Club OHADA Germany officially launched its activities to promote the OHADA legal system in the Mövenpick Hotel at Nuremberg Airport on Friday, October 31, 2008. The launch took place under the aegis of Dr. Jörg Hahn, Managing Director of the Nuremberg Metropolitan Region, and was attended by representatives from Chambers of Industry and Commerce in the region and by OHADA experts, representatives from universities, entrepreneurs, legal practitioners, lawyers, and consultants from Germany, Great Britain, France and Switzerland. After an initial word of welcome, Larba Nadieba, Managing Director of Club OHADA Germany, reminded the people attending the launch that Club OHADA Germany has been given the mandate to organise seminars and talks about the OHADA legal framework and doing business with companies in the OHADA Member States in order to increase the awareness of this modern legal system. At the end of his speech, Mr Nadieba strongly recommended taking a closer look at the economies that have been booming for years in parts of Africa, especially in light of the prevailing financial crisis. In his welcome to more than 40 guests, Dr. Jörg Hahn, Managing Director of the Nuremberg Metropolitan Region, emphasised the fact that the Nuremberg Metropolitan Region is home to over 3.5 million inhabitants, some 150,000 companies, and had a trade volume in 2007 of EUR 150 billion, making it the sixth largest economic region in Europe. According to Dr. Hahn, Nuremberg is well known throughout the world as a result of its Nuremberg International Human Rights Award. Furthermore, Dr. Hahn stressed that it is time to foster economic and social developments in Africa. He assured the guests that he is more than ready to support Club OHADA Germany in this objective. Following Dr. Hahn's welcome, there were talks on topics concerning the OHADA legal system. The first talk, about the OHADA legal system itself, was given by Jean Alain M. Penda and Thorsten Vogl, both members of the UNIDA in Paris. In their talk they described the origins and structure of the OHADA organisation, the advantages of a uniform legal framework for companies, as well as current developments related to OHADA around the world. In the second talk, Maitre Alain Fénéon and Maitre Arnd Wolfram, both of whom came especially from France, gave a detailed insight into the formulation and application of OHADA legislation. Both lawyers have extensive experience involving OHADA law. Maitre Alain Fénéon was even entrusted to word and revise some OHADA Uniform Acts respectively. Using practical examples they demonstrated the advantages of, for instance, the legal security for companies that agree on OHADA law when doing business. To conclude their talk, Maitres Fénéon and Wolfram responded to questions from the audience. Between the talks there was ample opportunity for networking to exchange ideas and experiences with other guests. At the end of the launch, Jean Alain M. Penda and Billong Billong, Chairman of Club OHADA Lyon in France, assured Club OHADA Germany of their wholehearted support, and said they were looking forward to working together. Club OHADA Germany Larba Nadieba Ingenierie Consulting Philip Schamberger Ingenierie Consulting Email: info@ingenierie-consulting.com Website: http://www.ingenierie-consulting.com