What HELVETAS does

HELVETAS Swiss Intercooperation is an independent, non-profit Swiss development organization founded in 1955 and headquartered in Zürich, with a secondary office in Bern. It implements development and humanitarian response projects across more than 35 partner countries in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and Eastern Europe, reaching nearly seven million disadvantaged people annually. Programmatic activity spans seven thematic areas: water, food and climate; skills, jobs and income; voice, inclusion and cohesion; youth; urban engagement; gender and social equity; and humanitarian response. The organization also engages Swiss-based audiences through policy advocacy, events, and educational programming under Alliance2015 and AllianceSud memberships.

The business model is philanthropic: revenue is generated through individual donations, corporate and foundation giving, membership dues, and institutional grants from government donors including Switzerland (SECO) and Sweden (Sida/RECONOMY). Helvetas is ZEWO-certified, GDPR-compliant, and adheres to Swissfundraising Ethical Guidelines. Distribution is direct-to-beneficiary through country offices and local partner NGOs, supplemented by a small number of technology-enabled initiatives — most notably the IDDistributor digital financial platform (launched March 2026 in Armenia with IDBank and RECONOMY), which combines QR-code payment acceptance with a pre-approved working-capital credit facility for micro and small businesses. The organization does not sell commercial products or services; it does not operate a unified software platform.

Recent strategic activity centers on Eastern European engagement — specifically a five-year Ukraine economic recovery program (2026-2030) implemented by a Helvetas-NIRAS consortium alongside the ILO under SECO funding — and governance strengthening through the June 2026 election of former ICRC Director-General Robert Mardini to the board. Headcount is reported at 1,001-5,000 employees, with global operational scale anchored by multi-year sovereign donor commitments and a broad local partnership network rather than venture capital or commercial revenue.

Name

HELVETAS

Legal name

HELVETAS Swiss Intercooperation

Website

https://helvetas.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1955

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1,001–5,000 employees

Short description

HELVETAS is an independent Swiss non-profit founded in 1955 that implements water, climate, skills, gender, and humanitarian development projects across 35+ countries, reaching nearly 7 million disadvantaged people annually through donor-funded programs.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Zürich

HQ country

Switzerland

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Others, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Donations and charitable contributions: Helvetas generates revenue through donations from individuals, foundations, and corporations. The organization is certified by ZEWO (Swiss seal of quality for charitable organizations) and complies with Ethical Guidelines for Fundraising as defined by Swissfundraising.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

HELVETAS Swiss Intercooperation is a non-profit development organization that designs and implements poverty-alleviation projects in over 35 partner countries across Africa, Asia, Latin America, and Eastern Europe. Its core offering is the planning, funding, and on-the-ground execution of programs in water, food and climate; skills, jobs and income; voice, inclusion and cohesion; youth; urban engagement; gender and social equity; and humanitarian response, supported by advisory services, advocacy, and learning and innovation work in Switzerland.

Product overview

Helvetas is a Swiss development organization that implements development projects rather than operating as a traditional technology company with a product portfolio. The organization works across multiple thematic areas including water/food/climate, skills/jobs/income, voice/inclusion/cohesion, youth, urban engagement, gender/social equity, and humanitarian response. Where Helvetas does support technology-enabled initiatives, it implements tools such as IDDistributor (a digital financial platform for micro and small businesses in Armenia) in partnership with organizations like IDBank and RECONOMY. Helvetas does not offer a unified software platform or modular product architecture.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• IDDistributor A digital financial platform introduced for micro and small enterprises in Armenia, enabling delivery representatives of supplier companies to accept cashless payments from retail point-of-sales via QR code technology and offering a pre-approved working-capital credit facility. It is aimed at micro and small businesses with limited working capital, implemented through a partnership between IDBank and HELVETAS via the Sweden-funded RECONOMY program.
• Water, Food and Climate programs Development programs delivering safe drinking water access, climate-resilient agriculture, food security, and climate change adaptation support to disadvantaged communities; in 2025, 800,349 people gained new access to safe drinking water within a 15-minute walk, 933,179 people worked with Helvetas to protect livelihoods against climate change, and 95,927 smallholder farmers adapted farming practices to climate change effects.
• Skills, Jobs and Income programs Vocational training, green-skills development, private sector engagement, and income-generation programs for youth and smallholder farmers; in 2025, 58,079 people began vocational training (mostly young people), 22,007 people acquired green skills for jobs in renewable energy and the circular economy, and 183,527 people increased their incomes.
• Voice, Inclusion and Cohesion programs Programs promoting social cohesion, citizen participation, migration rights awareness, and inclusion of marginalized groups; in 2025, 995,784 people learned about their rights as migrants and potential dangers, and 344,842 people reported greater social cohesion.
• Gender and Social Equity programs Gender equality, women's empowerment, and social inclusion programs targeting women and marginalized groups across HELVETAS' partner countries.
• Humanitarian Response programs Emergency response and disaster relief programs providing water, shelter, and recovery assistance to populations affected by conflicts and natural disasters; in 2025, 290,224 people in emergency situations gained access to water.
• Productivity Ecosystems for Decent Work (Ukraine) A five-year economic recovery program supporting Ukraine's productivity and decent-work agenda, combining ILO-led labour market interventions with Helvetas-NIRAS consortium implementation under SECO funding; aimed at strengthening productivity ecosystems and decent-work outcomes in Ukraine.
• Advisory Services Advisory and consulting services offered by HELVETAS based on its development cooperation expertise, supporting governments, partners, and other organizations with policy and program guidance.

Quantifiable outcome

• 7 million+ people supported in 2025
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Robert MardinicoreOthers · 18 June 2026Former Director-General of ICRC (2020-2024) elected to Helvetas board at general assembly. Directed humanitarian operations in over 100 countries.
• International Labour Organization (ILO)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 17 June 2026ILO and Switzerland launched 'Productivity Ecosystems for Decent Work', a five-year project under Switzerland's Competitiveness for Recovery Ukraine 2026-2030 Programme. Helvetas-NIRAS consortium implements the project with ILO leading the labour market component.
• NIRAScoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHelvetas-NIRAS consortium selected to implement the Ukraine economic recovery project funded by Switzerland through SECO.
• IDBankminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerIDBank launched IDDistributor financial tool co-financed by RECONOMY (Sweden) and implemented by Helvetas for micro and small businesses in Armenia.
• AlliancesudminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAlliance of Swiss development organizations working together on shared advocacy and policy positions.
• Alliance2015minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSwiss alliance of development organizations for shared advocacy and policy engagement.

Scale indicators13 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Mercy Corps: Global humanitarian and development organization operating in 40+ countries on livelihoods, water, food security, and youth employment. Closely comparable in programmatic themes (skills/jobs, water, climate) and government-grant-driven revenue model.
• Oxfam International: Confederation of international development NGOs working on poverty, inequality, water/sanitation, and gender across dozens of developing countries. Shares Helvetas' advocacy orientation, multi-country operating model, and individual-donor-plus-institutional funding mix.
• Plan International: Global development and humanitarian organization focused on children's rights and gender equality, operating in 80+ countries. Comparable in thematic focus on youth, gender, and education, with similar institutional and individual donor mix.
• World Vision International: Large Christian development and humanitarian NGO operating in 100+ countries with similar multi-sector portfolio (water, livelihoods, child welfare, emergency response). Comparable in beneficiary scale and institutional donor dependence.
• Welthungerhilfe: German private development NGO working on hunger, agriculture, water, and humanitarian response in 35+ countries. Closely comparable to Helvetas in European base, country footprint, multi-thematic portfolio, and German government BMZ funding relationships.
• Save the Children International: Global development and humanitarian organization working on child rights, education, health, and emergency response across 100+ countries. Overlapping thematic scope and similar donor-funded, project-implementation operating model.
• CARE International: Major international development NGO with a multi-thematic global portfolio spanning poverty, gender equality, climate, and humanitarian response across 100+ countries. Operates with similar multi-donor funding model and project-based delivery approach as Helvetas.
• International Rescue Committee (IRC): Humanitarian and development organization operating in crisis-affected contexts with focus on health, education, economic recovery, and gender-based violence. Highly comparable in fragile-state operating environments (Ukraine, Sahel, etc.) and consortium-led institutional funding model.
• Solidarités International: French humanitarian NGO focused on water, sanitation, food security, and livelihoods in conflict and fragile contexts. Operates with similar project-based model in overlapping geographies (Haiti, Sahel, Myanmar) and shares institutional donor funding structure.
• Concern Worldwide: Ireland-based international humanitarian NGO operating in 25+ countries on livelihoods, health, education, and emergencies. Similar organization size, geographic mix, and SECO/European-donor funding relationships as Helvetas.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/HelvetasCH
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/HelvetasSwitzerland
• Facebookfacebook.com/helvetas.org
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/helvetas
• Instagraminstagram.com/helvetas_ch

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about HELVETAS