Afrika Kommt! Paid Internships & Young Professionals Opportunities in Germany

Afrika Kommt! is a capacity building initiative that was set up in 2008 by nineteen of Germany’s leading companies.

The programme aims at highly qualified young professionals and junior executives from countries in Sub-Saharan Africa with several years of hands-on work experience, strong leadership qualities and a very high level of commitment and dedication.

At the heart of the programme is an eight-month practical training in a leading German enterprise, allowing the participants to gain first-hand practical experience in a leading German enterprise to be exposed to leadership concepts and management techniques in practice to become acquainted with working processes and business culture in German enterprises to extend their international management competencies to initiate networks of cooperation partners between Sub-Saharan Africa and German companies.

The programme, conducted in German, includes the following main components:

One-month intensive German language course in your home country.
One-year stay in Germany comprising of: Four-months intensive German language course and eight-months practical training in a German partner company Four-weeks training course on international management competencies One-week study tour in Germany on relevant subjects, e.g. “Regional Economic Development” Weekend exposure tours covering cultural and social topics organised by the Robert Bosch Stiftung in Stuttgart and the ZEIT-Stiftung in Hamburg Cultural weekend activities organised by GIZ.
Six-months transfer phase after the stay in Germany via GIZ’s online platform Global Campus 21.

Two-weeks refresher course in Germany approx. 6-12 months after the stay in Germany.

Afrika Kommt Eligibility

University degree e.g. in Business Administration, Sales, Marketing, Engineering in various sectors Pharmacy, Medicine, Chemistry, Agricultural Engineering, Agronomy, Chemistry, Computer Science/Information Technology, Business Information, Communication, Economics, Human Resources, Finance, Healthcare, Law, Life Science, Physics, Supply Chain Management, Product Management etc.
Postgraduate degree (e.g. MBA) an advantage.
Two to five years of relevant work experience
Excellent English language skills, French, Portuguese and German languages are an advantage
Inter-cultural competencies, open to new experiences abroad and willing to learn GermanNot older than 35 years and physically fit female candidates are particularly welcome to apply.

Afrika Kommt Candidate Requirements

The programme is aimed at highly-qualified and self-driven young professionals and junior executives from Sub-Saharan Africa.

Besides the specific technical expertise relevant to the partner company, the programme requires candidates to have the following set of general skills and attributes:

Language and communication skills: Excellent English skills Strong oral and written communication skills High willingness to learn German.
Professional skills: High leadership potential Strong self-motivation and self-starter mentality High level of dedication, commitment and target-orientation Strong capacity for teamwork.

Personal attributes: High level of enthusiasm, flexibility and resilience Outstanding inter cultural competencies Ability to adapt to new environments quickly.

Afrika Kommt Financing

The programme is financed by the participating German companies and covers:

Intensive German language courses (face-to-face) in Africa and in Germany including fees, travelling, accommodation and living allowance
Roundtrip airfare to and from Germany
Living allowance of € 720 / per month
Accommodation during all stages of the programme in Germany
Health insurance, accident insurance and liability insurance
Programme-related travelling expenses in Germany
International management training courses
Study tour and weekend seminars in Germany as well as cultural activities
One-off relocation fee of € 1.000,- for settling back into the home countries
Roundtrip airfare to and from Germany as well as travel and accommodation during the refresher course

For more information and application details, visit; Afrika Kommt!