SECO promotes reliable and affordable basic infrastructure services in our partner countries by financing innovative technologies, strengthening management capacities in public utilities and supporting structural reforms.
Infrastructure services in areas such as power supply, water, transportation, telecommunications and waste management form the basis for sustainable economic growth. Untreated waste or shortages of water or electricity threaten not only a country's business activities, but also the well-being of the population.
Public and parapublic services in energy, water, sanitation and transportation must be furnished at an acceptable cost to inhabitants and the private sector while, at the same time, minimising the environmental impact and securing the revenues required for their maintenance and renewal. Finding this balance is something of a challenge in SECO's priority countries, particularly in urban areas with outdated or mismanaged infrastructure systems, if they even exist.
SECO uses its expertise to generate a virtuous circle that will ensure a reliable and affordable basic infrastructure service in the partner countries, specifically by financing best-practice projects with high potential for replication or by supporting thematic or regional financing facilities with development banks working towards the same goals.
Three key tools are used to intervene at the three levels of infrastructure development:
- Provision of innovative technologies: financing of modern, green processes and technologies
- Capacity building of infrastructure management: institutional sustainability, corporate development
- Improving framework conditions: support for structural reforms and the public service policy
