When the coronavirus pandemic hit, economies around the world closed down and most people were relegated to remote work. But for the young African professionals taking part in the latest AFRIKA KOMMT! programme, the pandemic brought the additional challenge of being in a foreign country and taking part in a highly competitive programme.
AFRIKA KOMMT! is a joint training initiative for young professionals from Africa that was founded in Germany in 2008. The programme trains young future leaders from Africa on-site at up to 19 leading German companies.
The participating companies bear all costs of the programme and provide scholarships that cover the living expenses of all participants.
A total of 47 candidates participated in the latest programme, hailing from countries including Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Namibia, Nigeria, Uganda, and Zimbabwe.  SAP chose eight candidates from this year’s talent pool.
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Ilka Wiskemann, SAP Global HR Business Partner said that this year faced a significant change with applicants increasing each year and there were more female applicants to the programme.
This paves way for a strong female leader presence in the industries and even role models for those to come behind.
The programme creates opportunities for one to build leadership competencies, management skills and more, which all require interaction with a wide range of people.
After eight successful programme intakes, AFRIKA KOMMT! continues to produce outstanding results with many of the participating companies taking on more candidates than before.