Keeping business travelers safe in uncertain times

This fireside-chat-style interview at ITB Berlin 2026 focuses on how organizations can protect business travelers in an era of escalating and converging global risks. Moderator Claudia Unger speaks with Sophie Zimmer (referred to in the transcript as 'Sophie Simma'), Senior Adviser for Security Management International at KFW Banking Group — Germany's state-owned development bank — who leads duty-of-care programs for staff operating in high-risk regions, primarily in Africa.

Zimmer opens by contextualizing her role: she is one of six security advisers at KFW responsible for operationalizing the bank's duty of care, covering everything from strategic risk assessments and policy development at HQ to on-site evaluations of expat housing, offices, and local security service providers. KFW's development finance mandate means colleagues routinely work in volatile, fragile, or conflict-affected countries to monitor and evaluate development projects funded by Germany's Ministry of Development and Cooperation.

On the macro risk landscape, Zimmer identifies the most significant shift of the past two to three years as the 'convergence of risk' — geopolitical tensions, socioeconomic pressures, health crises, climate-related disasters, and cyber threats are no longer siloed but increasingly overlap and amplify one another. She also highlights accelerated escalation cycles, where a local incident can rapidly become a national or international crisis, often turbocharged by social media misinformation.

Zimmer flags several categories of underestimated risk. First, 'soft factors' such as reputational damage and misinformation, which can shift from a reputational problem to a physical danger. Second, the psychological well-being of travelers — particularly those encountering hostile or high-risk environments for the first time. Third, and strongly emphasized by Zimmer as a female adviser, is the need for individualized risk assessment that accounts for traveler-specific characteristics: ethnicity, disability, religion, and LGBTQ+ identity, all of which can create meaningfully different risk environments at the same destination.

KFW's pre-travel preparation framework operates in three layers. First, every employee — regardless of destination — completes a baseline travel security training. High-risk destinations trigger additional requirements: a Hostile Environment Awareness Training (HEAT) that tests psychological resilience, First Aid in Special Circumstances training (covering scenarios where standard emergency services are absent), and a one-on-one psychological counseling session to evaluate an individual's readiness. Second, destination-specific briefings covering crime, terrorism, road safety, and health risks, as well as KFW's own emergency procedures. Third, physical equipment: satellite phones, GPS trackers, anti-ballistic body armor (helmets, vests), and other destination-appropriate gear. The full preparation cycle repeats at a minimum every four years for experienced travelers, who otherwise receive situational updates and scenario discussions rather than full repeat training.

On crisis response, Zimmer outlines a three-part initial framework: (1) account for staff and establish reliable communication ('who'); (2) conduct a rapid risk assessment to determine scope and escalation potential ('what'); and (3) implement acute response measures, establish transparent communication pathways, and brief leadership to enable timely decision-making ('how'). Drawing on more than 10 years of experience, she identifies two recurring lessons from real incidents: clarity of roles — best developed through exercises and simulation before crises occur, which also serves as a gap analysis — and decisive, timely leadership, without which even sound advice fails to translate into effective action.

On Africa specifically, Zimmer pushes back against homogenized risk views, noting that Africa comprises more than 50 countries with entirely distinct landscapes, cultures, infrastructures, and risk profiles. She argues that Eurocentric media coverage both over-focuses on some countries and ignores others entirely, producing miscalibrated assessments. Local networks and on-the-ground contacts are described as essential: they provide early-warning signals, contextual knowledge unavailable in any intelligence report, and real-time operational insight — illustrated by an anecdote in which a driver's knowledge that a specialist cardiologist was on vacation led the team to bypass a preferred-but-unavailable hospital and reach a functional alternative in time during a medical emergency.

For smaller organizations, Zimmer recommends three immediate actions: establish a clear travel security policy with defined responsibilities, decision-makers, and escalation pathways; conduct basic risk assessments and traveler briefings; and designate an emergency contact so travelers always know who to call.