Results and Impact

Vocational education and training

During the past five years, 464,100 people have completed vocational education and training across 60 projects. These people have also received support in labour market insertion or to develop opportunities for self-employment. 

During this period, 201,400 people have found a job or started their own business, generating a total 190.5 million Swiss francs in additional income. 

Business promotion

Thanks to 82 enterprise promotion projects implemented from 2017-2021, 4.2 million farmers and SMEs gained access to better products and services, increasing their productivity and competitiveness. 

This has resulted in 2.3 million farmers and SMEs generating 521.1 million Swiss francs in additional income over the past five years. Additionally, during that same period 179,100 jobs were created or maintained.

Financial Inclusion

Over the past five years, more than 1,037,000 farmers, SMEs, and graduates of vocational education programmes have gained access to financial services totalling more than 467 million Swiss francs. Of these individuals, 47% were women or women-led businesses. 

Environmental responsibility

Swisscontact promotes solutions for efficient and sustainable use of resources. As part of environmental development, we have helped reduce CO₂ emissions by more than 1.06 million tonnes and either recycled or reduced 190,000 tonnes of waste. 

Gender equality and social inclusion

Gender equality and social inclusion significantly help to eliminate poverty and foster economic growth. In the past five years, the percentage of women participating in our vocational education and training projects was 44.5%. More than half of these people who then found jobs or started their own businesses have been women. In our business development projects, the share of women-led agricultural enterprises and non-agricultural SMEs has risen steadily for five years, exceeding 49% in 2021.