Switzerland launches 'Ghana Cooperation Programme' worth $77 million

Switzerland, through its State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO), has launched a $77 million grant (the equivalent of 65 million Swiss Francs) for its Ghana Cooperation Programme for 2025-2028.

The programme aimed to support the country in seizing opportunities and addressing economic challenges and environmental concerns.

It was under the theme, “Creating a More Resilient and Forward-Looking Ghanaian Economy.”

The Swiss Ambassador to Ghana, Simone Giger, said the theme reflects Ghana's state in the past few years that have seen the most difficult times in the country's history.

She said Ghana has shown a true sense of resilience as it has started recovering from these challenges.

Speaking on the sidelines of the launch of the Ghana Cooperation Programme 2025-2028 on June 5, 2025, she said, "So, today, we launched this new cooperation program for the next four years, and it's under the topic of creating a more resilient and forward-looking Ghanaian economy.

"And why resilient, why forward-looking? So, resilience really means the ability to withstand shocks, the ability to weather storms. The past few years have shown that this is very important for Ghana."

The Swiss Ambassador added that the partnership is to help the Ghanaian economy stand against global shocks.

"Ghana's economy needs certain buffers that when there's an external shock that hits the economy, it can actually stand strong. And then we also said we want to invest in a forward-looking economy that's more like for future generations. You need to invest now and plan ahead so that the generations to come can also profit and benefit from a clean, healthy and prosperous Ghana," she added.

The launch of the programme saw stakeholders from different sectors, like the government, high-level representatives, the private sector, civil society, academia, and development partners.

The ambassador also added that "funding for me is not the most important element of it, but we are speaking now about 65 million Swiss francs. That's roughly, according to today's exchange rate, about 77 million US dollars, and this is all in grants, so it doesn't have to be paid back.

"So, it's quite substantial, but I think what's important is that in today's world and these times, when a lot of other countries are cutting back on their development cooperation, we were actually able to maintain the envelope that we are providing to Ghana. Now, when it comes to my vision, four years is not a very long time, but I still want to dream a bit," she noted.

SSD/AE