The ILO's Impact Insurance Academy is a unique opportunity to learn from more than fifteen years of experience and innovations in inclusive insurance facilitated by the ILO's Impact Insurance Facility.  

Uninsured risk has devastating consequences for future generations and constrains their entrepreneurial capacities. In many developing countries, however, the insurance industry is not yet fulfilling its potential. The ILO's Impact Insurance Facility works to enable the insurance sector, governments and their partners to embrace impact insurance as a way of reducing households' vulnerability, promoting stronger enterprises and facilitating better public policies. As part of its efforts to empower the insurance industry, governments and their partners to realize the full potential of insurance, the ILO's Impact Insurance Facility and the ITCILO are together running an Impact Insurance Academy.  

Link to the training

This working aid (including toolbox) on social protection provides concrete guidance for the SDC staff to engage in social protection programmes and policies.

Social protection supports people in need at different stages in life and protects them against risks, such as illness, accident or unemployment. In this way, social protection helps to combat poverty and contributes to social equality and justice. By boosting human capital and productivity and supporting domestic demand, it facilitates structural transformation of national economies. The lack of access to social protection is a major obstacle to economic and social development.

Link to the social protection working aid.

Updated E+E Information Package of the Topics Economy and Education - Fit for Purpose

The Information Package is made for SDC staff and practitioners working towards the creation of inclusive economic development programmes as well as quality education and lifelong learning opportunities for all. It provides an introduction into E+E approaches and ways of systemic thinking through four interlinked priorities on system and beneficiary level: Education, Vocational Skills Development, Private Sector Development and Financial Sector Development and the modality of private sector engagement.

Updated version June 2023 - An easy to read introduction for a quick overview of the topics Economy and Education 

This two-pager provides a short introduction into the Economy and Education Network for SDCdecision makers.

Since September 2022, the Inclusive Economic Development and the Education teams of SDC joined forces to become the new thematic Section Economy and Education.

This two-pager provides a short introduction into the Economy and Education Network for SDC decision makers.

SDC commissioned an independent evaluation of SDC’s Private Sector Engagement (2015-2021). The evaluation assessed the performance of SDC’s programmes and projects along the OECD DAC criteria of relevance, coherence, effectiveness, impact, efficiency, and sustainability. The evaluation aims to support SDC in achieving the objectives of Switzerland’s International Cooperation Strategy 2021-2024, and in contributing to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Overall, the evaluation found that the diligent effort and significant resources invested by the SDC in its PSE are paying off in innovation, learning and results progress. However, there are some crucial issues SDC still must address for its PSE to achieve its full potential. 

In terms of PSE usefulness to contribute to SDC and its partners’ goals, the evaluation found that the Agency is effective. It is, however, well-positioned to do more in the short and medium terms. To do so, the Agency needs to better strategize its way forward. SDC’s PSE modality is working well to foster partnerships with the private sector. Yet, to ensure that PSE contributes to the goals of the private sector, SDC must take their needs and priorities into consideration. PSE is useful to contribute to partner countries’ goals. Projects normally match partner countries’ national needs and priorities. Nevertheless, the evaluation also highlighted the lack of involvement of the governments themselves in SDC’s PSE projects. While PSE focuses mainly on creating synergies with the private sector, it is also important to have national governments involved, including authorities at the sub-national level.

The evaluation report including the senior management response can be found here.

Link to the presentation

Empower, a podcast of inspiring stories on women’s empowerment, is brought to you by the PGE and E+E section.  

The latest episode is on how human trafficking survivors rebuild their lives in Bangladesh. Our guest Dipta Rakshit from Winrock International talks about the hardships of returned trafficking survivors and how project Ashshash supports them with a holistic approach that includes skills and entrepreneurship training

The bi-annual training workshop has gained a reputation for empowering the practitioners who are driving the field forward to meet new and on-going challenges in results measurement for improved management, greater accountability and better results.

This year's workshop will be in-person in Bangkok. It will bring together experienced results measurement practitioners for five focused days of learning practical approaches, sharing challenges and tips and contributing lessons to the field. The main theme of the workshop this year will be assessing system change including dimensions of system change particularly relevant to PSD programs today.

Link to the flyer. 

Since 2020, the Annex 2 exercise, carried out as part of the annual reports of SDC’s operational units, provides a picture of SDC’s Private Sector Engagement (PSE) portfolio. As a modality, PSEs are implemented across all of SDC’s priority topics and they are diverse in terms of objectives and private sector partners. By comparing data from SAP with information entered by operational units, we get an understanding of the universe of PSE projects SDC is engaged in. Last year, the Annex 2 database allowed SDC, for the first time, to report to the OECD on mobilizing private sector funding. You can find the overview here.

Since 2020, the Annex 2 exercise, carried out as part of the annual reports of SDC’s operational units, provides a picture of SDC’s Private Sector Engagement (PSE) portfolio. As a modality, PSEs are implemented across all of SDC’s priority topics and they are diverse in terms of objectives and private sector partners. By comparing data from SAP with information entered by operational units, we get an understanding of the universe of PSE projects SDC is engaged in. Last year, the Annex 2 database allowed SDC, for the first time, to report to the OECD on mobilizing private sector funding. Here you can find the latest insights: https://www.shareweb.ch/site/EI/Documents/Topics/Private%20Sector%20Development/Overview%20PSE@SDC%202022-%20Results%20from%20Annex%202.pdf 

This updated VSD Factsheet provides an overview of the opportunities and challenges in vocational education and training, SDC's approaches to promote vocational skills development in its projects, the partners , as well as project examples and facts and figures.  

Link to the factsheet

The Swiss Guidance on Business and Human Rights is intended to help the Swiss Representations in the field to engage in a constructive dialogue with Swiss companies in order to raise awareness of human rights issues and provide specific advice in relation to the local context.

The guidance has been sent to embassies and cooperation offices and is available online and as a hard copy brochure. It can be ordered (in E, F, D versions) from: sts.afm.mrd@eda.admin.ch 

Link to the document

Responding to the voiced need for practical guidance for SDC staff and projects working in Inclusive Economic Development (IED) in fragile contexts a practical guidance note with examples from 9 SDC-funded projects, is now available on the shareweb.

The practical guidance document adds to the already published slide deck and FAQ document that were produced with valuable inputs from network members, experts and other focal points.

The Public Entrepreneurship Academy equips practitioners from the public sector with the mind-set, tools and skills to implement the 2030 Agenda through impact-driven private sector engagement, collaboration and entrepreneurial action. 

To realise the UN Sustainable Development Goals in an environment of mounting complexity and uncertainty, there is an increasing need to build, leverage and scale partnerships across different sectors, involving public, private and civil society actors. The Public Entrepreneurship Academy is an immersive learning journey. Over the course of a half year, participants gain key knowledge in general management, entrepreneurship, agile co-creation, innovation and systems thinking. They learn while doing, integrating new ideas directly into their own work with the support of peers and individual coaching. They become part of a community of “public entrepreneurs", collaboratively defining how to realise impact-driven private sector engagement.

NEW Registration deadline is December 10 2022.

You'll find all the necessary information here: 

In case of questions:

• Head of Executive Education at the Competence Center for Social Innovation at the University of St. Gallen: rachel.brooks@unisg.ch 
• Contact person at the SDC's Competence Center for Private Sector Engagement (CEP): bernard.zaugg@eda.admin.ch .

Note for SDC staff: 

>As for other trainings, the costs for participating in the Public Entrepreneurship Academy can be covered by SDC / the FDFA.

For SDC collaborators with Swiss contracts, at FDFA Head Office or in Swiss Embassies / Cooperation Offices, please follow the instructions that are available here: FDFA intranet / individual training programmes .

For SDC collaborators with local contracts in Swiss Embassies / Cooperation, the process is as follows:

1. Get the approval from your Head of Mission (Head of Cooperation Office in case of absence of an Embassy in your country) and the “credit management unit" of your representation using this form . According to an agreement with FDFA Finance, Swiss Representations abroad that consider that the participation of one of their staff members to the Public Entrepreneurship Academy would be important in view of the further development of the International Cooperation programme might request a corresponding training budget within the Global Budget 2023, even if this leads to a substantial increase of the corresponding budget line in comparison to 2022.
2. Register to the Public Entrepreneurship Academy.
3. Once you've been accepted to the Public Entrepreneurship Academy, transmit the invoice to the financial responsible of your office that will pay the training fee directly.

For all SDC collaborators: it is the responsibility of your line manager to decide whether a repayment agreement shall be concluded for this training.

Village Capital with the support of its partners at the Impact-Linked Finance Fund, the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation and the Austrian Development Agency have launched the Catalyzing Financial Inclusion: Gender-Inclusive Fintech Solutions for Migrants report. This report shares insight on the financial inclusion obstacles disenfranchised migrant populations (especially women migrants) face in Saharan Africa, the Middle East and North Africa, and South and Southeast Asia – and highlights innovative, tech-driven solutions to these challenges.  

Link to the report

Four Case Studies about some of SDC’s innovative Private Sector Partnerships (PSE) were just published. They portray 1) Social Impact Incentives (SIINC), 2) Impact-Linked Finance Fund (ILFF), 3) Catalytic Market Facility Aceli Africa (Aceli), and 4) Product Development Partnerships (PDPs). The Case Studies provide an easy to read (and well-layouted) introduction to those projects and mechanisms and can also be shared outside of SDC. 

In 2021, SCBF committed over CHF 1.36 million towards 13 new projects, attaining CHF 18.26 million in grant funding committed since inception. The projects SCBF co-funded touched a variety of themes: digital transformation for effective and efficient service delivery, micro-property insurance to enhance the resilience of MSMEs and low-income households, and innovative index-based insurance to enable vulnerable smallholder farmers and households to adapt in the face of an increasingly changing climate. Additionally, SCBF’s membership grew from 25 to 27, as SCBF had the pleasure to welcome AXA and the Basel Agency for Sustainable Energy (BASE). 

SDC is a strategic partner of SCBF.

Click here for the report.

This report documents the evaluation of the Nepal Cooperation Strategy 2018-22 from the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC). The evaluation entailed a qualitative inquiry into the development effectiveness of the Cooperation Strategy. Its purpose was to inform the formulation of the new Nepal Cooperation Program 2023-26. The evaluation was conducted by two external evaluators and two SDC staff.

Check ou the findings and recommendations for the bilateral inclusive economic development programmes in Nepal. It's a must read!

The Public Entrepreneurship Academy 2023 is now open for registration!

To realise the UN Sustainable Development Goals in an environment of mounting complexity and uncertainty, there is an increasing need to build, leverage and scale partnerships across different sectors, involving public, private and civil society actors.

The Public Entrepreneurship Academy equips practitioners from the public sector with the mind-set, tools and skills to implement the 2030 Agenda through impact-driven private sector engagement, collaboration and entrepreneurial action.

The Public Entrepreneurship Academy is an immersive learning journey. Over the course of a half year, participants gain key knowledge in general management, entrepreneurship, agile co-creation, innovation and systems thinking. They learn while doing, integrating new ideas directly into their own work with the support of peers and individual coaching. They become part of a community of “public entrepreneurs”, collaboratively defining how to realise impact-driven private sector engagement.

Registration deadline is October 30 2022.

You’ll find all the necessary information here: CSI-HSG / PEA.

Internal note:

As for other trainings, the costs for participating in the Public Entrepreneurship Academy can be covered by SDC / the FDFA.

For SDC collaborators with Swiss contracts, at FDFA Head Office or in Swiss Embassies / Cooperation Offices, please follow the instructions that are available here: FDFA intranet / individual training programmes.

For SDC collaborators with local contracts in Swiss Embassies / Cooperation, the process is as follows:

1. Get the approval from your Head of Mission (Head of Cooperation Office in case of absence of an Embassy in your country) and the “credit management unit” of your representation using this form. According to an agreement with FDFA Finance, Swiss Representations abroad that consider that the participation of one of their staff members to the Public Entrepreneurship Academy would be important in view of the further development of the International Cooperation programme might request a corresponding training budget within the Global Budget 2023, even if this leads to a substantial increase of the corresponding budget line in comparison to 2022.

2. Register to the Public Entrepreneurship Academy.

3. Once you’ve been accepted to the Public Entrepreneurship Academy, transmit the invoice to the financial responsible of your office that will pay the training fee directly.

For all SDC collaborators: it is the responsibility of your line manager to decide whether a repayment agreement shall be concluded for this training.

In case of questions:

Head of Executive Education at the Competence Center for Social Innovation at the University of St.-Gallen: rachel.brooks@unisg.ch.

Contact person at the SDC’s Competence Center for Private Sector Engagement (CEP): bernard.zaugg@eda.admin.ch.

 Thursday, June 16th 2022 /  1:00pm-2:30pm CEST (online).

For the almost 300 million migrants worldwide, financial products such as savings, credit, insurance, or pension are seldom easily accessible. This Savings & Credit Forum discusses the incentives of the private sector to ensure migrants' financial inclusion and showcases innovative modalities to reach women and other particularly vulnerable migrant groups.

>> more information 

This Information Package is designed for SDC staff and practitioners involved in inclusive economic development (IED) programmes. It provides an introduction into the IED approaches and ways of systemic thinking through three interlinked economic thematic priorities on system and individual level: Vocational Skills Development (VSD), Private Sector Development (PSD) and Financial Sector Development (FSD), and the modality of private sector engagement (PSE).

Updated version April 2022 - An easy to read introduction for a quick overview of the topic IED

SDC’s PSE portfolio is diverse and growing. With the latest Annex 2 data, we can for the first time estimate private sector contributions leveraged by SDC’s funds.   

Thanks to triangulating SAP data with information provided by operational entities at the head office and in the field during the Annual Report process through the Annex 2, we are able to get a better overview of SDC’s PSE portfolio. While many data challenges remain, the following summary provides a snapshot of the status of SDC’s PSE portfolio at the end of 2021:

• SDC has currently 142 recorded PSE projects with a total of 162 partnerships (some projects have more than one PSE partnership). The number of projects and partnerships is increasing overall, however it’s diffcult to qualify this trend, as this is only the second year for which this data was collected and it depends on what is recorded as a PSE partnership by operational units.
• Roughly half (70 of 142) of SDC’s PSE projects are in the South Cooperation Domain, followed by 52 in the Global Cooperation Domain, 14 in the East Cooperation Domain and 6 in the Humanitarian Aid Domain.
• In terms of financial volume, projects totalling an amount of CHF 900 mio. (only SDC’s committed funds) include a PSE partnership. It is important to note that many of these projects have only a small PSE component. 
• The health sector is the sector with the highest volume of SDC funds engaged in partnerships with the private sector, accounting for 44% of SDC funds in PSEs. The main driver are large multi-stakeholder initatives that pool public and private funding such as the Global Fund to fight HIV, TB and malaria. 
• The biggest number of PSE partnerships, 43 out of 162, are in the area of Employment +Income, followed by Health (28) and Food Security and Nutrition (24). 
• Multi-stakeholder Partnerships – comprising various public and private actors – represent the most important PSE Format, accounting for almost two thirds of SDC’s PSE partnerships. 
• Financial market oriented PSE Formats aiming at leveraging private sector money such as venture investments, Social Impact Incentives (SIINC), or impact-linked finance schemes are a small but growing share of the SDC’s PSE Portfolio.        
• For the first time ever, the data allows for a (rough) estimate of the private sector funds leveraged in PSEs SDC is participating. Across all of SDC’s PSE portfolio the funds comited by SDC accounts for 2.6% of total funds; that of other public partners 85.5%; and private sector contributions 11.9%. 
• This translates into a leverage ratio (mobilisation of private funds through public funds) of roughly 1:4 for SDC’s contribution, but only 9:1 if all public contributions are taken into account. It is important to note that only few SDC PSE partnerships are designed with the specific goal to leverage private funding

Along with the development of capacity building offers, the establishment of a new PSE risk management process, as well as a series of tools / instruments for different PSE formats, consistently improving our data to better capture our PSE portfolio is a priority of the CEP. This will allow better strategic decision making and operational choices and help moving PSE forward. If you are interested in more details about SDC’s PSE data you can find all data on the shareweb. 

Many thanks to all of you who contributed to this effort! Download here some cool graphs and charts bringing Annex 2 to Life:

We all know that collaboration with private companies is key in making market systems more inclusive. At the same time, it is challenging to find the “right” partners, negotiate deals with them, know what we should and what we shouldn’t pay for, etc. The e+i network provides you with a concise and practical summary of the most important lessons learned by experienced practitioners in Market Systems Development (MSD) on how to form partnerships with the private sector. The lessons are complemented by a concrete case from the PRISMA project partnering with businesses in the maize sector.

Download the nicely illustrated summary of lessons learned here.

Webinar: On 30th October 2019 at 12:00 noon Swiss time (see different time zone below), Hans Posthumus will be interviewing experienced programme managers for their top tips on how to collaborate with private companies in the context of MSD programs. Please join us for this webinar on Oct 30th registering here.

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The engagement with the private sector (EPS) is one of the cornerstones of SDC. The ultimate EPS goal is to create win-win situations between the private and public sector, to mobilize additional resources from the private sector to tackle global challenges and achieve the SDGs. Within SDC, many cooperation offices have started designing their EPS strategy and have implemented successfully projects with private sector partners.

During the SDC e + i F2F this May in Solothurn, colleagues from the SDC office in Benin shared their first vision regarding EPS in the Western African country. The country’s private sector is characterized by a high share of informal employment, difficult business environment (Benin ranks 155th out of 190 countries in the World Bank Doing Business Index) and low financial access for SMEs. While the cooperation office’s initiatives in the past have been rightly focused on private sector development (PSD) during the F2F EPS clinic, conclusions from past initiatives and possible next steps were discussed.

The general idea is to build up on relations and insights from PSD projects and move it towards a more “engagement” part. This means that the private sector and the SDC co-initiate, co-pilot and co-finance projects. The current major step concerns Vocational Training, as negotiations along EPS principles have started with an umbrella organization of big industrial enterprises, within the new project “Formation professionnelle et Renforcement de Capacités pour l’Emploi (FORCE)”. Other smaller attempts are being made within existing projects. The projects can take several forms (e.g. single or multi-stakeholder projects). If done successfully, this would allow the SDC cooperation office in Benin to mobilize additional resources, ensure that solutions developed sustain in the long-term and develop a new skill set for the future. According to the colleagues in Benin, another important step would be to conduct an multi-day EPS100 workshop, which showcases the fundamentals when it comes to engage with the private sector and would also allow for a sophistication of the EPS strategy. The EPS100 workshop is available for all cooperation offices, which would like to follow the path of Benin and enter into the exciting world of engagement with the private sector. It includes an overview of the private sector actors, the detailed explanation of each format a project can take and the development of a country-specific list of possible projects. Interested cooperation offices can contact the EPS team on their sharweb site or consult the EPS100 workshop one pager.