Projects

Swiss Management Program for Vietnamese Bank Executives, Phase II

01.01.2013 - 31.12.2017

Dynamic and well-regulated financial sectors have a substantial impact on the effectiveness of economic policies, support the integration of developing countries in the world economy and help minimize the impact of major economic crises. Vietnam's financial sector faces several challenges, including a lack of qualified human resources.

General Budget Support Vietnam 2013-2016 (EMCC)

01.01.2013 - 30.09.2016

The Economic Management and Competitiveness Credit (EMCC) is designed as a General Budget Support Operation, implemented under the lead of the World Bank to support Vietnam in the implementation of important structural reforms, which contribute to sustainable economic growth and poverty reduction.

Local Economic Development South Africa, Phase I

01.01.2013 - 31.12.2026

SECO is supporting a local economic development programme in selected municipalities in South Africa located in the Kwa-Zulu Natal Province.

National Pension Regulatory Authority Ghana, Phase I

01.01.2013 - 31.12.2017

This project supports the National Pension Regulatory Authority (NPRA) to strengthen its capacity to better perform its role as regulator of the pension sector. In the long term the support should contribute to make Ghana's pension reforms more sustainable.

Investment Policy Capacity Building for Sustainable Development

01.01.2013 - 31.12.2016

The purpose of this programme is to support developing and transition countries in the negotiation of International Investment Agreements that contribute to sustainable development and to better manage Investor-State Dispute Settlement cases. The programme is implemented by UNCTAD.

Better Work Phase II

01.01.2013 - 31.12.2016

Better Work, a partnership of the International Labour Organization and the International Finance Corporation, improves compliance with core international labour standards in the textile industry. Better Work is relevant to the partner countries of the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs SECO in Asia and demonstrates that jobs with higher compliance to labour standards do more for development.

The main goal is to help exporting garment factories in developing countries to comply with the requirements of the international buyers and to improve labour standards in the global supply chain. It does this by promoting compliance with international labour standards and national law in global supply chains as a basis for building socially responsible export strategies enhancing enterprise-level economic and social performance.

National Quality System in Ghana, Phase II

01.01.2013 - 31.12.2018

The program aims at improving the capacity of conformity assessment institutions to enable them to provide world class services in the area of standardization, testing, certification and inspection for key export value chains (fruit/vegetables, cocoa, fish products, wood). These value chains will act as drivers for an improved national quality system and have an important poverty reduction potential. Apart from "traditional" quality and health safety standards, the program will also support the uptake and implementation of private voluntary standards by producers.

Better Gold Initiative, Phase I

01.01.2013 - 31.12.2016

The Better Gold Initiative aims to create a mine to market path for sustainably produced gold from small and medium scale mining (ASMM) operations in Peru. Building on simple market mechanisms that honour compliance of producers with standards on traceability, environmental-, social-, governance- and community relation performance, the Better Gold Initiative will contribute to the transformation of small and medium scale mining activities into a motor for better livelihoods and sustainable development. The project is structured around four complementary components along the value chain: 1) Producers: Support to sustainable gold supply through technical assistance and capacity building for Peruvian ASMM artisanal, small scale and medium scale mining activities)- 2) Institutions: Strengthen certification schemes to broaden the impact of ASMM certification- 3) Policy: National Policy dialogue on ASMM related issues and extension strategy on the international level- 4) Demand: Multi-Stakeholder platform on sustainable gold and demand matching in Switzerland.

Green building program in selected countries in Asia

01.01.2013 - 31.12.2017

Setting energy-saving requirements in selected countries in Asia for commercial buildings can significantly help reduce carbon emissions.

Technical Assistance in Financial Programming, Phase III

01.01.2013 - 30.06.2022

The aim of the Financial Programming intervention is for beneficiaries to develop their own financial programming models and systems, to take command of the technical analysis, to negotiate with the IMF in more pro-active terms, and to establish a foundation for deeper commitment to prudent macroeconomic policy management. With a modular approach, the project aims to complement IMF training in several SECO priority countries.

North Tajik II Water Supply Project

01.01.2013 - 31.12.2026

Urban water supply in Tajikistan is in bad condition due to the lack of maintenance since the break-up of the Soviet Union. This project aims at improving the water supply in four cities in the North of Tajikistan through the combination of three components: physical investments, corporate development and consumer participation.

Tax Reform Common Fund Mozambique, Phase II

01.01.2013 - 31.12.2021

This project supports Mozambique in its effort to increase domestic financing in parallel of receiving budget support in order to become less dependent on foreign aid. Mozambique shows a strong growth performance in the last years, underpinned by a strong tax collection.