17-18 November 2025

Speaker Biography

Jens Manke

Director Germany and Central Europe

OCO Global

Jens Manke is Director Germany and Central Europe with OCO Global based in the Frankfurt Region, Germany. In this role he is responsible for the operational management and support of ongoing projects for Central Europe, especially the German-speaking market. Jens has more than 10 years of experience in Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and international trade relations. He advises economic development organisations with their strategic positioning for FDI and related trade and investment advisory programs.

Jens has supported leading investment promotion agencies such as Invest Victoria (Australia), Tunisia Investment Authority (TIA), Bahrain EDB or Maryland Department of Commerce in their positioning and representation in the German-speaking market. He also supports organizations within the DACH- region on various issues relating to investment attraction, including Baden-Württemberg International, Berlin Partner, NRW.Global Business, Invest in Mecklenburg-Pomerania, the Ministry of Economics in Schleswig-Holstein and the Austrian Business Agency. He also advises private companies on their expansion into new markets and on topics such as growth and market entry strategies and entrepreneurial business development.

Before joining OCO, Jens worked for NRW.Global Business, the economic development agency of the German Federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia. There he was responsible for FDI lead generation, investment facilitation and aftercare services to foreign companies in North Rhine-Westphalia. In addition, he developed strategies and concepts along the investment promotion value chain, such as strategic FDI attraction, aftercare and key account management as well as strategies for cross-industry innovation topics such as Industry 4.0, digital economy and e-commerce. In this role, Jens was a frequent speaker at investment attraction events across Europe but also overseas, especially in China.

Prior to that, he worked for Metro Group (Düsseldorf) on location assessments and real estate and property scorings for portfolio analysis. He also worked as research assistant at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver and contributed significantly to the economic impact study of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) on the 2010 Olympic Winter Games.

Jens completed a degree in economic geography (M.Sc.) at RWTH Aachen University and obtained an MBA from the FOM University of Economics and Management. He spent a semester abroad at the Universidad Complutense de Madrid and is fluent in English, French and Spanish.

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Councillor Ray McAdam

Lord Mayor, City of Dublin, Ireland

Vanessa Völkel

Deputy Director, UNIDO Investment and Technology Promotion Office (ITPO), Germany

Maryna Khlystun

Executive Director, UkraineInvest, Ukraine

Joana Aguia

Project Manager, Invest Madeira

Regional Government of Madeira (Portugal)

Dr. Eric Anthony Johnson

Assistant City Manager, City of Austin, Texas, USA

Jens Manke

Director Germany and Central Europe

OCO Global

H.E. Mothanna Gharaibeh

Minister of Investment, Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan

Theo Föllings

President, EURADA, Belgium

Jürgen Schmitz

Office for Investment support, Business settlement projects and Cluster management, City of Mainz, Germany

Bogusława Kruczek-Gębczyńska

Head, Silesian Investor and Exporter Assistance Center

Patrick Breuer

General Manager DACH & Netherlands, HABYT, Germany

Andreas Lippert

COO, Investor Services at Saxony Trade & Invest Corp., Germany

Matthias Beier

President & CEO, Transatlantic Business & Investment Council (TBIC)

Jürgen Raizner

Director

Steinbeis Enterprises in Stuttgart (DE), Baku (AZ), Bucharest (RO), Uzhhorod (UA) and Vienna (AT)

Steffen Rietzschel

Head of Economic Development Office, City of Dresden, Germany

Daniela Schmitt

Minister, Rhineland-Palatinate Ministry of Economic Affairs, Transport, Agriculture and Viticulture

Tigran Harutyunyan

Founder, Myler Mountain Resort, Armenia

Anne Eberhardt

Project Manager Commercial Sites, Rheinisches Revier, NRW.Global Business, Germany

Dr. Chloë Voisin-Bormuth

Managing Director, Paris-Île de France Capitale Économique (PCE), France

Arnar Guðmundsson

Head of Foreign Direct Investment, Business Iceland, Iceland

Jan van Bilsen

Country Manager for Germany, the Nordics and Switzerland, International Finance Corporation (IFC), Germany

Christopher Williams

Professor, ESSCA School of Management, France

Natalia Bejan

Director, Invest Moldova Agency

Gökhan Yücel

Head of the Communications Department

Investment Office of the Presidency of the Republic of Türkiye

Spyros Kouvelis

Chairman, Verimpact/ Team Leader EU-GCC Cooperation on Climate Change and Energy/Senior Associate of the University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership/former Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs/former MP

Maryna Khlystun

Executive Director, UkraineInvest, Ukraine

Aleksandra Božović

Head of the Department for International Cooperation and Investment Environment Development, Montenegro Investment Agency (MIA), Montenegro

Andreas Kieb

Advisor to Global Head of Real Estate, DREES & SOMMER SE, Germany

Dr. Tobias Traupel

Director General, European, Legal  and Foreign Trade Department, Ministry of Economic Affairs, Industry, Climate Protection and Energy of the State of North-Rhine Westphalia

Dr. Kai Bindseil

Head of Division Healthcare | Industry | Infrastructure, Berlin Partner for Business and Technology

Rita Aloi

Director EMEA, ResearchFDI, Italy

Dragoslav Pavlovic

Mayor City of Nis, Serbia

Dr.-Ing Georg Leuteritz

Senior Director Trends & Innovations, hannoverimpuls GmbH, Germany

Besnik Vasolli

Managing Director of German - Kosovo Economic Chamber

Dušan Radonjić

Director of the International Cooperation Department, Chamber of Economy of Montenegro, Montenegro

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Ms. Simone Hartog

Representative for Abacus (Seychelles) Ltd.

KOSTIANTYN LISNYCHYI

Strategic Advisor to UkraineInvest, Business Development

Theo Föllings

President

EURADA

Holly Garforth

Business Development Head – Lead Generation

Ras Al Khaimah Economic Zone (RAKEZ) - Government of Ras Al Khaimah

Jürgen Barke

Minister of Economics, Innovation, Digitalisation and Energy and Deputy Prime Minister of Saarland, Germany

Christoph Kannengießer

CEO, Afrika-Verein der deutschen Wirtschaft e.V. (German-African Business Association)

Aminta Zettel

Strategic Country Manager Europe and the United Kingdom

Ras Al Khaimah Economic Zone (RAKEZ) - Government of Ras Al Khaimah

Carmelo Corral

Investment Promotion Manager

IPEX Spain

Gordon Einstein

Founding Partner

CryptoLaw Partners – specializing in crypto and blockchain

Ovidia Caba

Director of Regional Policies, Programs Unit

RDA Centru, Romania

Günther Fehlinger

Austrian Economist, Management and Development Consultant

Jens Manke

Director Germany and Central Europe

OCO Global

Rakan I. Algaraawi

Office Director - Central/Eastern Europe

Saudi Investment Promotion Authority

PROF. PETER PLATZER

Secretary General of EUREKA, Co-Founder of 3rd School of Austrian Macroeconomics

Jürgen Raizner

Director

Steinbeis Enterprises in Stuttgart (DE), Baku (AZ), Bucharest (RO), Uzhhorod (UA) and Vienna (AT)

Faraz Rojid

Director

Economic Development Board (EDB) of Mauritius

Mr. Rifat Hyseni

Director of Information Technology Department In Tax Administration of Kosovo

Honoré Achille Simo

Executive Director, Value and Risk Advisory, JLL

Philipp Lemmerz

Partner

Government & Public Services practice, PricewaterhouseCoopers Middle East

Dennis Schulmeyer

CEO and Founder

LADE GmbH

Chigozie Nweke-Eze

CEO, Integrated Africa Power (IAP)

Board Member, Hydrogen-Africa

Charles A. FitzGibbon

Vice President of Sales

Conway Data, Inc.

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Micheal Perschke

CEO

Quantron AG

Vahan Kerobyan

Minister of Economy

Government of the Republic of Armenia

Ferruh Parmaksız

Country Advisor of Germany

Invest in Türkiye

Emmanuel Rutagengwa

Head, Transport Policy & Planning

Central Corridor Transit Transport Facilitation Agency

Gordon Einstein

Founding Partner

CryptoLaw Partners – specializing in crypto and blockchain

COURTNEY FINGAR

Chairwoman of IME

Founder and Principal of Fingar Direct Investment

Dr. Manuel Kallweit

Chief Economist

German Association of the Automotive Industry (VDA)

Levon Ohanesyan

CEO

Enterprise Armenia

Gilbert Ewehmeh

Investment & Innovative Finance Expert

Chairman, Accelerate Africa

Dr. Henrik Meincke

Chief Economist

German Chemical Industry Association (VCI)

Sergiy Tsivkach

Executive Director

UkraineInvest

Georg Schattney

Group Head of ESG / Sustainability Officer

CORESTATE Capital Group

Achim Hartig

Managing Director,
Germany Trade & Invest (GTAI)

Chair of OECD Network of Investment Promotion Agencies,
Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)

Frank Beckmann

CEO / Investment Advisor

GVI Germany GmbH

Dr. Ahmed Bennis

Managing Director, Tanger Med Zones and

Secretary General, Africa Economic Zones Organization (AEZO)

Mathias Fillon

COO

ANIMA Investment Network

Reinhold von Ungern-Sternberg

Director International Markets

German Association for Small and Medium-sized Businesses (BVMW)

Heike Freimuth

Head of the European Investment Bank (EIB) Group Office in Germany

Lionel Grotto

CEO

Choose Paris Region

FERNANDO BALLESTA

Director of Foreign Trade, Investments and Industrial Infrastructures

Murcia Regional Development Agency

Jürgen Raizner

Director

Steinbeis Enterprises in Stuttgart (De), Baku (AZ), Bucharest (Ro), Uzhhorod (UA) and Vienna (AT)

Dr. Alexander Blass

Head of Operations

NEURA Robotics

Günther Fehlinger

Austrian Economist, Management and Development Consultant

Svilen Rangelov

Co-Founder and CEO

Dronamics

H.E. Dr. Sania A. Ansari

CEO

Ansari Group Ltd. and Strategic Partner for SGD Cities Initiative

Chigozie Nweke-Eze

CEO, Integrated Africa Power (IAP)

Board Member, Hydrogen-Africa

Alexandra Dublanche

Chairwoman

Choose Paris Region

Jens Manke

Director Germany and Central Europe

OCO Global

PILAR MADRIGAL

Director Investment Advisory

CINDE – Invest in Costa Rica

PROF. PETER PLATZER

Secretary General of EUREKA, Co-Founder of 3rd School of Austrian Macroeconomics

Christian Kingombe

Co-Founding Managing Partner

4IP

Gül Ertuğ

Finance and Accounting Leader - CFO

Ford Otosan

Mohammed Juma'a Al Musharrakh

CEO

Sharjah FDI Office (Invest in Sharjah)

Subhashini Chandran

Vice President Social Impact Asia Pacific

Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth

Dr. Nurettin Tekin

Hydrogen Product Management

KAWASAKI Gas Turbine Europe GmbH

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Alice Mashingaidze

Ambassador, Embassy of the Republic of Zimbabwe in Berlin, Germany

Jens Manke

Director Germany, OCO Global

Moshe Bar Zvi

Principal of Love Israel Venture Capital

DIPL. ING. HEIKO SCHNEIDER

CEO and Managing Partner GoGaS Goch GmbH & Co. KG

MR. MARKUS LEHNER

Principal of LEHNER INVESTMENTS

Heike Freimuth

Head of the European Investment Bank (EIB) Group Office in Germany

Mateusz Wachowski

Senior Inspector in the Investors Assistance Department, Katowice City Hall

Guy Van der Beken

President of EUREKA

GUNTHER FEHLINGER

Secretary General CEE-BC

Prof. Peter Platzer

Secretary General of EUREKA, Co-Founder of 3rd School of Austrian Macroeconomics

Johannes Jung

Head of Department 5 Strategy, Law, Foreign Trade and European Affairs Ministry of Economic Affairs, Labour and Tourism, State of Baden-Württemberg

ACADEMICIAN PROF. DR. MILAN KRAJNC

Psychotherapist, Nobel Prize nominee and Author of the Dynamic Leadership Model

Magdalena A. Kolka

Deputy Director of Investors Assistance Department, Katowice City Hall

Phina Jerome

Research and Planning Manager, Tanzania Investment Centre (TIC)

Douglas van den Berghe

Founder and CEO, NxT Zones

Jon Whiteaker

Editor, Investment Monitor

H.E. Mulu Solomon Bezuneh

Ambassador, Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of F.D. R. of Ethiopia to F. R. of Germany

Professor Stefan Liebing

Chairman, German-African Business Association

Fabio Righi

Minister of State for Industry, Handicraft and Trade, Technological Research and Regulatory Simplification of the Republic of San Marino

Marcin Woźniak

CEO at Swarmcheck | President of the board at Optimum Pareto Foundation.

Dr. Ahmed Zaid Al Hussain

CEO of the Royal Commission Jubail within the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA)

JÜRGEN RAIZNER

CEO | Administrator / Steinbeis-Transferzentrum Ost-West-Kooperationen

Sarah Jaax

Senior Consultant, FDI Center

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Professor Olga Mroz, Dame of Honour

Al-Khalifa Business School

Academician Prof. Dr. Milan Krajnc

Psychotherapist, Nobel Prize nominee and Author of the Dynamic Leadership Model

Dr. Philipp Steinberg

Head of Economic Policy Department, German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy

Heiko Staubitz

Senior Manager Investor Consulting Hydrogen & Energy Infrastructure, Germany Trade and Invest (GTAI)

Dr.-Ing. Nurettin Tekin

Hydrogen Product Management, KAWASAKI Gas Turbine Europe GmbH

Adekunle Olusile

Advisor Nigeria, UNIDO ITPO Germany

Jürgen Raizner

CEO | Administrator / Steinbeis-Transferzentrum Ost-West-Kooperationen

Paul Soubry

President & Chief Executive Officer, NFI

Mr. Markus Lehner

Principal of LEHNER INVESTMENTS

Dr. Simone Burel

CEO of LUB GmbH

ALBIN KURTI

Prime Minister of Republic Kosovo

Dipl. Ing. Heiko Schneider

CEO and Managing Partner GoGaS Goch GmbH & Co. KG

Miguel Solis

Trade Counsellor, Embassy of Guatemala in Berlin

Yassir Ahmed

Advisor Sudan, UNIDO ITPO Germany

Prof. Dr. Armin Willingmann

Minister for Economy, Science and Digitalization of the State of Saxony-Anhalt, Germany

Nuno Maposse

Senior Investment Expert, Mozambique Investment and Export Promotion Agency (APIEX)

Jessica Neumann

Investment and Technology Promotion Expert at UNIDO ITPO Germany

André Steinau

Co-Chair Clean Energy Partnership

Ksenija Cipek

Ministry of Finance, Tax Administration of the Republic of Croatia.

GUNTHER FEHLINGER

Secretary General CEE-BC

Ms. Zoë Harries

Senior FDI & Economic Zones Advisor I Partner & Director, EZDA I Founder & CEO, Impact Zones & Impact Advisory Middle East I Project Director, World FZO I Lecturer & Public Speaker

Vanessa Völkel

Deputy Head, UNIDO ITPO Germany

Reinhold von Ungern-Sternberg

Director International Markets

Dr. Maike Schäfer

Minister for Climate Protection, the Environment, Mobility, Urban and Housing Development for the city-state of Bremen, Germany

Dr. Rüdiger Meyer

Application Expert Energy Storage, Phoenix Contact GmbH & Co. KG

Markus Exenberger

German Society for International Cooperation (GIZ)

Douglas van den Berghe

CEO of NxtZones and FDI

Jens Deutschendorf

State Secretary, Hessian Ministry for Economic Affairs, Energy, Transport and Housing

Mr. Daouda Sangaré

Advisor Côte d'Ivoire, UNIDO ITPO Germany

H.E. Dr.Dr.h.c. Raphael Nagel

Chairman at The Abrahamic Business Circle

Aïssata Lam

Director General - Investment Promotion Agency of Mauritania (APIM)

Prof. Dr. Andreas Pinkwart

Minister of Economic Affairs, Innovation, Digitalization and Energy of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia

H.E. Laila Rahhal El Atfani

Founder & President at Business Gate / Global President CEC-UK

Her Excellency Lady Elizabeth Kelly

Businesswoman in Dubai (UAE)

ROSE DOREE BOKELEALE EBETA

Deputy Managing Director of the National Investment Promotion Agency (ANAPI DRC) of the DR Congo

H.E Denisa Gokovi

Founder & CEO at Hoinser Magazine | Speaker| Philosopher| Writer| Musician| | Award - winning| Sovereign Ambassador.

Prof. Heinz-Peter Platzer

Co-Founder at the 3rd Austrian School of Macroeconomics and Secretary General of Eureka.

Carlos Andrés Alvarez

Senior Advisor Foreign Investment, PROCOLOMBIA

Gustavo Weigel

Managing Director, WEIGEL Finanzas Corporativas, Uruguay

Prof. Dr. Claudia Dalbert

Minister for the Environment, Agriculture and Energy of the State of Saxony-Anhalt, Germany

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Kadio Fofana Diop

Investment Direcor for APIX SA

Fellanza Podrimja

Public relations, economic and educational advisor to the Mayor of Prizren Municipality

Albin Kurti

Former Prime Minister of Republic Kosovo

Ms.Olga Mroz

Dama of Honour

Paola Suárez Buhrmann

Manager at FDI Center

Ms.Saida Kahouli

Deputy director in Foreign Investment Promotion Agency-FIPA TUNISIA

Francisco Mackenney

Consul General of Chile in Frankfurt

Ms Božica Lapić

Director for Investments, Agency for Investments and Competitiveness of Croatia

Teodor Bate

Chief architect of the Dambovita county, Romania

Sering Bamba Saho

Founder and CEO, M + S Piano-Express GmbH

Mr.Stefan Günther

Manager regionale, Projekte Invest in Bavaria – Die Ansiedlungsagentur des Freistaates Bayern

Ms. Tessa Jacques

President of the Caribbean Association for Investment Promotion Agencies (CAIPA)

Courtney Fingar

Editor-in-chief, FDI, at New Statesman Media Group

Jürgen Raizner

CEO | Administrator / Steinbeis-Transferzentrum Ost-West-Kooperationen

Hon. Dennis Waweru

Vorsitzender, Kenya Investment Authority

Mr.Flamur Kuçi

Ceo of ADVICE, Management Consulting Albania

Gunther Fehlinger

Secretary General CEE-BC

Arlind Zeqiri

Head of International Office Bern, Agency for Foreign Investments and Export Promotion of the Republic of Macedonia

Mr.Mirsad Jašarspahić, dipl.ing.maš.

President, Chamber of Economy of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina

Sarah Jaax

Location marketing, Ministry of Economics, Transport, Agriculture and Viticulture Rhineland-Palatinate

Carolin Welzel

Senior Consultant International Organizations, Agency for Economy & Development (AWE), Berlin

Ikechukwu Okoli

Head of Advisory and Investment, Kiakia Gas Limited

Franka Ismer

CEO – persönlich + gesellschaftlich + unternehmerisch

Justus Vitinius

Director Corporates Latin America, German Investment and Development Corporation (DEG)

Mr.Eric Menges

CEO of FrankfurtRheinMain GmbH

Mr.Michael Voigt

Wirtschaftsförderer, Wirtschaft und Tourismus Villingen-Schwenningen GmbH

Dr. Martin J. Worms

State secretary at the Ministry of Finance of Hessen

Ricardo Pedroza

Director Europe, PROCOLOMBIA Frankfurt

Mr.Alush Gashi

Minister and Functions in the Assembly of Kosovo

Ms. Mariyana Nikolova

Deputy Prime Minister for Economic and Demographic Policies in Bulgaria

Georgi Petrov

Regional Manager – ECA PPP Transaction Advisory, IFC

Andreas Stephan

Dipl. -Geophys., MBA SPRINT! Energy Consulting GmbH

Mr.Jacopo Dettoni

Editor of fDi Magazine – Financial Times Group

Prof. Julien Chaisse

School of Law | City University of Hong Kong – Hong Kong SAR

Dr. Eyup Vural Aydin

Chairman – Istanbul PPPCoE

Mr.WANG Shunqing

Generalkonsul at Generalkonsulat of People

Mr.Sheku Lexmond N. Koroma

CEO at Sierra Leone Investment and Export Promotion Agency

Gustavo Weigel

Managing Director , WEIGEL HALLER CORPORATE FINANCE (Uruguay)

Mr. Aleksejs Stecs

Vice Chairman of Rezekne city council on development and investment

Ms.Mariam Kuchuloria

Deputy CEO of EBA Georgia

Yofi Grant

CEO, Ghana Investment Promotion Center

Miguel Solis

Commercial Advisor, Embassy of Guatemala

Dr. Corinna Franke-Wöller

Director Agency for Economy and Development

Ángel D. Morales Castillo

President, German-Nicaraguan Chamber of Commerce and Industry

Wolfgang Leidig

Director and Project Manager of the Innovation and Training Park ITP in Prizren Kosovo

Ali Mehrez

Director in charge of Industrial sectors at AMDIE – Moroccan Investment and Export Development Agency (AMDIE)

Mr.ERIC MENGES

President & CEO FrankfurtRheinMain Region

Christian Weber

Executive Director Representative Office Mexico, Bayern International

Mr. Norbert Barthle MdB

Parliamentary State Secretary to the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development

ARSHI AYUB MOHAMED ZAVERI

CEO – TrustWithTrade Group | Senior Advisor Royal Family Office, Vereinigte Arabische Emirate

Ms.Yeva Zeynalyan

Country Coordinator for PPD Network, Armenia

Sarah Russis

Director, fDi Intelligence – Financial Times Group

Mirko Twardy

Head of Business Development Finance and Promotion – Dr. Kakuschke & Partner AG, Berlin

Hans-Joachim Hebgen

Senior Consultant for financing, policy issues develoPPP.de and textile industry

Mr.Nikola Jankovic

Senior Investment Advisor, Serbian Development Agency