Who is Manfred Köhl, one of the founding members behind IGA?

You all know Manfred Köhl as one of the Founders and Managing Partners at IGA. But you don’t know that 5 years ago, he was a customer of the International Marketing Agency (IMA) that supported him with B2B lead generation campaigns in his previous engagements.

Based on his belief, “People do business with people they trust!” Manfred decided to join the IGA family.

I first met Borce Manev around 5 years ago. In 2021, he introduced me to his best friend, Aleksander Ubavkov. They both explained their vision and plans to start a new business in Skopje to provide nearshoring SW Engineering Services from the Western Balkans to Europe and the US. They were looking for an additional, complementary Founder personality like myself to help them set up such a business and be the local representative in the DACH region. Given my background and experience in the international IT outsourcing business, I decided to join IGA as an additional Founder and Managing Partner. Since then, it has been a truly fulfilling experience!

One and a half years later, Manfred believes that joining the IGA team has been a great decision because he finds the team’s expertise, innovative approach, and commitment to excellence truly inspiring.

I was motivated to join IGA for several reasons. Firstly, I was impressed by the company’s vision and commitment to helping businesses grow globally. IGA’s mission to support companies in reaching their full potential resonated very well with me, and I wanted to be a part of this meaningful work. Secondly, I was drawn to the expertise and experience of the other two Founders, Borce and Alex. I knew that by joining this Founders team, I would have the opportunity to learn from some of the best minds in the business and continue to grow professionally. Finally, I was drawn to the company culture at IGA. The positive and supportive atmosphere, combined with a drive for excellence, made IGA an appealing place to join and contribute with my own experience and expertise to make a positive impact.

Manfred brings to the table an impressive 20+ years of experience and a deep understanding of the IT outsourcing industry, including its trends, best practices, and challenges. He also has a thriving background in managing nearshore and offshore teams, delivering complex IT projects, and working with clients in various industries.

In the first part of my professional career, I spent 20+ years in the international IT Services & Solutions business, working for large global IT providers like IBM, T-Systems, Tata Consultancy Services, Luxoft, etc. During that time, I mainly focused on all external customer-oriented activities like sales, business development, marketing, partnerships, alliances, etc., with a direct interface into project management and delivery. From a customer industry perspective, I mainly focused on large global banking, financial services, and insurance companies across Switzerland, DACH, Europe, and the EMEA region. After starting as a Junior Sales at IBM, I have also developed into Sales Leadership and Senior Management roles over the years, managing multi-cultural remote sales teams across Europe. Now, in the second part of my professional career, besides being a Founder and Managing Partner at IGA, I’m also supporting innovative Tech B2B SaaS Startups and Scale-ups as Senior Advisor, Board Member, and occasionally a Business Angel Investor. Over the decades, I have established a broad network and reliable relationships with C-level executives across industries and regions, which are another valuable asset I bring to the table.

At IGA, his primary focus and contribution are on the sales side, leveraging his existing C-level network to generate new opportunities and business relationships for the IGA services in Europe.

With over 20 years of professional experience in international IT outsourcing services and software solutions, I likely have a wealth of knowledge and expertise that can be applied in our everyday operations at the International Growth Agency. Together with the strong sales team, we could win large complex outsourcing deals, mainly in innovative Software Engineering or Systems Integration projects (e.g., core banking solution implementations), both from offshoring (India) but also nearshoring (Eastern Europe) delivery and engagement model. Therefore, I’m pretty familiar with the advantages and the complexity of challenges outsourcing engagements bring.

When it comes to everyday operations at IGA, he applies his experience and expertise mainly around the following areas:

Business development: To help identify and pursue new business opportunities for the International Growth Agency. This involves leveraging his existing C-level network, staying up-to-date on industry trends and best practices, and creating strategies for reaching new clients.

Client relationship management: To provide valuable insights and advice to existing clients and help ensure their needs are met. He also uses his experience to help build and maintain strong client relationships and identify opportunities for upselling or cross-selling services.

Service delivery: To ensure that projects are delivered on time and within budget and that quality standards are met.

Leadership and mentorship: To provide mentorship and guidance to less experienced team members at IGA. He is also leveraging his leadership skills to help shape the company’s direction and create a positive and productive work culture.

In addition, I understand the customers’ expectations, concerns, and responsibilities to bring such nearshoring collaboration to success. And together with my two business partners, Borce and Alex, who are both very experienced in all these fields, we are constantly improving and scaling our business.

Trust, respect, decency, openness, honesty, and self-determination are the core values that provide a framework for decision-making and behavior both in his private and business life.

They resonate quite well with the 9 business-oriented core values at IGA: trust, flexibility, diversity, faith, agility, hard work, partner centricity, integrity, and respect.

By working with a nearshoring IT service provider like IGA that embodies these values, you can expect to receive high-quality services tailored to your needs and goals. Additionally, you can have confidence in the ethical and professional standards of IGA and have a foundation for a long-term and trusted business relationship.

Manfred agrees that the current market conditions for nearshoring software engineering services from the Western Balkans are favorable, with a strong talent pool and a growing demand for outsourcing and remote services. 

And that’s exactly how he aims to expand together with IGA and actively support, navigate, and advise customers to provide the highest business value and outcome of such nearshoring engagements for their SW Engineering and product development projects.

The current market conditions and increasing skills shortage in IT in general, but SW Engineering in particular, are definitely in favor of our business model providing professional, high-quality nearshoring SW Engineering Services from the Western Balkans. The Western Balkans region is increasingly positioning itself as a competitive nearshoring destination for software engineering services, particularly for European and US companies. The region offers a favorable combination of factors, including a highly skilled workforce, a lower cost of living and doing business, a convenient time zone, and cultural proximity to Western Europe. In recent years, the software development industry in the region has grown significantly, with many local and international companies establishing offices and SW development centers in cities such as Belgrade, Zagreb, Skopje, and Sarajevo. This has created a vibrant tech talent ecosystem with a strong focus on software development, quality assurance, and digital innovation. While the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the global economy, the software development industry has continued to grow, with an increasing demand for remote and nearshoring services. This trend will likely continue as companies look for more agile and cost-effective ways to develop and maintain their software products and services. However, as with any market, some risks and challenges must be considered, such as cultural differences, language barriers, and political and economic instability in some regions. So, the future is bright, and cheers to further growth together with our valued customers and partners!

Cheers Manfred! Keep on being an unstoppable driving force in IGA, and thank you for helping us grow at scale.

Be sure to watch for Manfred’s next moves in the upcoming period. In the meantime, feel free to connect with him on LinkedIn.