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Funding
Venture Kick is a philanthropic three stage funding model initiated to support Swiss startups with enough funding to kick-start their entrepreneurial success. Startups can qualify to receive up to CHF 150,000 in start capital, and an opportunity for an additional CH 850,000 in equity funding from the Kick Fund. After each stage, promising entrepreneurs are also offered professional guidance in developing their…
Last Modification: 3. Oct. 2021
Swiss Funding Initiatives
Collaborative Research with Africa has a long tradition in Switzerland. With 20% of all federal research-related funding invested into international cooperation, Switzerland established a strong global knowledge network. The basis for this network is a multitude of research projects across all scientific disciplines connecting professional experts and institutions alike. On a governmental level, the international collaboration efforts are coordinated by the State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation SERI. Swiss science and technology counsellors implement the networking capacities abroad through the global framework of Swissnex offices.
KFPE is the information hub for «North-South» research in Switzerland, both for researchers and for the target audience of the research. It promotes efficient, effective and equitable research cooperation with developing and transition countries. By doing so, KFPE contributes to sustainable development and to solving global problems.
The most important research funding agency is the semi-governmental Swiss National Science Foundation SNF/FNS with programmes on all scientific career levels. There is also a copious amount of smaller often more specific foundations and agencies in Switzerland providing research funding. A starting point for finding a relevant Swiss funding institution can be this link.
Collaborating Research
Institutions

The Mercator Foundation Switzerland initiates and funds projects in three core areas: Science; Children and Youth; Human and Environment. The motivation of the foundation serves an open-minded society, which is willing to learn and acts responsible in …
Swiss Institutions
Several higher education institutions in Switzerland are fulfilling a key role as leading houses for certain thematic or geographic areas in the cooperative efforts between research undertaken collaboratively in African countries and Switzerland:
Swiss TPH
Leading House for Swiss-African Research Cooperation SARECO
Public Health, Epidemiology and Infectiology
(Focus Cameroon, Ghana, Kenya and Uganda)
University of Basel
Leading House for the Swiss-South Africa Joint Research Programme SSAJRP
(Focus South Africa and Namibia)
HES-SO
The Swiss State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation (SERI) commissioned the HES-SO as the Leading House for the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. The mandate will last from 2017 to 2020 and its overall goal is to develop scientific collaborations between Switzerland and countries of the MENA region.
African Institutions
There are numerous African Higher Education Institutions collaborating with Switzerland to perform research. A good entry point for your investigation are the programs of the African Academy of Sciences (AAS).
Collaborative Research
Projects
This project aims at innovating education for sustainable development in that it reorients teaching content towards what is defined as relevant and current by the community in which the project schools operate. Schools are linked to community needs, wh …
24. August 2022Prof. Clémentine Rossier, Institut de démographie et de socioéconomie (IDESO), Université de Genève (UNIGE) African Partner Dr Moussa Bougma, Institut supérieur des sciences de la population (ISSP), University Joseph Ki Zerbo Ouagadougou Project outlin …
11. September 2020Dr. phil. Jacqueline Grigo Religionswissenschaftliches Seminar Universität Zürich (ehemals Völkerkundemuseum Zürich) Dr. habil. Alexander Kocyan Institut für Pflanzen- und Mikorobiologie Botanisches Museum, Universität Zürich James Tumusiime, Moses Kas …
11. September 2020Prof. Dr. Till Förster, Universität Basel Prof. Dr. Edouard Abé, Université Catholique de l’Afrique de l’Ouest, Burkina Faso Depuis janvier 2019, l’Université Catholique de l’Afrique de l’Ouest, campus de Bobo Dioulasso, Burkina Faso, et l’Unive …
11. September 2020
Fair Research Contracting
Based on KFPE’s 11 Principles and 7 Questions for fair and transparent cooperation in global research for development the Council on Health Research for Development (COHRED) and the Swiss Commission for Research Partnerships with the Global South (KFPE) have launched a new self-assessment tool for researchers and science institutions. This tool helps to validate key elements of research contract negotiations and contributes to establishing an equitable access to legal information.
COHRED Self Assessment Tool
Also check our links to research related Open Access fora
Research
News
New ERAfrica Partnership Brochure: Cooperation Across Continents
The European Union has funded the ERAfrica project bringing together funders from Africa and Europe to foster institutional cooperation. The new brochure can be downloaded here:
https://www.africa-eu-sti-portal.net/en/1129.php
Jan 7, 2019
1827 female students received support from the NRF for their Doctoral studies in 2017/18. Increase in the number of female Doctoral students supported over the past three years: 11%. #WomensMonth pic.twitter.com/8htv5LYMJh
— NRF South Africa (@NRF_News) August 6, 2018
Prof Mohamed Hassan mentioning the@swissafrica SARECO program of @UniBasel_en, @AfriLabs and @SBFI_CH as example for innovative partnership building in North – South Cooperation pic.twitter.com/UoqRfkDmHb
— SARECO (@SwissAfrica) November 22, 2018
You can now annotate and discuss all preprints and other manuscripts hosted at @AfricArxiv thanks to @OSFramework & @hypothes_is https://t.co/HctzjDHJPT
— AfricArxiv (@AfricArxiv) July 24, 2018