Launched in 2018, the online platform leverist.de, has become a robust source of new ideas and business opportunities for growing companies. Developed by the German development corporation - Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH on behalf of the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) the platform has already onboarded more than 560 companies. This article explores why leverist.de is particularly valuable for expanding companies.
Whether you are a business development executive, a partnership and alliance manager, global development manager, operations manager, international project manager or growth manager -what is common in all of these roles is that you persistently keep scouting new business opportunities which your company can jump into. Despite the rags to riches stories of many multinational global businesses, finding a customer base in a new market and taking your business internationally comes with its own challenges. Furthermore, the Covid-19 pandemic has brought in extreme resource crunches. As a result, it has become even more difficult to establish reliable business contacts. Especially start-ups and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are therefore scouting for new ways to find business leads.
leverist.de is an emerging platform that helps to deal with these challenges. In fact, very few companies actually know that the German Development Corporation - Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH works in around 120 different countries and routinely collaborates with specialized experts from various sectors. GIZ project managers in development projects look to source and bring in innovative services and products needed in the local contexts they are operating in. For example, they support the Green Innovation Centre project with designing the packaging for organic certified products in India. What if one could scout for such opportunities from all over the world and get in touch with the project managers digitally? That is exactly what leverist.de does.
Over the last two years, leverist.de has enabled more than 165 connections between companies and GIZ projects for opportunities hosted in 41 countries across the globe. More than 560 international companies are now using the platform to stay informed about business opportunities and enter into collaboration with projects. This article covers some tangible benefits companies enjoy when using leverist.de:
- Free-to-use and easy to access internationalization tool
For companies going international for the first time, it is a time consuming and resource intensive process. Especially for young businesses which are new in the market and lack contacts and resources, it is usually an exhausting and often a frustrating undertaking to find reliable contacts abroad. This is where leverist.de offers a simple online solution:
The platform points our exactly where your company´s support is needed in development sector projects. Once you have created a company profile, an algorithm automatically matches your profile with all open opportunities that match your industry and location criteria.
Case : Nutnose | Nutnose is an Amsterdam-based start-up that has developed an online trading platform for nuts, seeds and dried fruit. Thanks to leverist.de they came across a business opportunity and started a sourcing cooperation with a local company in the Dominican Republic. Website: https://www.nutnose.com
- Access to projects within the German Development Cooperation (GIZ) in 120 countries
GIZ works in 120 countries across the world. It is a service provider in the field of international cooperation for sustainable development and international education work with expertise in: digitalization, rural development, sustainable infrastructure - water, energy, transport, climate, natural resource management, governance among other areas. For example, in Ethiopia there is a business opportunity hosted on leverist.de for companies providing e-learning software and services. This opportunity supports the development of digital and online trainings for textile workers. In numerous other projects, GIZ employees are currently scouting for companies who can support them in reaching the sustainable development goals.
- Innovation and on-ground testing
The GIZ employees are actively scouting for new approaches and eager to support growing companies. Their expert knowledge of local markets of emerging economies is an extremely valuable resource for start-ups and SMEs. This expertise is also appreciated by companies who are looking to co-develop solutions directly for the markets, test the viability of new business models and products or receive feedback from rapid rollouts directly in markets.
- Contributing to sustainable and equitable development
As a company collaborating on a development sector business opportunity, you make a valuable contribution to sustainable development. By doing so, you are promoting the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as framed by the United Nations. Every business opportunity on leverist.de indicates which of the 17 SDGs is being targeted. It fundamentally connects your business to the purpose of developing a strong, solidary and sustainable global community. The mission of leverist.de is to help companies do business and do good.
- Transparent outreach
Through leverist.de companies can directly reach out to the inboxes of business opportunity managers (GIZ colleagues) and express their interest to collaborate. Once you have found a business opportunity that fits your company’s profile, you can quickly and easily transmit the necessary information (motivation, expertise, credentials) via the platform. This information is immediately passed on to the opportunity managers located in the local markets responsible for developing partnerships with companies. You will be contacted by them to explore possible means of collaboration.
If these benefits make you wonder what an actual collaboration between leverist.de, GIZ and your company could look like, check out one of the numerous success stories. If you have any further questions, feel free to reach out to us at leverist@giz.de.
