CEFE (Competency-based Economies – Formation of Enterprise) /
Small Enterprise Development (SED)

My investment into the CEFE circle merely consisted in a flight to Manila / Philippines where the second-ever CEFE “Training of Trainers” (ToT) took place in October 1988, (see respective certificate) ; of course, the overnight stays and food was on my pocket, too. I was delighted with the ease people could learn (no, better: live) about entrepreneurship while utilising a great number of participant-centred activities (role plays, sketches, pre-structured exercises and others). Meanwhile, CEFE has conquered undisputedly the first place of the different entrepreneurship development training programmes.

Many years of relentless travelling and working for and with the CEFE methodology contributed to become one of the CEFE Chief Trainers (see CEFE-certificate). Fortunately, I got the job of editing “brainstorm”, the bi-monthly (later quarterly) magazine for all GTZ CEFE trainers. Eventually, “brainstorm” became the CEFE insider news stock exchange so that I was always well informed about latest developments, ongoing training programmes and forthcoming events.

By the way, the discovery of the CEFE acronym was my invention as that one could be utilised as an abbreviation in all major European languages. During the above mentioned training of trainers, the name CEFE did not yet exist. It was invented before the first brainstorm magazine was published.

I became member of the CEFE association in 1994 although the respective certificate was only issued in 1996. (CEFE-association).

I developed the first-ever CEFE training for illiterate participants, which has been conducted in Bangladesh under my responsibility. Many exercises have been simplified; mathematical operations during the business plan elaboration were undertaken with faked bank notes. Meanwhile we rather favour the use of calculators and have incorporated respective exercises into the training programme. The approach has spread to other countries such as Afghanistan, Nigeria and Morocco (CEFE Illiterates). Other new products related to CEFE in vocational schools (CEFE voc schools).

For about four years I was editor-in-chief of the CEFE magazine called “brainstorm”.

Together with my friends Ton van der Krabben, Namory Traoré and Yéro Haïdara (),I introduced CEFE to the French-speaking world through training courses for laid-off government workers and cadres in Mali. This series of four training programmes served as ignition for other CEFE-packages in the French-speaking African world (Cameroon, Tunisia, Cote d'Ivoire, Morocco, Niger, both Congos, etc.). A number of Africans have been trained as multipliers who are still successfully active in the area; to mention just a few: Bonny Dikongue and Yossa (CAM), Namory Traoré and Sidibé Konaté (MAL), Amouyé Nguetakan (IV-C), Dieudonné Kabanda and Agnès Niyokindi (RWA, ).