Increasing Market Employability (IME)

01.09.2024 - 31.12.2026

North Macedonia’s economy is characterised by persistently slow growth rates as a result of low productivity due to outdated practices and scarce labour force due to high emigration. To address this, Switzerland, through its Increasing Market Employability project, supports small and medium-sized enterprises in sustainable agribusiness and tourism to become more competitive and environmentally sustainable by improving their products and services, while creating decent employment. The duration of the project is extended until 31.12.2026.

Electoral Support Programme

01.01.2024 - 31.12.2027

Switzerland has positioned itself as the main international partner in supporting electoral administration for enhanced conduct of presidential, parliamentary, and local elections, including support to political actors in North Macedonia. The program aims to improve conditions and capacities for democratic and credible elections through engaging with party leaders, fostering youth and women political participation, and enhancing civil society role in improving transparency and accountability of political parties and their elected representatives.

Civil Society Support Facility

01.04.2023 - 31.12.2026

Switzerland renews a multi-year support to strengthen the capacities of civil society organizations in North Macedonia, to improve the inclusiveness of decision-making processes and increase the transparency of state institutions. The final phase (2023-2026) of this project aims to increase citizen support for civil society organizations, to enhance the capabilities of these organizations, and to diversify their funding base. To improve sustainability, the project implementation has been transferred to the national partner organization. 

Promoting Gender Responsive Policies and Budgets

01.04.2023 - 31.03.2026

Switzerland, through a contribution to UN Women for 2023-2026, supports central and local governments of North Macedonia to advance gender equality through gender-responsive legislation and by practicing gendered budgeting processes: citizens, especially women, and civil society organizations will be strengthened to exercise their voice in decision-making through policy dialogue. Oversight institutions will also be capacitated to better monitor the implementation of gender-responsive budgeting processes. 

Strengthening Municipal Resilience to Corruption

15.12.2022 - 31.10.2028

This  intervention  aims  to  reduce  the  space  for  corruption  on  municipal  level  through  support  to  mayors, municipal councils and administration in municipalities willing to engage in anticorruption efforts. The project will help state institutions to create or improve and implement mechanisms, policies and legislation to address high-corruption  risks  priority areas  e.g. procurement, urban planning,  licensing.  It will  target  also  the CSOs (citizens) and the media to raise their awareness and capacities to recognize corruption and know their rights. 

Groundwater Management, Use and Protection Programme (GWP)

20.07.2022 - 31.12.2027

Despite its vital importance for people, economy and environment, groundwater (GW) in North Macedonia is increasingly under pressure from pollution and unsustainable use in a changing climate. With Swiss expertise and support, the GWP will establish the basis for a long-term transformation of the GW management by building stakeholders’ capacities, securing the necessary collaboration mechanism, improving legislative and planning framework. 

Education for Employment

01.07.2022 - 30.06.2026

The project addresses the high youth unemployment rate in North Macedonia (33%), caused by the mismatch of the skills provided by the education system and those required by the economy. The project will support the Ministry of Education and Science and the private sector to strengthen the newly established dual school- and company-based vocational education and training system.

Empowering Municipal Councils

01.04.2022 - 31.03.2027

Municipal Councils have, according to the legislation, a very important role to play in local governance. However, councillors often lack the necessary knowledge to fulfil their responsibilities. Through the project, capacities of councillors will be enhanced, citizen participation in decision making promoted and legal framework adjusted, enabling councillors to fulfil their role and to become more independent from the executive branch.

NMAC: Modernisation project

01.04.2022 - 31.10.2028

The most persistent bottleneck in North Macedonia’s economic development is the low  productivity  of  businesses resulting in their limited capacity to offer decent jobs. Switzerland, through its Modernisation Project  (MP) will  tackle  this  by  supporting  the  development  of  an  ecosystem  for  businesses  to modernize.  Using business  diagnostics  to  identify  productivity  bottlenecks  will  enable  businesses  to  invest  strategically  in modernisation, leading to increased productivity, improved environmental efficiency and decent jobs. 

Smart Packaging Waste Management

01.11.2021 - 31.12.2024

The prevalent improper management of waste in North Macedonia is a pressing environmental topic and a top priority of the Government. SDC supports North Macedonia by engaging with the non-profit private sector packaging recovery organization Pakomak to enhance the effectiveness, efficiency and transparency of the national packaging waste recovery system through the digitalisation of the primary selection and collection process.

Sustainable and Inclusive Balanced Regional Development

01.10.2021 - 30.09.2025

The level of development among the 8 regions in North Macedonia is highly unequal. This misbalance directly affects the wellbeing of citizens living in less developed areas. SDC supports North Macedonia by working on the country system, to improve the national legal framework for planning, monitoring and evaluation of balanced regional development (BRD) ensuring greater allocation of funds for BRD, hence improving the living conditions for all citizens, especially in the underdeveloped regions.

Intelligence and Security Sector Reform

01.04.2021 - 31.03.2026

At the core of this project is to improve the accountability of the state and enhance the division of the executive, legislative and judiciary powers in line with the democratic governance priorities of the Swiss Cooperation Programme in North Macedonia. It focuses on supporting the intelligence and security sector actors to become more transparent and accountable towards parliament, the judiciary and citizens at large, through new and improved existing legal framework, enhanced policy-making and capacity building.