05.07.2023

Research Visit to Kigali

Insightful research journey to Kigali

From 26 to 30 June 2023,Prof. Philipp von Carlowitz, head of the Doing Business in Africa research group at ESB Business School, visited Kigali, Rwanda’s beautiful capital. He attended the EU-Rwanda Business Forum which was initiated in the framework of the EU Global Gateway Initiative. High level presentations, panel discussions and specialized events on the topics of Healthcare, Agribusiness, Mining, Green and Sustainable Economy were conducted with fruitful discussions, great side-meetings, and good networking with experts. It was an excellent opportunity to learn about concerns of the companies in these industries furthering our understanding of topics for our applied research on doing business in Sub-Saharan Africa.

The remainder of the week was used to advance DBA’s research activities by visiting companies and talking to the managers, in order to gain a deeper understanding of the business approaches and business models. The meeting with Volkswagen’s CEO in Rwanda, Serge Kamuhinda, including a visit of the local production site, was very instructive on how a shift in business model can provide access to a market that is not addressable with the conventional approach of selling new cars. Zipline, another innovative company offering drone transport was visited. Understanding the intricacies of making the delivery service happen and how all processes are carefully designed was impressive. The very instructive discussion with Zipline’s general manager Shami Eden Benimana helped to understand the current business and extended to a discussion on potential expansion ideas. In addition, in order to further our research on motives and approaches to export of African SMEs, two companies from the agribusiness field were interviewed. In these two cases, export is driven by customers finding and approaching the companies. In one of the cases trade fairs were visited to find customers. We will continue with expert interviews to determine motives of African SMEs to export as well as understanding what determines the destination of exports. 

A visit to CCHub Design Lab allowed for a detailed discussion with the hub’s head Oluwaseun Adepoju on technologies in the African context, R&D development projects, and prospects for the deployment of new technologies. The visit is related to our research project on the role Tech-Hubs play for innovation and entrepreneurship in the African economies. This research will lead to policy implications on how innovation might be promoted. 

Finally, in the context of our DAAD funded research cooperation with the University of Rwanda, a PhD research seminar was organized by Prof. Jonas Barayandema, the Dean of the School of Business. Two interesting papers were presented: one was on the question if lean management is deployed as innovation in SMEs. The other paper dealt with the understanding of consumer drivers and barriers for organic food consumption in Rwanda.  

It was a very diversified and interesting agenda in a very hospitable country which helped to further our research activities in many ways. Thank you, Rwanda!