We link Swiss and international actors from the public and private sector as well as academia. In this way the programme supports cross-sectoral approaches and cooperation. Our Development Programme is co-financed by several donors and receives a contribution of the Swiss Agency of Development and Cooperation (SDC) under the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA) covering up to 40% of the costs of the entire programme.
The overall goal of the Development Programme is to achieve sustained and improved livelihood for our target groups. This is measured through the increase of income and the creation of new jobs. Despite the challenging last year of this phase due to the Corona pandemic, we met and even exceeded our targets.
We successfully completed and anchored several projects in the past four years. From 2021 onwards, some interesting new projects will be realised in new countries, including Honduras, Senegal and Morocco. In its new phase, the Development Programme 2021-2024 will deliver results in two areas: Skills & Employability and Enterprise & Productivity. Covid-19 and its implications are part of the new reality in the next four years. The empowerment and promotion of disadvantaged groups are more relevant than ever. Increasing incomes and creating new jobs will be an additional challenge in this context. Therefore, the focus is not only on income and growth, but also increasingly on securing existing jobs, with a focus on resilience. We will particularly promote an intensified exchange and peer learning between the projects of the Development Programme, as well as the content-related support of our content experts. In this way, we promote innovation and anchor best practices. Swisscontact's Development Programme also embraces Agenda 2030 of the United Nations in the new phase. In our projects, we will intensify our commitment to our sustainability criteria Gender Equality & Social Inclusion, Financial Capability, Environmental Responsibility and Good Governance. Our four Working Principles, Evidence-Based Adaptive Management, Inclusive System Development, Learning Culture, and Engaging the Private Sector will guide us to successful implementation of the reduction of poverty by leaving no one behind. |
ZEWO has awarded Swisscontact its mark of quality. The latter is awarded to non-profit organisations for the conscientious handling of money entrusted to them, proves appropriate, economical and effective allocation of donations and stands for transparent and trustworthy organisations with functioning control structures that uphold ethics in the procurement of funds and communication. Our financial accounting abides by the regulations of SWISS GAAP FER 21. Swisscontact is exempt from taxes. Donations are tax-deductible in Switzerland.