.

All webinars are of 30 min. and are followed by a Q&A session.

A registration link will be sent out to all alumni companies in due time.

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Interactive Map