Flensburg/Windhoek, 09/01/2024: This years Autumn School, which has been organised by the Centre for Business and Technology in Africa since 2013, was supported by members of the Jackstädt Centre Flensburg for the first time. Over the course of two intensive weeks, 12 students from the Master of Business Management programme at Flensburg University of Applied Sciences (FUAS) and 121 students from the Namibian University of Science and Technology (NUST) were not only able to build up intercultural skills, but also develop in-depth knowledge in the fields of entrepreneurship and business model analysis and design.
Original quote from Prof Schmidt: “We were delighted with the results of the students in the workshop. We now have 12 detailed business models with video material from micro-entrepreneurs. This is a first-class database for further analyses of growth opportunities for micro-entrepreneurs in southern Africa.”
Field studies on informal business models run by Namibian founders were developed. Members of the NUST filmed interviews with the entrepreneurs, each lasting around ten to fifteen minutes. Under the supervision of Prof. Thomas Schmidt (CBTA) and Prof. Dirk Müller (JZF), the material collected on site was analysed by the students, focused on individual facets of the business models and documented as a business model canvas. In addition, their interaction in the overall models was visualised using Lego Serious Play, a method with which complex relationships can be examined in a playful way. The overall view has thus resulted in the first description of informal business models in Namibia.
