Dr. Christian Friedrich, Professor (em) at the University of Applied Sciences, Giessen, Germany
Professional Experience:
1975- 1981 Entrepreneur, setting up two companies in Germany.
1982-1989 Professor for organizational psychology at the University of Applied Sciences in Giessen, Germany.
1990-1994 Resident representative of a German NGO in Zimbabwe and regional coordinator for the southern African region, with focus on entrepreneurship and the promotion of SMEs in cooperation with the local chambers of commerce.
1995- 2001 Professor (tenured) in Giessen.
Several international research projects in the SSE sector between 1998 and 2001 with focus on success factors of SMEs, funded by the German Research Foundation in Zimbabwe, Zambia, Namibia, South Africa.
2001- 2005 Visiting Professor at the University of the Western Cape, South Africa, funded by German government (DAAD). Head of Entrepreneurship Development Unit (EDU), Department of Management, UWC.
Project leader for national and international entrepreneurship research projects. Cooperation with South African government institutions and the World Bank/IFC to support growth of businesses and to create employment.
2006- 2015 Professor in Giessen, Germany.
2006 till today extraordinary professor at UWC with focus on evidence based best practice in poverty alleviation through entrepreneurship training.
Senior Enterprise Fellow, University of Essex, England.
International entrepreneurship projects in Asia, Africa, Europe. Regular speaker at international conferences. Consultant to Bahir Dar University, Ethiopia sponsored by German government (DAAD). Business consultant in Europe.