​Networks Open Doors for Students and Researchers in Africa​

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​A2i Promotion in Uganda gave 15 new Leads for Danish Tech​

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​Stream A2i Talk about Corruption​

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​Let us open Kenya for your Business​

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Meet our new board member, Søren Jeppesen, CBS:

​Networks Open Doors for Students and Researchers in Africa​

Meet our new alternate board member, Søren Jeppesen, Associate Professor at Copenhagen Business School (CBS). He sees a great potential in the collaboration and reports a fine interest in Africa among his students at CBS.

“In Africa, you don’t get far without a network,” says Søren Jeppesen, who has spent decades researching business development in Africa. Now, he has joined the board of the Access2innovation (A2i) network, and for intentional reasons.

“I see A2i as a valuable partner — both academically and practically. A2i has local contacts that our students and researchers can draw on. When doing fieldwork in Uganda, Tanzania, or Kenya, having someone who can introduce you to the right NGO or company can make all the difference,” he explains.

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Søren has had ties to A2i through various collaborations over time with, among others, Arne Remmen, Olav Jull Sørensen and Peter Kjær Mackie Jensen. The last one, he remembers as a very dynamic student. The projects are, for example, Svend Auken’s consortium DUCED - I&UA (Danish University Consortium for Environment and Development - Industry and Urban Areas). Søren also has stayed in close contact with A2i through joint field trips with, among others, the University of Aalborg.

What he values most is A2i’s ability to bridge research and practice:

“We see ourselves as a knowledge bank that A2i can tap into — and we do the same when we or our students need local expertise or insights from the field.”

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Fieldwork Makes a Difference

One concrete example of collaboration is CBS’s annual field course in Uganda, where 30 master students work side by side with Ugandan students to explore entrepreneurship and the role of the private sector in development. The course is so popular that spots are filled almost immediately.

“It offers practical, real-world content in the field. Students gain hands-on experience with cultural differences, data collection, and teamwork in a context that’s vastly different from Denmark,” says Søren.

A Knowledge Contributor

As a new board member, Søren hopes to contribute with his deep expertise on African contexts and concrete experiences from working with NGOs and businesses. He is also involved in a research project on the garment industry in South Africa, Lesotho, and Eswatini — a project that will culminate in a book.

“Africa is a big part of my work, so it is a logical step for me to be back as an alternate board member, which I have served as before. Every year, when my department discusses our economy and prioritizing of our partnerships, I strongly advocate for CBS to remain part of this network. It’s the kind of partnership that really gives us access to resources and relationships we couldn’t build on our own.”

The collaboration with A2i is likely to grow even more relevant with the Danish government’s new “Knowledge and Innovation” program, aimed at fostering partnerships between academia and industry.

“This could lead to more concrete projects — with funding and time allocations,” Søren says.

​Click to read the full int​erview.​

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​A2i promotion gave 15 Leads for Danish Tech

In September, Access2innovation hosted two major events in Uganda in order to promote Danish solutions within grain drying, seed cleaning, and milling. The events took place in Gulu on Tuesday, September 23rd, and in Kampala on Thursday, September 25th.

In total the events created 15 new leads of potential customers.

Tuesday in Gulu

The workshop on Tuesday in Gulu was divided into two. Half the guests drove to the NUAC farm, a two-hour drive from Gulu, to see the mobile seed cleaning machine from Gl. Burholdt, which is used at the farm. (NUAC means Northern Uganda Agriculture Centre.)

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Meanwhile, the other part of the guests, who stayed in Gulu, met BM SILO and Engsko and heard about their technology.

Thursday in Kampala

The event Thursday in Kampala presented the equipment of all three hosts.

The events covered information and training in equipment, business plans, and access to finance for:

- BM Silo Cleaning & Drying Equipment for Maize and Other Seed Crops

- Engsko Plate Milling Systems

- Gl. Buurholt Seed Cleaner and Packing for Farmer Seed Production

The events created a demand pool of eight potential clients for the dryers, four for the seed cleaners, and three for Engsko milling systems.

The events are a part of our grain project together with Danida Green Business Partnerships / Danida Market Development Partnerships, BM Silo, ENGSKO A/S, Landbrug & Fødevarer, Gl. Buurholt, Opportunity International and @AG - PLOUTOS COMPANY LIMITED.

​Click to read more about the DMDP project.​

​Stream A2i Talk about corruption​

Free Virtual A2i Talk with an expert doing business in Africa.

In our latest A2i-talk, Professor Emeritus Martin Paldam from the Department of Economics, Aarhus University, reviewed results based on the data from Transparency International. Since 2005, the data has been explored by the research community. This includes reflections on how the level of corruption differs widely between countries and how the reduction of corruption is a dynamic process that is self-reinforcing once it starts. Will it help reduce corruption in the world if Danish firms are as honest abroad as at home?

Martin’s expert background includes the publication of 10 books and more than 200 articles, covering corruption and development, among other topics.

​Click here to stream the A2i Talk about corruption.​

​Click here to stream more than 35 other A2i Talks about doing business in East Africa.​

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New business delegation in fall 2025:

​Let us open Kenya for your business​

Access2innovation in partnership with the Danish Agriculture & Food Council, Afrika Consultancy, and the Danish Embassy in Kenya, is pleased to invite your company to participate in the 2025 agribusiness delegation to Kenya. This trip is November 10-14, 2025.

The last registration is October 3, 2025.

​Click to read more about our business delegation to Kenya.​

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