What Selbsthilfe Schweiz does

Selbsthilfe Schweiz is a Swiss non-profit foundation headquartered in Olten that coordinates a nationwide network of regional self-help centers spanning more than 20 regions, with a secondary office in Neuchâtel serving French-speaking Switzerland. The organization connects individuals affected by chronic illness, disability, caregiving responsibilities, or psychosocial challenges with peer-led self-help groups, operating a multilingual online directory (German, French, Italian) that allows users to search by topic, region, or keyword. The foundation was established in 2000 under its original name KOSCH and was renamed Selbsthilfe Schweiz in 2012 to better reflect its nationwide mandate; the prior KOSCH brand persists as the foundation's legal name.

The organization runs a small core team of approximately five employees and provides operational coordination, communications, quality assurance, and capacity-building support to the regional self-help centers and the broader network of affiliated self-help groups. Its service portfolio includes a quarterly journal publication, public-awareness campaigns such as the 'Gemeinsam stark' testimonial initiative, partnerships with hospitals and research institutions (including a 2026 study with the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts on access pathways), and digital initiatives such as video-based self-help groups, dedicated programs for younger users (Junge Selbsthilfe) and migrant populations, a 'self-help-friendly hospitals' clinical-channel program, and exploratory work on generative-AI tools. The multilingual directory and website function as the principal technology surface, with no evidence of proprietary platform development beyond standard content and search infrastructure.

The business model is a donation- and grant-funded non-profit structure: all services are provided free of charge to end users, with funding drawn from individual donations, membership-type contributions from affiliated self-help organizations, and earmarked institutional contributions from federal and cantonal public bodies. The Swiss Federal Office of Social Insurance (OFAS) has held an official performance mandate with the organization since 2001, providing a foundational institutional revenue stream, regulatory standing, and visibility into long-term funding continuity tied to policy cycles rather than commercial customer dynamics.

Name

Selbsthilfe Schweiz

Legal name

Fondazione Auto-Aiuto Svizzera

Website

https://selbsthilfeschweiz.ch

Company type

Private

Founded year

2000

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Selbsthilfe Schweiz is a Swiss non-profit foundation coordinating a nationwide network of more than 20 regional self-help centers, connecting individuals affected by chronic conditions, disabilities, or caregiving burdens to peer-led support groups via a multilingual online directory, free of charge.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Peer Support Services

NAICS

Other Individual and Family Services (62419), Other Individual and Family Services (624190), Individual and Family Services (6241)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300), Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Family & Community Support Services (Case Management, Referrals) (EDAJAIAK)

akta.pro secondary industry

Peer Support, Mentoring & Student Leadership (SEL) (EDAKAMAO)

Keywords

• Peer support networks
• Self-help groups
• Chronic illness support
• Community health
• Patient advocacy

Headquarters

HQ city

Olten

HQ country

Switzerland

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Donations and Foundation Funding: The foundation operates as a charitable organization funded primarily through donations from private individuals and institutional supporters including federal and cantonal institutions. The organization explicitly solicits donations to support its mission of strengthening self-help in Switzerland.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Selbsthilfe Schweiz is a Swiss national foundation that serves as the coordination and support center for regional self-help contact centers. It helps individuals find appropriate self-help groups by topic or geographic region through an online searchable database, provides information and resources on community self-help, and connects people facing similar life challenges with peer support. The foundation operates a multilingual website and supports a network of regional centers across Swiss cantons.

Product overview

Selbsthilfe Schweiz (Self-Help Switzerland) is a national foundation that serves as a coordination and support center for regional self-help contact centers. The organization helps people find suitable self-help groups by topic or region, maintains a network of regional self-help centers across Switzerland, provides information about self-help, and facilitates connections between individuals seeking peer support. The organization operates a searchable database of self-help groups, offers a newsletter, and coordinates with regional centers in multiple Swiss cantons.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Self-Help Group Finder and Directory Online directory and search tool that allows individuals to find appropriate self-help groups by topic or keyword, freely accessible to the general public across Switzerland.
• Regional Self-Help Center Network Coordination Coordination and support of a nationwide network of regional self-help contact centers across 20+ Swiss cantons, enabling localized access to peer support and self-help groups.
• Topic List of Self-Help Groups (Themenliste) Comprehensive list of self-help group topics and organizations, allowing users to browse available peer support groups by subject area.
• Newsletter on Self-Help in Switzerland Periodic newsletter (2-3 times per year) distributed to subscribers with information on community self-help, foundation projects, and activities of the regional self-help center network.

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Regional Self-Help Centers NetworkcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorNetwork of regional self-help centers across Switzerland that serve as local contact points for individuals seeking self-help groups. Centers cover all major regions including Aargau, Basel, Bern, Graubünden, Jura, Luzern, Neuchâtel, Schaffhausen, Schwyz, Solothurn, St. Gallen, Thurgau, Ticino, Uri, Vaud, Winterthur, Zug, and Zürich.
• Swiss Federal Office of Social Insurance (OFAS)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHas held an official performance mandate from the Swiss Federal Office of Social Insurance since 2001. This mandate is fulfilled together with regional contact centers and 5 self-help organizations, providing institutional recognition and funding support.
• 5 Self-Help OrganizationscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborates with 5 self-help organizations across Switzerland as part of the performance mandate to promote self-help nationwide.
• Hochschule Luzern (Lucerne University of Applied Sciences)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborates on research projects such as the study on access pathways to self-help groups, funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Regional players

• Pro Mente Sana: Swiss nonprofit providing information, counseling, and peer support resources on mental health. Operates in the same Swiss market and overlapping peer-support mission, though focused specifically on mental health rather than self-help across all topics.
• SEKIS Berlin (Selbsthilfe Kontakt- und Informationsstelle): Berlin's regional self-help contact center, paralleling the role of Switzerland's cantonal self-help centers (e.g., Selbsthilfe BE, Selbsthilfe ZH). Comparable in function at a city-state level and directly relevant to Selbsthilfe Schweiz's network-of-centers model.

Broad incumbents

• Eurordis (Rare Diseases Europe): European federation of patient organizations, including self-help groups for rare diseases. Comparable in coordinating and supporting a federated network of condition-specific self-help/patient organizations across multiple countries, though focused on rare diseases.
• Mental Health Foundation (UK): UK charity addressing mental health through public information, peer support, and community programs. Comparable in mission space (mental health/wellbeing peer support) and nonprofit/donation-funded model, though at substantially larger scale and scope.

Direct peers

• NAKOS (Nationale Kontakt- und Informationsstelle zur Anregung und Unterstützung von Selbsthilfegruppen): Germany's national contact and information center for self-help groups, operating under a federal mandate similar to Selbsthilfe Schweiz. It serves the same core function - coordinating regional self-help clearinghouses and providing referral services - making it the closest functional peer in a neighboring market.
• American Self-Help Group Clearinghouse: US-based national clearinghouse for self-help groups that maintains a directory and provides referrals, closely paralleling Selbsthilfe Schweiz's directory and coordination model, although operating without an equivalent Swiss-style federal mandate.
• Self Help UK (formerly Self Help Nottingham): UK-based umbrella organization promoting and supporting self-help groups, with similar referral, resource, and network-coordination functions to Selbsthilfe Schweiz, although operating primarily in the East Midlands region.

Others

• Selbsthilfe Schweiz regional centers (e.g., Selbsthilfe Zürich, Selbsthilfe Bern): The cantonal self-help centers (such as Selbsthilfe Center Zürich, Selbsthilfe BE) that constitute Selbsthilfe Schweiz's network. They are downstream partners rather than competitors but represent the operational layer the foundation coordinates, making them relevant structural peers.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCjElOZYJg9H3DCdkh4uVs5w
• Facebookfacebook.com/selbsthilfeschweiz
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/selbsthilfe-schweiz
• Instagraminstagram.com/Info_Entraide_Suisse

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Selbsthilfe Schweiz