At this virtual event of the Villingen-Schwenningen section of the Economic Council, Ulrich Dietz, as a member of the section’s board, had the opportunity to give the welcoming address. From aproxito’s point of view, this was a highly interesting event, as it focused on international foreign markets in Africa and Latin America. In particular when SMEs look beyond Europe, they usually look first to North America or, above all, to China. In addition to India, which aproxito considers to be a particularly important and in Germany still often much too underestimated market, there are also other very interesting markets in Africa and Latin America, which unfortunately are not often mentioned in the German press. And when, usually only the flashy news is reported, which generates a lot of attention, but also ensures that most people in Germany often only get an incomplete and distorted picture of these countries.

It was therefore all the more important to once again hear a presentation from people who really know these markets, and not just from documents or statistics, but who have personally lived and worked there for a long time. The presentation was given by Dr. Georg Dufner, who spent 7 years on the ground in Latin America in countries such as Argentina, Bolivia and Chile, and by Mr. Thomas Schiller, who spent 11 years in African countries such as Mali and Senegal, as well as in North Africa. The result was a highly competent presentation with differentiated insights into these markets, followed by a lively and constructive discussion. Special thanks go to the two speakers!