Unemployment and underemployment are among the most serious development problems facing the SDC's partner countries. People must have access to productive, reasonably paid employment enabling them to earn a living if global poverty is to be reduced in the long term and the UN's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are to be achieved.
Providing low-income households, farmers and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) with improved access to financial services can boost their inclusion in economic life and make them less vulnerable to crises.
In line with the priorities of the Governments of Moldova and Switzerland, the project aims to socially and economically empower women, including refugee women from Ukraine, increase their participation in decision-making and the workforce, promote their entrepreneurial activities, and finally contribute to a just, equal, inclusive and resilient society and economy in Moldova. The project will promote gender-responsive policies and initiatives to address key barriers to women's socio-economic inclusion.
The microfinance institution Futuro Mcb, SA currently provides financial services (loans, savings, insurance) to micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) mainly in and around Nampula city. Switzerland will continue to support Futuro with a grant for technical assistance that will help the bank to expand its impact by providing financial services to more low-income entrepreneurs in more regions in Northern Mozambique, thus allowing them to enhance their income and create more jobs.
In Zambia and Zimbabwe, due to a mismatch between the skills they have and those in demand, youth cannot access or create economic opportunities and overlook those available. The project builds skills and matches youth with firms, markets and finance to create more and better (self)-employment in agri-food, renewable energy and emerging sectors, contributing to Swiss priorities on human and economic development and climate change. This is a contribution implemented by SNV.
To raise labour market participation and address the growing workforce shortage affecting the Serbian economy, in partnership with the Serbian Ministry of Labour, Swiss approaches and instruments for labour-market insertion will be adopted and scaled by key labour-market actors from the central and local Government, civil society and the private sector. Serbian companies will be capacitated to train their workforce independently and sustainably, and to fill vacancies through improved job matching services.
With this single-phase intervention, Switzerland aims to foster economic perspectives for Palestinian youth. The intervention will focus on creating long-term job placements of Palestinian graduates in international IT companies (including Switzerland), and it shall be achieved through upskilling programs tailored to private sector needs. The intervention is implemented in partnership with the Palestinian-Dutch start-up company TAP under the modality of payment for results.
The climatic challenges exacerbate Afghanistan's already fragile socio-economic condition. The project by the Afghan NGO, The Liaison Office, aims to sustainably improve lives and livelihoods of the poorest households in selected provinces by strengthening the natural resource base, climate change resilient and diversified livelihoods, relationships within and between communities, as well as joint climate action.
Building on Switzerland’s experience with innovative access to finance avenues, this programme facilitates mobilising green finance for small and medium sized enterprises in Bangladesh. The focus is on enterprises that have a strong commitment to reducing their environmental footprint and to providing green products and services in order to address climate change and reduce environmental degradation.
The exit phase of VTESS will further promote an inclusive vocational skills development (VSD) system in Lao PDR. Within the current context of economic crisis, early school leavers from disadvantaged backgrounds will thereby benefit from improved and labour market relevant training, employment support services and a sustainable funding model for VSD.
The Swiss contribution to the World Food Programme’s Country Strategic Programme will foster and enhance resiliency through agricultural skilling and increased access to income, allowing for the Rohingya refugees to become more self-reliant and support their basic needs. As a contributor to a multi-donor framework, Switzerland can simultaneously leverage durable solutions advancement in the Rohingya response while ensuring service delivery for the most vulnerable in the refugee camps.
Switzerland’s contribution to Tanzania Social Action Fund (TASAF) for the implementation of the Productive Social Safety Net Program (PSSN) contributes to the protection of 1.5 milion poor households in Tanzania Mainland and Zanzibar through cash transfers, public works and livelihoods enhancement. Also evidence generated through this support will inform and reinforce Swiss engagement in national policy dialogue on social protection, beyond PSSN.
Switzerland’s long standing support to peace efforts in Colombia serves its interests for international stability as well as human rights and is in line with Switzerland’s foreign policy interests as defined in the Federal Constitution. The contribution to the Multi-Partner Trust Fund, alongside other donors such as Norway and Germany, will support continuing implementation of the existing Peace Agreement and benefit vulnerable populations in former conflict regions. It will also underpin Switzerland’s current role in support of the government’s efforts for comprehensive peace in Colombia as well as its mandate as elected member of the Security Council.
Au Burkina Faso, la hausse de la consommation alimentaire de la population se heurte ä la faible performance de production des entreprises agricoles. Pour y pallier, la DDC renforce leurs capacitës d’investissement ainsi que leur environnement ëconomique afin d’impulser des dynamiques de dëveloppement des marchës, crëateurs d’emplois et de richesses pour les plus pauvres. La dëmarche rëpond aux exigences d’une croissance durable en s’attaquant aux causes de fragilitë multidimensionnelle.