Building bridges to success

Portrait

You cannot forge a path between two areas without the right kind of bridge. In the area of social justice, governance and project management, one Belgium-based company has been developing the skills and competence to be that bridge in Europe: East West Consulting S.P.R.L., a firm connecting countries in the Balkans, the CIS, Africa, Turkey and Romania to international donors in the European Union and the World Bank. With a skilled, multilingual, international staff and an approach based on mutual respect, East West Consulting is building the bridges that bring shared success and well-being to people in emerging areas.

This year, East West Consulting (EWC) celebrates its 20th birthday. EWC was launched in 1994 thanks to the efforts of Christian Linck, who had worked in the Phare and Tacis units of the European Commission in Brussels. Its focus consisted of supporting beneficiary countries in Central and Eastern Europe in managing EU funds and preparing for entrance into the European Union. Mr. Linck created a number of associated firms, including ECO3 with Mr. Jean-Paul Delattre in 1996.

Mr. Linck opened branch offices in Bucharest in 2004, in Mauritius in 2008, in Ankara in 2009, in Marseille in 2013 and in Belgrade in 2014. “Our in-house key words are positive thinking, motivation, a sense of responsibility and fun,” says Mr. Linck, managing director and partner of EWC and ECO. Mr. Linck worked at the European Commission before creating the company. “All of our approaches towards beneficiary countries are based on respect, cooperation, trust and bringing skills together.”

The companies are active in several sectors: civil society, justice, governance, programme and facility management, public administration reform, public financial management, trade and economic development, structural funding, management and evaluation, health, institutional development, energy, and capacity building.

“We manage technical assistance projects and framework contracts financed by international donors, mainly the European Union,” Mr. Linck explains. Most of the company’s projects take place in Africa, the Balkan countries, the CIS, Turkey and Romania. All of its activities are steered from the company’s head office in Brussels and are supported at permanent branch offices in Ankara, Belgrade, Bucharest, Marseille and Paris.

The European companies are grouped into ICE (International Consulting Expertise), an EEIG (European Economic Interest Group) with an annual turnover of more than 15 million EUR. East West Consulting has built its relationships one by one through its own sales force, alliances and cooperation. Marketing does not really come into play for the firm, which built its reputation on its projects, its presence in the individual countries, its network of contacts and its websites.

The company counts its permanent, multilingual staff among its most important attributes. Relationship building is very much like bridge building. East West Consulting does both.