Nucleus Approach - the Entrepreneurs' Network

20.06.10 - Cebu, Philippines: Amina Yoosuf and Dave Maurice, directors of the Nucleus Foundation, Sri Lanka, train chambers in the application of the Nucleus Approach

17.06.10 - The different strategies of the Soccer Nuclei ... (ppt)

16.06.10 - SEQUA / AL INVEST: Six months afters its start the participating chambers and associations in Bolivia, Peru, Colombia and Ecuador founded 186 Nuclei:
- 46 Bolivia
- 42 Colombia
- 49 Ecuador
- 49 Peru

20.11.09 - Karachi, Pakistan: Amina Yoosuf and Dave Maurice, directors of the Nucleus Foundation, Sri Lanka, trained Nucleus counsellors of five textile associations, supported by the bfz, Germany (pdf)

19.11.09 - Bonn, Germany: Message from Simone Lehmann, SEQUA, to the European AL Invest IV partners of the Andean region ...

11.09.09 - France / Algeria: Cécile Perret: Nuclei of Small-Sized enterprises, Social Capital and Territorial Development in Algeria ...

31.10.09 - AL Invest IV Informs - Electronic Newsletter N.3 (pdf)

09.09.09 - Sri Lanka: NF publishes a new "Training Profile". It is worth to have a look at it (pdf)

28.08.09 - Sri Lanka: Nucleus Entrepreneur Exchange: sustainable peace building through economic and social integration

10.08.09 - NF - Sri Lanka: Dave Maurice presents the Nucleus Approach as instrument for SME promotion at the LED conference in Colombo

05.06.09 - FaQ: Starting the Application of the Nucleus Approach: shall one begin with smaller, weaker and less organised enterprises?

06.05.09 - AL INVEST: Training of Nucleus counsellors and entrepreneurs in Bolivia, Peru, Colombia and Ecuador ...

01.05.09 - We grieve for Jörg Meyer-Stamer ...

17.03.09 - Start of the AL Invest project with SEQUA in four Latin American countries ...

13.03.09 - Updated statistics of chambers, Nuclei and participating SMEs

23.02.09 - Berlin - Accra: Organisational development through strengthening the scientific theoretical research capacities of a business association ..

01.12.08 - Hof, Germany: Application of the Nucleus Approach by the bfz ...

27.07.08 - Bonn, Germany: SEQUA adopts the Nucleus Approach. Discussion with Rainer Müller-Glodde ...

05.05.08 - Munich: The Fundação Empreender / Foundation Entrepreneur, Brazil, and the HWK Munich sign an Agreement of Cooperation ...

03.05. - 10.05.08 - Munich: Brazilian Environment Nuclei visit the IFAT ...

15.04.08 - Chambers and "Public Private Dialogue" ...

24.11.07 - Brazil: Melim, the first "Doctor Nucleus"

Santa Cruz, Bolivia - 06.05.09

Jordi Castan, Jairo Aldo da Silva, both Brazil, and Eduardo Pereira, Uruguay, are conducting the first training courses in Bolivia, Peru, Colombia and Ecuador with Nucleus counsellors and entrepreneurs.

Ricardo Castede, CAINCO: "The experience we made in Santa Cruz has been a success because we managed to reach all goals:

i) We have attracted interest from entrepreneurs and formed the first Nucleus (we plan to set up two other Nuclei during this month)

ii) We have managed that the board members took note of of this tool and its potential and

iii) the counsellors (a total of 19) from CAINCO and CADEX have been trained and, most importantly, have become convinced that the tool Nucleus works."

Training of counsellors with Jordi Castan

Duisburg, Germany - 01.05.09

Jörg Meyer-Stamer passed away on 1st May following a short illness, barely half a year after his 50th birthday.

We grieve for a dear friend and an esteemed colleague.

We had the privilege of working with Jörg through the various projects and programs associated with the Nucleus Approach:

HWK Munich - Fundação Empreender / Entrepreneurs Foundation, Joinville, Brazil
ESSP - GTZ, Kandy, Sri Lanka
Nucleus Foundation in Sri Lanka

On behalf of the project / program staff, representatives of chambers of commerce and entrepreneurs who worked with Jörg through the years we convey our deepest condolences to his family.

When Jörg came to Santa Catarina in 1997, his task was only to develop a marketing brochure for municipalities. The result was the "Programa Marketing Municipal", a simple idea out of which Jörg gradually conceptualised what later came to be well known and widely used as PACA / LOCA, and has since been disseminated in many countries.

Jörg will be remembered by those who knew him for his quick wit, direct approach, fresh insight, sometimes disturbing in his unrestrained manner but always prevailing with a workable solution, stimulating and provoking new experiences, just flying in, letting loose his small “bombs”, as he liked to call them, and then leaning back to see what would happen. All this combined with the enigmatic dry humour typical for northern Germany, for the Ammerland ... was the man that was Jörg Meyer-Stamer.

We will remember him with affection, we will miss him in our work and in our lives, we will carry on the legacy he left behind.

Thanks, Jörg, for all that you have meant to us!

"Man is alive, as long as one remembers him." African proverb.

Amina Yoosuf - Kandy, Sri Lanka / Jairo Aldo da Silva, Jordi Castan, Jose Maria Melim, Ederaldo Ribeiro, Lucilena Michelutti - Santa Catarina, Brazil / Rainer Müller-Glodde, Dakar, Senegal

Interview with Jörg Meyer-Stamer about his career in development cooperation (Podcast):
Part 1 (9 MB)
Part 2 (10 MB)

Milestones in a process of innovation, change and development
A Birthday anthology
mesopartner (eds.)
with contributions by colleagues and friends of
Dr. Jörg Meyer-Stamer
Buenos Aires / Dortmund 2008

Bolivia - Bonn - 17.03.09

The "AL-Invest Programme" with chambers in Bolivia, Columbia, Ecuador, Peru and SEQUA and chambers from other European countries as partners starts. The project is supported by the EU.

Simone Lehmann, SEQUA, and Jordi Castan, Brazil, will in all four countries present the Nucleus Approach, which integral part of the project. In addition will be discussed and negotiated with CAINCO, Santa Cruz, Bolivia, the operational planning of the following steps.

Berlin - Accra - 23.02.09

The BDI - Confederation of the German Industry -, an institution of bigger enterprises, starts a partnership project with the Association of Ghana Industries (AGI).

In the context of the organisational development of the association the project's objective is the improvement oft its lobby work through "strengthening the scientific theoretical research capacities". Obviously, the thesis is: who knows profounder, who is better prepared, has more chances to convince successfully.

Considering the African economic, political and cultural environment, this seems to be a very challenging approach. It will be interesting to observe, in which way the project managers will gain a sustainable impact in the association.

Hof - Germany - 01.12.08

Martin Wahl, Programme Coordinator of the bfz, informed about the application of the Nucleus Approach in Mozambique, Pakistan and Central America.

Martin Wahl had participated at the second international workshop of the partnership project HWK Munich - Fundação Empreender, Joinville, Brazil, in 1997. Years later the bfz has been starting the application of the Nucleus Approach in two projects in Mozambique, in Pakistan and in Central America (Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador). Martin Wahl announced more information during the first quarter 2009.

See more in "Nuclei in the World"

Bonn, Germany - 27.07.08

Discussion between SEQUA - Ralf Meier, Head of the Management of Programmes, Dr. Florian Lütticken, Coordinator of Programmes with the EU, Veronique Chavane, Project Director, reasonable also for the participation of SEQUA in the project AAPOP - GTZ Algeria - and Rainer Müller-Glodde: SEQUA adopts the Nucleus Approach.

Since its start in 1991, SEQUA's strategy had always been not to involve itself into partnership projects between German chambers and those of other countries, but to concentrate on financial aspects and reporting. Ralf Meier explained now that this policy is changing. SEQUA develops and adopts methodologies, strategies and instruments for the development of business chambers chambers and associations and offers them as support to partnership and other projects.

Due to the good experiences of HWK Munich - Fundação Empreender, Joinville, CACB - SEBRAE - KHK Essen, and bfz Hof, Germany in Brazil and Mozambique, of GTZ in Sri Lanka and Algeria, SEQUA decided now to adopt the Nucleus Approach and to apply it in different projects. Dr. Florian Lütticken mentioned project proposals for Central America and Santa Cruz, Bolivia, submitted to the EU. In projects planned in Vietnam and Bangladesh the application of the methodology is considered in the context of the introduction of "sustainable production". The bfz is preparing a project in Pakistan and applies the Nucleus Approach in the south of Mozambique together with GTZ. In addition is in discussion a project in South Africa, eventually together with the CACB, Brazil.

Question: where are ongoing the most interesting developments concerning chambers and associations? Ralf Meier: Mongolia - now already with 14 regional chambers -, in southeast Europe and India is most thrilling.

Dr. Florian Lütticken,
Veronique Chavane, Ralf Meier

Munich - Joinville - 05.05.08

17 years after the start of the partnership project between the Chamber of Crafts and Small Industries for Munich and Upper Bavaria and chambers of commerce and entrepreneurs in the northeast of Santa Catarina, Brazil, HWK and FE confirmed their cooperation by signing a respective agreement.

Download of the agreement in German or in Portuguese

Heinrich Traublinger, President of the HWK, Uwe Stortz, President of the Chamber of Commerce and Entrepreneurs of São Bento do Sul, who signed the agreement on behalf of Adriano Zimmermann, President of the FE, Lothar Semper, CEO of the HWK

Joinville - Munich - 03.05. - 10.05.08

For the third time since 1996 members of Environment Nuclei from the north-east of Santa Catarina visited the "International Trade Fair for Water - Sewage - Refuse - Recycling" - IFAT in Munich.

The participants were mainly environment specialists in larger companies and come from Brusque, São Francisco do Sul, Jaraguá do Sul, Itajai and Blumenau. Uwe Stortz, President of the Chamber of Commerce and Entrepreneurs of Sao Bento do Sul, led the group.

Environment Nuclei have been formed in the region in the context of the partnership project between the Brazilian business chambers, the Fundação Empreender and the HWK for Munich and Upper Bavaria since the early 90s. There was and is a high suffering and pressure regarding the disposal of industrial waste and sewage.

Apart from the IFAT, the group visited a number of private and public institutions in the sector.

For the evaluation of the trip by the participants see the Portuguese version (pdf).

Representatives of the HWK Munich and the Brazilian members of Environment Nuclei

15.04.08

The framework conditions for successful entrepreneurial activities depend highly on the quality and intensity of the "Public Private Dialogue".

Simone Lehmann analyzes the case of the ACE Joinville, Brazil, in order to show in Vietnam how chambers and the public sector can cooperate in favour of the development of the local and regional economy.
More ...

Joinville - Brazil - 24.11.07

José Maria MELIM, Joinville, Brazil
- the first "Doctor Nucleus"

Dr. Melim graduated with the doctorate about the development of Social Capital among micro and small enterprises: the experiences of the Sector Nuclei of the "Program Entrepreneur" in Brazil. -
More ...

Videos