Markets and Seeds Access Project (MASAP)
01.07.2025
- 30.06.2029
This project contributes to improved resilient livelihoods of smallholder farmers by supporting climate-resilient crop value chains. It promotes private sector engagement, enhanced market systems, and supportive policies for small grains and legumes. Implemented by NIRAS with the Community Technology Development Organisation and the Swiss-based Research Institute of Organic Agriculture, the project will expand in Zimbabwe while exiting Zambia after two agricultural seasons to ensure a responsible phase-out.
Scaling Up Youth Employment in Agriculture Initiative
01.05.2024
- 30.04.2028
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.
Seed and Knowledge Initiative
01.03.2023
- 28.02.2027
This initiative will address food insecurity and environmental degradation by promoting crop diversification and environment-friendly approaches. It is implemented by a partnership of 15 community-based organizations and their regional partners. The emphasis of the final phase of Swiss funding is on advocacy and movement building, while expanding the number of smallholder farmers, including women and youth, who practice and spread agro-ecology and farmer-led seed systems.
Safeguard Young People (SYP) - Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR)
01.03.2023
- 30.09.2026
The Safeguard Young People programme (SYP) reduces HIV infections and improves sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) of young people aged 10 to 24. SYP supports the adoption, domestication and implementation of regional policies. It helps increase young people’s knowledge, skills and agency while also increasing equitable access to quality, integrated SRHR, HIV and gender based violence (GBV) services. SYP has been implemented by UNFPA since 2013.
Multi-Methods Data Collection Mandate to Monitor the Swiss Cooperation Programme Zimbabwe Zambia 2023-2026
01.01.2023
- 31.12.2026
The purpose of this mandate is to support data collection for the monitoring and evaluation of Swiss supported projects in Zambia and Zimbabwe. The annual data collection and analysis will capture the perceptions of SDC project target groups around supported interventions in health service delivery, social protection, youth employment, agriculture, and good governance. This will help to see the trend or change of the different indicators of the Cooperation Programme.
BUILD Fund - Bamboo-UNCDF Initiative for the Least Developed Fund
01.10.2022
- 30.11.2027
By supporting the BUILD Fund, Switzerland seeks to increase access to financing by SDG oriented Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) to create jobs, improve livelihoods for vulnerable and underserved groups and sustainably manage natural resources. By de-risking investment, this contribution will catalyse funding from the public and private sectors in agribusiness, financial inclusion, green economy and infrastructure initiatives in developing countries, in particular Zambia and Zimbabwe.
Strengthening Social Protection in Zambia
15.06.2022
- 31.10.2026
Switzerland aims to increase the resilience of poor and vulnerable households in Zambia by strengthening the government’s systems for managing and delivering social assistance to vulnerable populations. Specific objectives are to make the payment process more efficient, increase domestic financing to social protection and equip the Social Cash Transfer programme to respond to climate-related and other shocks. SDC will contribute to existing programmes of UNICEF and the World Bank.
Energy and Environment Partnership Africa Trust Fund
15.11.2021
- 30.11.2025
With financing to the Energy and Environment Partnership Trust Fund Africa, Switzerland will help provide early stage grants and catalytic financing to innovative clean energy projects, technologies and business models implemented by private actors in Zambia and Zimbabwe. Switzerland’s contribution increases access to clean energy by vulnerable and underserved groups and consolidates its engagement in climate change mitigation.
African Risk Capacity Programmes in Zambia and Zimbabwe
01.11.2021
- 31.10.2026
This programme will contribute towards strengthening national systems for disaster preparedness through support to drought insurance premiums and capacity building. Switzerland is thus consolidating its engagement in climate change mitigation and disasters risk reduction with the aim to sustainably minimize risk to loss of lives and assets for vulnerable men and women. The Africa Risk Capacity, a specialized agency of the Africa Union, will implement this programme.
Rural Resilience in Southern Africa / R4 Initiative
01.07.2021
- 30.11.2025
The R4 Rural Resilience Initiative for Southern Africa enables smallholder farmers’ adaptation to climate risk through improved resource management, insurance, livelihoods diversification, microcredit and savings. Through R4, Switzerland has become a credible and trusted partner in resilience building and its learnings have fed into policy dialogue. The emphasis of this final phase is on strengthening government and private sector, as well as the gender approach.
O3+ Our Rights, Our Lives, Our Future
01.10.2020
- 31.12.2025
This project uses targeted interventions in post-secondary educational institutions in Zambia and Zimbabwe to improve access to sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) among 18-24 year-olds. Working with UNESCO and Ministries of Higher and Tertiary Education, the project brings Switzerland’s lengthy experience in the HIV/SRHR field to bear by targeting an often neglected cohort of young people with tailored interventions to reduce HIV infections, unintended pregnancies, and gender-based violence.
MASAP - Markets and Seeds Access Project
01.08.2020
- 30.11.2025
This initiative promotes the utilization of quality seeds of drought tolerant small grains and legumes through support to farmers’ organisations and enterprises, private sector engagement and evidence-based advocacy. 94’000 smallholders will benefit from increased market participation, higher incomes, and consumption of nutritious diets. It is implemented by NIRAS with the Community Technology Development Organisation and the Swiss-based Research Institute of Organic Agriculture.
