The American German Business Club Berlin
About us
The goals and aim of the club are to maintain the friendship and intensify contacts between the Berlin economy and the U.S.
Andreas Weigelt | Club President, AGBC-Berlin
Since the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, US – German relations have undergone a series of fluctuations and can no longer be taken for granted. Today, challenging geo-political and economic developments are compounded by concerns over energy supplies and data security. In addition, cultural differences between the two nations can impede effective communication and cooperation and hold back growth and prosperity.
The American-German Business Club Berlin (AGBC Berlin e.V.) About us
is a professional business club dedicated to building strong relationships between American and German business communities.
The AGBC-Berlin promotes business opportunities between companies and individuals by providing a cross-cultural networking framework for members of all nationalities. The Club enables individuals living and working in Germany and with American connections to meet like-minded individuals. The AGBC offers a platform to tap into member resources and keep up to date on developments of the German American business community.
The AGBC-Berlin is a private, non-profit, volunteer driven organization. Since its establishment in 1995, AGBC-Berlin has grown a strong membership base of entrepreneurs, small-medium-size enterprises and public sector organizations.
The club’s membership community consists of a wide variety of businesses and professions including banking, law, property development, information technology, engineering, design and publishing to mention a few. While the club has, as its title would suggest, a large number of Germans and Americans as members it is open to all nationalities, and as a result has an international character. Meetings and club business are conducted in English.
With the fall of the Berlin wall and the reunification of Germany in 1989–1990, Berlin had become the federal capital of the Federal Republic of Germany.
The American German Business Club Berlin (AGBC Berlin) was informally established in Berlin in 1993 by a group of German and American entrepreneurs from various sections of the city with the encouragement of former US Ambassadors and local German officials. Since 1995, the club has been registered in Germany as a non-profit organization under the name AGBC Berlin e.V.
As businesses in Berlin became more multicultural and innovative as a result of reunification and growth of the city, the composition of the club’s membership also evolved to include individual members of various nationalities. The club’s past presidents stem from German, American and Canadian backgrounds. Other nationalities are represented on the Executive Board. The founders of the club chose English as the Club’s working language and this preference is memorialized in the club’s constitution.
In 1999, Berlin officially adopted its full role as the home of the parliament and government of the Federal Republic of Germany and by the year 2000, the German Bundestag had moved its headquarters from Bonn to Berlin. As a result of these events, the United States Embassy also migrated from Bonn to Berlin where it has been serving as the U.S. Embassy in Germany since 1999.
During this period of relocation from Bonn to Berlin, the club’s activities and interests gradually expanded to included participation by government and Embassy officials in its monthly networking events. In the context of evolving and growing business interests in the Berlin community (of approximately 3.5 million people), the club’s focus has kept pace with the changing environment and provides speakers at its monthly evening networking events who address the changing issues related to conducting business in Berlin and its environs.
Among the purposes of the AGBC Berlin e.V. is to maintain and strengthen the ties among American and German business interests and to provide a forum to discuss business related activities. The AGBC-Berlin exists to meet the needs of businesses either by increasing business opportunities of its members or by increasing bilateral trade between Germany and The United States.
The mission of the AGBC Berlin e.V. is:
- To establish, reinforce, and expand contacts between representatives of American companies in Germany and the German business world.
- To collect and disseminate information for German and American business partners.
- To provide a forum for the discussion of German-American business relations.
- To support German and American companies in their relations with governments, industry, and media.
- To serve as a contact point for newly arrived American company representatives, to help them establish and expand their business activities in Germany.
- To support German and American students who excel in the areas of German and American culture and business.
- To support cultural and social activities.
With a wide range of interesting networking and educational events conducted each year, an impressive benefits package and a strong voice for business in Berlin, the American German Business Club Berlin is one of Berlin’s premiere business clubs.