Stiftung Zuriwerk

What Stiftung Zuriwerk does

Stiftung Züriwerk is a private nonprofit foundation (Stiftung, CHE-105.903.803) registered in Canton Zurich, Switzerland, and the largest social employer for people with disabilities in the region. It serves approximately 1,300 people with and without disabilities across 20+ locations in Canton Zurich and Zurich Oberland, providing 790+ work and training positions, 190+ residential placements, and around 200 living apartments under the Swiss Invalidenversicherung (IV) framework. Services are organized around three pillars: (1) social services including Begleitetes Arbeiten (supported employment), Job- und Ausbildungscoaching (career coaching), residential arrangements (group homes, shared apartments, SEBE-supported independent living), and cultural programming through subsidiary Theater HORA; (2) commercial services via Werkstätten (workshops) covering mailing, packaging, shipping, scanning, printing, mechanics, assembly, garden construction, and luggage repair (1,000+ suitcases repaired annually), plus staffing placements into first-labor-market employers; and (3) consumer products sold through the Züriwerk webshop (shop.zueriwerk.ch), including handcrafted bakery goods, gift items, and gardening tools. Revenue flows from IV reimbursements, B2B service contracts, e-commerce product sales, and ZEWO-certified charitable donations. The technology backbone is standard: WooCommerce for e-commerce, TYPO3 for the main website, Microsoft Business Central for ERP, and Hubspot for CRM. ISO 9001 quality certification covers workshop operations, and ZEWO certification governs donation handling.

The foundation is currently executing its Strategy Inklusion 2035, launched in March 2025, which includes the Yond Campus consolidation (four sites merging into an inclusive campus in Zurich-Albisrieden by 2028), a brand identity refresh, new career-counseling services, the MAAS program advancing 23 IV employees into assistant roles, and the opening of Zurich's first inclusive shared apartment in February 2026. Governance is led by Foundation Board President Hermann Arnold, with no disclosed parent company, venture capital, or private equity backing. Operating geography is restricted to Switzerland, with no global expansion claims.

Name

Stiftung Zuriwerk

Legal name

Stiftung Züriwerk

Website

https://zueriwerk.ch

Company type

Private

Founded year

1967

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

501–1,000 employees

Short description

Stiftung Züriwerk is a Swiss nonprofit foundation and the largest social employer for people with disabilities in Canton Zurich, providing residential, vocational, and supported-employment services to ~1,300 beneficiaries across 20+ locations, alongside commercial workshops, B2B staffing, and a handcraft webshop.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Disability and Social Services

NAICS

Religious, Grantmaking, Civic, Professional, and Similar Organizations (813), Vocational Rehabilitation Services (6243)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Disability Services & Assistive Solutions (Accessibility, Assistive Tech) (BPAGALAM)

akta.pro secondary industries

Disability Services & Independent Living Support (BPAGACAG), Special Education, Disability Support & Inclusive Education Nonprofits (BPAGADAH)

Keywords

• Disability employment services
• Social enterprise services
• Residential care services
• Vocational training programs
• Inclusive workplace programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Zürich

HQ country

Switzerland

HQ region

Europe

Offices5 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Supply Chain, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Social Care Services: IV (Invalidenversicherung) reimbursements for providing residential and employment support services to people with disabilities. Services include housing, job coaching, and career counseling.
2. Product Sales: Sale of handcrafted products including baked goods, gift items, garden tools, and seasonal specialties through their e-commerce webshop.
3. Business Services Contracts: Commercial services to businesses including mailing, packaging, shipping, printing, mechanics, assembly, gardening, and luggage repair. Staffing solutions placing workers with disabilities in external companies.
4. Donations: ZEWO-certified charitable donations supporting various projects and initiatives of the foundation.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Stiftung Züriwerk is a nonprofit social institution that provides residential, employment, and educational support services for people with cognitive disabilities in the Canton of Zurich. It supplements its social mission with commercial activities including handcrafted product sales (baked goods, gift items, garden tools, seasonal specialties) through an e-commerce webshop, project-based business services (mailing, packaging, shipping, printing, mechanics, assembly, gardening, luggage repair), and staffing solutions that place workers with disabilities in external companies. The foundation operates 20+ locations serving approximately 1,300 people, funded through IV (Invalidenversicherung) reimbursements, commercial service fees, product sales, and ZEWO-certified charitable donations.

Product overview

Stiftung Züriwerk is a social institution for people with disabilities offering a comprehensive portfolio of residential, employment, and support services, alongside commercial products and services. The organization operates through three main divisions: (1) Werkstätten (Workshops) providing services including mailing/packaging/shipping, scanning/printing, mechanics/assembly, garden construction, and luggage repair; (2) Webshop Products selling handmade goods including baked goods (Züriträumli, Samichlaus Lebkuchen), gift items (Brillenkette, Künstler-Karten), and gardening tools (Bunte Handrechen); and (3) Personaldienstleistungen (Staffing Services) placing workers with disabilities. Social services include Begleitetes Arbeiten (supported employment), Job- & Ausbildungscoaching (career coaching), Wohnangebote (residential services), and Theater Hora (cultural employment). All services are ISO 9001 certified and support the organization's mission of inclusion.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Theater HORA: A renowned theater for people with disabilities, including productions, music, and films, operated by Züriwerk
• SEBE
• MAAS

Products and services

• Werkstätten (Workshops) Services Workshop-based commercial services for external businesses including mailing, packaging and shipping, scanning and printing, mechanics and assembly, garden construction, and luggage repair. ISO 9001 certified.
• Personaldienstleistungen (Staffing Services) Placement services connecting suitable workers with disabilities to external employers, facilitating inclusive employment in the first labor market.
• Begleitetes Arbeiten (Accompanied Work) Supported employment programs for people with disabilities including work in the first labor market, work in businesses, work at Theater Hora, and work in ateliers.
• Job- & Ausbildungscoaching (Career and Vocational Coaching) Career and vocational training coaching for youth, young adults, and adults with IV support, helping them enter education and employment. Launched April 2025 for career counseling for IV beneficiaries.
• Wohnangebote (Living Arrangements) Residential services including group homes, shared apartments with constant or occasional support, and independent living with SEBE support for people with cognitive disabilities. Offered across 200+ apartments in Zurich, Zollikon and Zurich Oberland.
• Webshop Products (Handcrafted Goods) E-commerce platform selling handmade products including baked goods, confectionery, gift items, handicrafts, and gardening tools made by people with disabilities.
• LEBU-Flexgleis Specialized product offered through Züriwerk's product line, related to model railway / flexible track.
• Theater Hora Wholly-owned subsidiary theater company for people with disabilities producing music, theater, and films; also includes the HORA band providing artistic employment.

Quantifiable outcome

• 790+ work and training positions offered
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Bierwerk ZürichminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for producing Festbier - Züriwerk's special Christmas/Advent beer. The beer is brewed by Bierwerk Zürich partner and sold through the Züriwerk webshop.
• Esprit and Zürich artistsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborative partnership creating Artist Cards (Künstler-Karten) in a creative collaboration between Züriwerk employees and Zurich-based artists.
• Various municipalities, politics, schools and companiescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerZüriwerk works with municipalities, politics, schools and companies to remove barriers and promote inclusion in society as outlined in their Strategy Inklusion 2035.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• ORIF: Vaud-based organization specialized in vocational rehabilitation and supported employment for people with disabilities. A direct comparable on the Job- & Ausbildungscoaching / first-labor-market placement side of Züriwerk's offering, covering francophone Switzerland.
• Stiftung Wisli: Winterthur-area foundation providing sheltered employment, residential services, and supported integration for people with disabilities. Direct overlap on workshop production, supported housing, and vocational coaching in the same regional labor market as Züriwerk.
• Brühlgut Stiftung: Winterthur-region disability foundation delivering vocational integration, workshops, housing, and B2B services. Geographically adjacent to Züriwerk (also in Canton Zurich) and competes directly for IV clients and corporate contracts in the same canton.
• Stiftung Brändi: Lucerne-based Swiss social enterprise providing integrated workshops, housing, and training services for people with disabilities. Operates the same sheltered-employment + assisted-living + commercial-services model as Züriwerk, making it the closest comparable foundation in the Swiss disability-inclusion sector.
• Stiftung Arkadis: Olten-based social foundation offering workshops, supported employment, residential, and day-structure services for people with disabilities. Closely mirrors Züriwerk's three-pillar mix (work/housing/education) at comparable scale in central Switzerland.

Broad incumbents

• INSOS Schweiz: National industry association of Swiss social enterprises for people with disabilities — of which Züriwerk is a member. Provides sector-level benchmarking, policy advocacy, and standards that effectively define the operating environment in which Züriwerk competes.
• Inclusion Handicap: Swiss umbrella organization of disability associations coordinating policy advocacy across multiple member organizations. Comparable at the sector-association level, shaping federal-level funding and inclusion policies that directly affect Züriwerk's IV-reimbursement economics.
• Pro Infirmis: National federation representing the interests of people with disabilities in Switzerland, providing consultation, advocacy, and support services. Overlaps with Züriwerk on the social-services mission and on disability policy engagement, but operates as a national advocacy body rather than a sheltered-workshop operator.

Emerging players

• Specialisterne: Internationally expanding social enterprise placing people with autism and other disabilities into IT, data, and corporate roles. Comparable on the staffing-services-into-the-first-labor-market proposition and the social-impact-tech narrative; smaller and earlier-stage but a credible model for scaling the Personaldienstleistungen arm.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCm1c3saGBifYPUeIiFCdXrA
• Facebookfacebook.com/StiftungZueriwerk
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/stiftung-zueriwerk
• Instagraminstagram.com/zuriwerk
• Xx.com/zuriwerk

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about Stiftung Zuriwerk