Honorarprofessor for Human Capital, Growth and Innovation at Zeppelin University Prof Dr Ederer is a scientific entrepreneur and an entrepreneurial scientist. As scientist, he researches, publishes and teaches on the link between human capital formation, economic growth and innovation. As entrepreneur in his company Africa Enablers, his commercial focus is on creating sustainable and cost effective energy solutions for the African continent.
In science, Prof Ederer has researched extensively on how human capital formation, economic growth and innovation are related. He has demonstrated this link with business case studies and empirical analyses for countries and regions on all continents. At Zeppelin University he has conducted research projects and executive teaching assignments on innovation and growth since 2004. Since 2012 he is project director of the EU-funded LLLight’in’Europe research project, leading a consortium of eight globally leading research universities on Lifelong Learning, Innovation, Growth and Human Capital Tracks. (www.lllightineurope.com). These projects follow four widely disseminated policy briefs on human capital and university systems for the Brussels-based think tank Lisbon Council, while he was director for its Human Capital Centre there. He also holds the post of scientific director for EFAS at Dutch Wageningen University. His analyses are frequently consulted by business leaders and senior policy makers.
In 1995, Prof Ederer co-wrote his first best-selling business book "Das Erbe der Egoisten", a socio-economic comparison of Germany, Japan and USA. In 1999, he co-wrote his second bestseller, "Geschäftsbericht Deutschland AG", an analytical description of the German state as if it were a stock market quoted company; this was succeeded by the path-breaking "Geschäftsplan Deutschland" in 2008, analyzing the need to increase investment in human capital in the German economy. For a complete overview of his nearly 400 publications and presentations, see www.innovationgrowth.com/publications.
Prof Ederer has conducted business in Africa since 2005. With his business partnership of Africa Enablers he maintains an extensive network of business associates in Africa, maintains an office in Addis Ababa, and is a frequent business traveller to the continent. Africa Enablers business is built on Ederer’s more than 20 years of experience in financing and managing technology-rich projects around the world. He started his career as a financial trader at Deutsche Bank in Japan in 1989, where he developed arbitrages for interest-rate derivatives and money-market instruments. Later on he worked for four years in the German office of McKinsey & Company, specializing in technology management, innovation and the energy industry. His company Innovation&Growth Academy has a distinguished track record for business innovation and growth projects (more at www.africa-enablers.com on commercial activities in Africa).
Prof Ederer studied business administration at Sophia University in Tokyo and at Harvard Business School in Boston. He completed his PhD at the University of Witten Herdecke in Germany, on the subject of the financial relationship between the state and its citizens.
Besides being the director of HUGIN Center at Zeppelin University, Prof Ederer is also the scientific director of the European Food and Agribusiness Seminar at Wageningen University, Vorstand of Deutschland Denken!, principal partner of Africa Enablers and owner of the Innovation & Growth Academy.
More information about Prof Ederer is available on his personal website: www.innovationgrowth.com