About us

Founded in 1959 and registered under Swiss law, we are an independent non-profit organisation. We are politically and denominationally neutral.

We promote inclusive economic, social and ecological development  to make an effective contribution towards sustainable and widespread prosperity in developing and emerging economies. With this objective in mind, we offer the chance to economically and socially disadvantaged people to improve their lives on their own initiative.

Explore the annual reports to find out more about Swisscontact, highlights and key figures. Gain insight into how we promote inclusive economic, social and ecological development.

Swisscontact has strong faith in the integrity of its employees and suppliers. Since Swisscontact works in many different countries and cultural environments, it is important to establish a common set of values that are binding for everyone. These values are anchored in the Code of Conduct and supplement present and future policies, guidelines and rules adopted by Swisscontact. 

The history of Swisscontact reflects the changes in the world economy and international development cooperation. In the beginning, our focus was on industrialisation and the growth of countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America. In the 1980s, the war on poverty came to the fore, and since the 1990s, sustainable development has defined our commitment. 

The objective of Swisscontact’s work is to open up pathways out of poverty for people in developing countries through broad-based economic development projects.

Motivated and productive employees with initiative constitute the most important success factor in all areas of our work. We count on motivated individuals who are looking to the future, impact- and team-oriented, and want to work in international development cooperation.