The private sector has a key role in transition countries. © SDC/Suzanne Linder

Unemployment and underemployment are some of the most serious development problems facing partner countries of the SDC.  Only if people have access to productive, reasonably paid employment that enables them to earn an income, can global poverty be reduced in the long term and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) achieved.

Private sector development

As a driving economic force, the private sector is accorded a key role in sustainable development.

Youth employment

Vocational education and training (VET) for young people must be tailored to the job market.

Financial sector development

Providing poor households, farmers and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) with improved access to financial services can boost their involvement in economic life and reduce their vulnerability to crises.

Current projects

Object 49 – 60 of 165

Promoting Market Oriented Skills Training in the Great Lakes region (PROMOST)

01.07.2019 - 30.07.2023

PROMOST contributed to increased employment and income generation in the Great Lakes region by providing access and enhancing quality of vocational training. Building on the achievements of the previous two phases, the third phase will focus on the sustainability of the interventions, on the labor market insertion of graduates and on the institutionalization of short-term training and apprentice-ships, thus permitting the phasing-out of Swiss contributions and the continuous increasing of national and regional commitments to professional skills education, especially in Rwanda.


Enhance employability of migrants in Urban Cairo

01.07.2019 - 30.06.2023

Food-processing and the food service sector is ranked as Egypt’s second largest manufacturing industry This project supports the employability of vulnerable Egyptians and migrants, especially women, in the food sector.


Ifakara Health Institute: Scaling up of research results and innovations to maximize public health impact

15.06.2019 - 31.12.2024

Investment in health research and innovation in Tanzania is a national policy priority but receives irregular public support. This contribution aims to strengthen the Ifakara Health Institute, a successful research institution with Swiss roots, to improve its research impact at policy and community levels. The intervention will also bring together researchers and end-users in an innovation hub to identify livelihood challenges of youths and innovative approaches to address these. Private sector partnerships with Swiss innovators will be primary clients of the innovation hub.


Choosing coffee over poppy - a public-private partnership (Myanmar)

01.06.2019 - 31.05.2023

In Southern Shan State infrastructure, access to basic services and income opportunities are scarce. Poverty and malnutrition are omnipresent and out-migration is high. Building on a private-public partnership with Malongo, a French coffee company and Walter Matter SA, a Swiss logistics firm, SDC supports the Green Gold coffee cooperative and its 900 members to become a sustainable and business-oriented organisation.


Donor Committee for Enterprise Development (DCED)

01.06.2019 - 31.12.2023

DCED as the independent and respected point of reference for standards, knowledge and data on the role of the private sector in development, contributes to improving donor’s programs in this domain. It also advocates globally the importance of the topic in the development sector. SDC supports the DCED in its various activities since the early 80ies and co-chairs the working group on Market System Development and Private Sector Engagement


HI: ACTIVA – Integrated mine action in Cauca and Nariño

15.05.2019 - 31.08.2021

SDC will support Humanity & Inclusion (HI) in contributing to peace, early recovery and socioeconomic development of indigenous, peasant and afro-descendant communities in the departments of Cauca and Nariño, under the Government Stabilization Policy. The focus of the third phase will be on a comprehensive approach (mine risk education, humanitarian demining, victim rehabilitation and advocacy) that involves recovery of community economies and infrastructure. It will bring a broader impact and better cost-efficiency relationship.


Skills for Jobs

01.05.2019 - 30.06.2023

Lack of market-relevant skills is still an obstacle to Albania’s economic development and to reduce (youth) unemployment. The project is supporting the government to address this by reforming the vocational education and training (VET) system. Private sector will continue to play a bigger role in VET definition and provision. Already more than half of all VET students and 10% of all (short term) trainees will have access to improved and labour-market oriented skills development enhancing their prospects for a decent job and increased income.


Youth Engagement in Democratic Governance and Socio-economic Development in Africa

15.04.2019 - 30.04.2021

Africa has the youngest population globally. While this is an unparalleled opportunity for growth and innovation, it may also fuel instability and violence. Young people in Africa need more capacities to use their potential as drivers of peaceful changes. With African and COMESA, SDC seeks to contribute to current continental, regional and national efforts to create an enabling environment for youth engagement in democratic processes , in line with the CH interest of contributing to the prevention of violent extremisms and supporting economic partnerships in Africa


Waste Collection and Transportation Management in Ulaanbaatar (WCTM)

View of Ulaanbaatar city

01.04.2019 - 31.03.2023

The project aims to contribute to an effective, efficient and financially sustainable collection and transportation system for solid waste in Ulaanbaatar, based on Swiss and international practices. The intervention will contribute to improve the services, introduce a transparent tariff system and support the implementation of the new law on waste management. It targets the underserved and least developed areas of the capital (ger areas) where most poor people reside, aiming at decreasing inequalities.


Regional Development Programme in Northern Albania

01.04.2019 - 31.03.2023

The Government of Albania is pursuing the Regional Development (RD) reform in order to reduce regional disparities, provide better socio-economic conditions for citizens and prepare the country for the EU accession agenda. Within this, the project will support the legal and institutional framework for RD .and strengthening local, regional and national capacities for strateqic investrnents in the regions.


Small Actions Credit Line (Quick Impact)

01.03.2019 - 31.12.2021

The Small Actions Credit Line (Quick Impact) is a humanitarian instrument of the Swiss Embassy's cooperation office that allows a fast response to requests for moderate one-time funding of limited duration. It enables the Embassy's cooperation office in Lebanon to fund small scale development or humanitarian activities that addresses needs of refugees, IDPs, vulnerable migrants or communities at risk, supports the strategic strengthening of the portfolio of the Swiss Cooperation Strategy Middle East and which contribute to the visibility of Swiss presence in the region.


Swiss Global Compact Partnership

15.02.2019 - 31.12.2022

The private sector has a central role to play in the achievement of the 2030 Agenda through joint action with other stakeholders. The consolidation of the Global Compact Network Switzerland (GCNS) is an important gateway for the SDC in Switzerland to strengthen the implementation of responsible and sustainable business practices by the highly internationalized Swiss private sector, particularly in developing countries and fragile contexts, and to promote its contribution to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG).

Object 49 – 60 of 165