What EHLsmile - Association does

EHLsmile - Association is a Swiss non-profit organization headquartered in Lausanne, Switzerland, founded in 1996 by students of EHL Hospitality Business School. The organization's stated mission is to co-create and revamp hospitality vocational training centers in developing countries as a means of poverty reduction and the promotion of sustainable tourism. Its core service offering is the design, launch, and ongoing support of hospitality training schools in partnership with local NGOs, supported by the annual deployment of EHL Hospitality Business School student volunteers who provide hands-on curriculum guidance and operational expertise on-site.

The organization supports a portfolio of partner schools across 11 countries in Asia and Africa, including Cambodia (Sala Baï Hotel & Restaurant School; Hospitality & Tourism School Phnom Penh), Ethiopia (Jari Hotel School), India (Bodhgaya Hotel School), Myanmar (M Hospitality & Tourism Institute), Bhutan (Bongde Institute of Hospitality and Tourism), Tanzania (More Than A Drop School), Nepal (Ropka Training Center), and Thailand (Pimali Hospitality Training Center), with additional presence in Madagascar, Togo, and Morocco. The organization is led by a governance structure comprising a board of directors and a student committee drawn from EHL.

EHLsmile operates on a non-commercial funding model, sustaining its programs through donations, membership contributions, and volunteer participation rather than fees for products or services. It employs 14 staff at its Lausanne headquarters, runs an organic social media presence on Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook, and YouTube, and maintains dedicated donation, membership, volunteering, and partnership onboarding flows via its website.

Name

EHLsmile - Association

Legal name

Association EHLsmile

Website

https://ehlsmile.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1996

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

EHLsmile - Association is a Swiss non-profit founded in 1996 by EHL students that co-creates and supports hospitality vocational training centers in 11 developing countries across Asia and Africa, deploying EHL volunteers and partnering with local NGOs to fight poverty through skills-based training.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Lausanne

HQ country

Switzerland

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

EHLsmile co-creates and revamps hospitality vocational training centers in developing countries in partnership with local NGOs, providing educational infrastructure, curriculum support, and expert volunteer deployment to fight poverty through skills-based training. The organization dispatches volunteers from EHL Hospitality Business School to deliver hands-on hospitality expertise directly to partner schools and their staff. Since 1996, EHLsmile has completed eleven projects across Asia and Africa and maintains an annual on-site volunteer presence.

Product overview

EHLsmile is a non-profit organization offering hospitality vocational training development services rather than a commercial product portfolio. Its core offerings consist of co-creating and revamping hospitality training centers through partnerships with local NGOs, supported by volunteer programs sending EHL Hospitality Business School students to provide hands-on expertise. The organization supports eleven partner schools across Asia and Africa including institutions in Cambodia, Ethiopia, India, Myanmar, Bhutan, Tanzania, Nepal, and Thailand.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Hospitality Vocational Training Center Development Program A non-profit service program through which EHLsmile partners with local NGOs to co-create and revamp hospitality vocational training centers, providing educational infrastructure, curriculum development, and ongoing capacity-building support. The program targets disadvantaged youth in developing countries across Asia and Africa and has been used to establish or improve training centers in Ethiopia, Madagascar, Bhutan, Cambodia, India, Myanmar, Thailand, Tanzania, Togo, Morocco, and Nepal.
• Volunteer Hospitality Expertise Program A non-profit service program that deploys volunteers sourced from EHL Hospitality Business School to partner hospitality training centers in developing countries. Volunteers deliver hands-on hospitality expertise, staff guidance, and operational support directly on-site at partner schools, with annual rotations. The program is targeted at partner NGOs, hospitality training schools, and their students across Asia and Africa.

Named customers9 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• EHL Hospitality Business SchoolcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 1996Founding partner institution; provides student volunteers, administrative support, and institutional credibility. EHLsmile was founded by EHL students and maintains close affiliation with the school.
• Local NGOs in Partner CountriescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEHLsmile partners with local NGOs to implement projects effectively in each country, enabling culturally relevant and sustainable program delivery.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• AIESEC: International student-run non-profit focused on youth leadership development through cross-cultural volunteer exchanges. Operates a comparable student-volunteer deployment model to deliver projects across emerging markets, with a similar dependence on university partnerships.
• Swisscontact: Swiss foundation that promotes vocational education and workforce development in developing countries, with similar roots in Switzerland. Like EHLsmile, it focuses on skills-based training as a lever for economic inclusion, though at materially larger scale and across multiple sectors.
• Enactus: Global student-led non-profit mobilizing university students to deliver social entrepreneurship and education projects. Comparable volunteer pipeline model from partner universities, similar project-based delivery, and similar reliance on institutional partnerships with academic institutions.
• Restless Development: International NGO focused on youth-led development, including skills training, in Africa and Asia. Comparable target beneficiary base (disadvantaged youth), volunteer deployment model, and co-creation approach with local partners.
• VSO (Voluntary Service Overseas): International development NGO that places skilled volunteers in education and livelihoods projects across Asia and Africa. Highly comparable volunteer-deployment operating model and focus on disadvantaged youth skills development.
• Sala Baï: Hospitality vocational training school in Cambodia supported by EHLsmile as a partner. Operates its own hospitality training model serving disadvantaged youth, making it the closest functional peer — an in-country hospitality vocational training non-profit with overlapping mission.

Broad incumbents

• GIZ (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit): German federal development agency operating large-scale vocational training and education programs in developing countries. Overlaps with EHLsmile's mission of skills-based training for economic inclusion but operates at vastly greater scale, broader sectoral scope, and with government-backed funding.
• Solidarités International: International humanitarian and development NGO with operations across many of the same African and Asian geographies as EHLsmile. Operates a much broader portfolio (water, food security, shelter) but shares the multi-country developing-market footprint and dependence on volunteer/donor funding.
• International Youth Foundation (IYF): Global non-profit focused on preparing young people for employment and entrepreneurship. Shares the youth-workforce-development mission and multi-country developing-market footprint, though typically operates via larger institutional grants rather than student volunteers.

Others

• EHL Foundation (Fondation EHL): Affiliated non-profit entity of EHL Hospitality Business School. Closest institutional peer in terms of affiliation with EHL, though typically focused on scholarships and academic support rather than vocational training center development abroad.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@EHLsmile
• Facebookfacebook.com/ehlsmile
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/association-ehlsmile
• Instagraminstagram.com/ehlsmile

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about EHLsmile - Association