World
Russian Chamber of Commerce Strengthens International Ties
By Kester Kenn Klomegah
The Russian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCI) said it is working very hard to continue to prioritise the interests of Russian entrepreneurs in all its dealings.
One of the ways the organisation is doing this is by strengthening its international ties.
Already, the CCI has successfully established 76 operational business councils with 76 countries. They involve representatives of the Russian business community and those from the relevant state.
These councils compile materials, including those for inter-governmental commissions. They work on specific projects that they support and on problems arising in economic ties with any specific country. This concerns customs regulations, phytosanitary control and many other questions.
“Our representatives are working in 41 countries, 10 of which are regional offices that are part of our regular operation, and the rest are our representatives emeritus who, on our behalf, protect, by proxy, our interests in a particular country; this is one of our major areas of operation as well,” the Head of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCI), Mr Sergei Katyrin, said during a meeting with President Vladimir Putin.
CCI is an association of entrepreneurs which not only unites them and represents their interests, but also provides services, including on behalf of the state, such as issuing certificates of origin of goods, confirming the goods that are manufactured on Russian territory. The CCI has the primary task to develop a system that could be as close to entrepreneurs as possible.
“We are now represented in more than 330 cities and municipalities in Russia, this is an opportunity to get as close to businesses as possible.
“We continue to work on this system and give the entrepreneurs an opportunity to get the services as close as possible and, accordingly, to use all the opportunities that chambers of commerce and industry can provide,” Mr Katyrin further said.
Business Post reports that later this year, the chamber will hold its grand congress this year, as stipulated in its official charter, to sum up the results of what has been done over the past period, and then to make plans for the next five years as well as elect the governing bodies. In accordance with the CCI charter, the chamber holds a regular congress every five years.
Apart from representing the interests of members, the CCI is involved in law-making activity, a highly important aspect for entrepreneurs.
According to reports, there are 22 committees and 13 councils. These are public associations that involve entrepreneurs, administrators and researchers – those that work themselves and help work in the sphere of law-making. Each year, they help pass over 100 bills and provide findings on about 70 bills. There are also draft about 15 of its own bills and duly submit them to the Government and the State Duma.
“We have tried to organize this systemic work so as to collect information and requests from entrepreneurs all over the country.
“Consequently, one of our main tasks aimed to engage the entire country’s business in this law-making and regulatory work through a system of chambers and our local subsidiaries and offices,” Mr Katyrin said.
Also, CCI works closely with the International Chamber of Commerce, the World Chambers Federation, and the Euro-Chambers. It has an advisory board of Heads of Chambers of the CIS countries and the Eurasian Union. It also represents Russia’s interests in the SCO and BRICS Business Councils. This year we chaired them, just like all our departments. Our colleagues told us it was a success, but, unfortunately, we had to do this in digital format.
“We do a lot to help the regions bring in investment and support investment projects in the regions, primarily, business projects. We have broken it down into several areas of focus. First of all, we have organized and hold regular presentations of the regions at the Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
“Almost half of our regions took part in these presentations. We invite all diplomatic missions that have trade missions, foundations, banks, and Russian and foreign companies and we present a region, while the region provides an outline of its investment projects. We also pick investment projects and present them to the industries that may be interested. We run presentations on agricultural projects, industry, and so on,” Mr Katyrin further explained.
The CCI does regularly collect and monitor feedback. It organizes a Business Barometer – an anonymous poll of entrepreneurs. It organizes four stages of the Business Barometer of the country and received feedback from entrepreneurs on the adopted measures.
Generally, the Business Barometer is used as a tool for finding out, for instance, the attitude of entrepreneurs to corruption, reveal the most corrupt areas and what they are all about, it further investigates potential investment areas and so forth. In each case, we send this information to the governors, State Duma deputies and the Government. The results are forwarded to the relevant ministries, departments and the State Duma.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
About $32 million has been put into the African Trade and Investment Development Insurance (ATIDI) by Germany through KfW Development Bank.
This funding package allows the European nation to become a D2-class shareholder of ATIDI, a status dedicated to Export Credit Agencies and Non-African Public Entities.
Of this amount, $18.4 million is funded from BMZ budget resources, with the remaining $13.6 million coming from KfW’s own resources. As such, it will assume the obligations and benefits related to its new shareholding status, including representation in ATIDI Governance and decision-making structures, and equally participating towards improving German trade and investments in Africa in alignment with the G20 Compact with Africa (CwA 2.0).
KfW’s subscription in ATIDI is the culmination of a dynamic partnership between the two organisations.
On behalf of the German Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), KfW has supported several countries’ membership in ATIDI with over $100 million in financing, thus strengthening the organisation’s capital base and expanding its ability to mitigate risk and mobilise private investment across African markets.
The new equity participation adds a direct shareholding to this long‑standing cooperation.
KfW is the 13th Institutional shareholder in Africa’s premier development insurer, further strengthening the organisation’s capital base and its capacity to support trade and investment across the continent.
At the official signing of the subscription agreement in Nairobi, Kenya, a member of the executive board of KfW, Ms Christiane Laibach, said, “Our membership is executed on behalf of the Federal Republic of Germany. It is only the latest culmination of a successful cooperation that has enabled the ATIDI membership of several African states and has created innovative insurance solutions to attract foreign investment on the continent.”
The chief executive of ATIDI, Mr Manuel Moses, said, “This milestone is iconic in many ways. First, it elevates our already dynamic bond with KfW and creates more opportunities for German investors looking to engage in Africa. It is also a recognition of ATIDI’s earned status as Africa’s top development insurer and the acknowledgement of the soundness of our business. Last, it underscores the power of partnerships in a global context increasingly marked by volatility and uncertainty. ATIDI will spare no effort to make this partnership a successful one.”
Established in 1948, KfW is Germany’s state-owned promotional and development bank and a key implementing partner of BMZ in international financial cooperation. Its shareholding in ATIDI is expected to stimulate up to $500 million in trade and investment between German companies and African markets.
Over the past 25 years, ATIDI has grown to become Africa’s premier provider of development insurance and one of its highest-rated financial organisations. It leverages its partnerships with leading multilaterals and regional bodies, including the African Union, the World Bank Group, COMESA, the European Investment Bank (EIB), and the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (NORAD), to offer innovative credit and investment insurance products that foster sustainable and transformational growth across the continent.
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The Netherlands’ largest energy provider, Essent, has cut the technology costs of its contact centre infrastructure by half.
The organisation, which serves 2.5 million customers, recorded zero critical incidents post-migration and improved agent workplace satisfaction by 36 per cent.
The migration was delivered in partnership with AI-first customer experience transformation specialists, Sabio Group, and was completed in under 12 weeks for an operation spanning over 1,000 agents across two locations.
Agents were forced to juggle multiple disconnected screens simultaneously — a workflow that was as inefficient as it was stressful.
“Our agents were constantly working with different screens — multiple chat instances open at once, multiple agent desktop instances. It was messy, and in some cases, quite stressful,” SAFe Product Manager for Customer Interaction, Omnichannel and Digital Transformation at Essent, Michiel Kouijzer, stated.
“A lot of colleagues were saying I was mad for even suggesting this approach. It kind of feels like a victory on a personal level that it did work out. You just have to be a little ambitious — and have the right expert partner who can make it work,” Kouijzer added.
With stable cloud infrastructure now firmly in place, Essent is turning its attention to the capabilities that were impossible in its legacy environment: AI-powered call summarisation, agentic customer self-service, and next-generation workforce optimisation.
Rather than a reckless ‘big bang’ cutover that could have affected service to millions of households, Sabio engineered a phased migration strategy — beginning with Essent’s SME segment to validate technical readiness before scaling to the full enterprise operation.
“This project showcases Sabio’s unique position in the contact centre technology landscape. We’re not just moving Essent to the cloud — we’re establishing a foundation for continuous improvement in their customer experience delivery,” the Country Manager for Sabio Group Benelux, Wouter Bakker, commented.
By Kestér Kenn Klomegâh
On April 11, the presentation of the book “Africa: a new market for Russian business” took place, which aroused lively diverse interests among business representatives, entrepreneurs and employees of federal structures of Russia. The event was dedicated to discussing the prospects of Russian companies entering the African market and became a platform for the exchange of views and experiences.
Participating guests, packed in the small hall, included:
– representatives of business circles,
– entrepreneurs interested in new directions of development,
– employees of federal agencies curating foreign economic activity.
The presentation was held in a constructive and friendly atmosphere. The author of the book, Serge Fokas Odunlami, detailed the key ideas and conclusions presented in the publication. Particular attention was paid to the practical aspects of operating in the African market, as well as the analysis of opportunities and risks for Russian companies.
During the lively discussion, participants asked questions, shared their experiences and made suggestions for developing cooperation with African countries. This format allowed not only to get acquainted with the content of the book, but also to discuss topical issues of expanding business relations.
Meaning of the book: The publication, “Africa: a new market for Russian business” offers readers not only analytical, but also practical recommendations on investment and market trends, and how to enter the African market. The book will be a useful tool for those considering Africa as a promising destination for investment and business development.
The presentation of the book became a significant event for the Russian business community interested in expanding cooperation with Africa. Serge Fokas Odunlami introduced the participants to the new edition, which is a comprehensive business guide that gives an impetus for dialogue and implementation of joint entrepreneurial projects and corporate initiatives across Africa.
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