A hat-trick of results – for the local population, the Global South and Germany

Thorsten Schäfer-Gümbel: ‘Challenges do not stop at borders. Overlapping crises have an impact on us, too.’

Berlin, 24 June 2024. International cooperation achieves a hat-trick of results – the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH opened its annual press conference today with a football metaphor. With the European Football Championship under way in Germany, Thorsten Schäfer-Gümbel, Chair of the GIZ Management Board, deliberately chose a sports theme to highlight the relevance of development cooperation, likening it to a hat-trick. Thorsten Schäfer-Gümbel: ‘Instead of goals in the net, our hat-trick is about sustainable results. First, GIZ achieves results in the partner countries for every individual person that it supports. Second, it achieves results in around 120 countries, by creating prospects and ensuring more stable conditions. Third, the results that GIZ achieves around the world have a medium and long-term impact in Germany, too.’

According to Schäfer-Gümbel, in the current uncertain budgetary situation, focusing on economic nationalism would send a disastrous signal, because global challenges do not stop at borders. The same goes for climate change, migration and political conflicts. Overlapping crises have an impact on Europe and on Germany, too.

Africa is a continent of opportunity

Jochen Flasbarth, Chair of the GIZ Supervisory Board and BMZ State Secretary, advocates for development cooperation as ‘the key to a stable, peaceful and sustainable world’. ‘Global crises – particularly the impacts of climate change and biodiversity loss in addition to pandemics and violent conflicts – affect us all,’ he said. ‘Tackling these crises therefore requires joint solutions, which we need to approach in a spirit of partnership.’

State Secretary Flasbarth stressed that GIZ’s work makes a substantial contribution to ‘actively shaping these joint solution partnerships. Experts at GIZ try to understand the perspectives of people at the local level and, at the same time, take a stand for values that apply to all human beings.’

Schäfer-Gümbel highlighted Africa as a continent of opportunity to emphasise the importance of cooperation, stable conditions and prospects.

Africa’s population is growing and with it the demand for energy. GIZ is providing support to develop its renewable energy sector. This benefits Africa’s population and its economy. At the same time, it contributes to mitigating climate change. In 2023 alone, in collaboration with its partners and directly through its project work in the partner countries, GIZ contributed to reducing Africa’s greenhouse gas emissions by more than four million tonnes of CO2 equivalent. Strong partners and well-established international cooperation also open up opportunities for German businesses because Germany is dependent on imports to meet its energy needs. In Namibia, for example, a South African–German consortium is planning to produce green hydrogen. GIZ is working here and in other countries such as Morocco to create a robust environment for trade. Hydrogen is a new area for which countries must first establish an overall framework. GIZ provides advice on production standards, security regulations for transport and the legal basis – essential requirements for imports. By 2035, some African countries could be in a position to supply Europe with green hydrogen generated from renewables. The continent is GIZ’s largest regional portfolio: in 2023, the federal enterprise received commissions for Africa worth EUR 1.5 billion.

Thorsten Schäfer-Gümbel urgently appealed for more rather than less dialogue: ‘Fewer and fewer people live in democracies. This is driving an increase in social inequality and the destruction of the natural resources on which life depends. It also means that many countries are seeking out new partners, and that the influence of countries like Russia and China is growing.’ He stressed that today’s solutions must not spark the conflicts of the future.

Data gathered by GIZ shows that its work achieves results. In 2023, GIZ and its partners worldwide supported more than 2.2 million people in overcoming hunger and malnutrition and assisted 6.4 million people in adapting to the impacts of climate change. Access to a modern energy supply was facilitated or improved for 9.3 million people.

2023 in figures: business volume decreases slightly by 0.6 per cent

Last year, GIZ’s business volume was around EUR 4 billion (EUR 3.96 billion) – a slight decrease of 0.6 per cent on the previous year. With commissions worth EUR 3.27 billion, its main commissioning party was the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). Revenue from business with BMZ was 3.6 per cent lower than in 2022 (EUR 3.4 billion).

GIZ once again saw growth in its cofinancing arrangements in the public-benefit business area – funds supplied by third parties such as the European Union (EU), UN organisations and private foundations to expand existing projects and thereby extend their reach. In 2023, cofinancing totalled EUR 634 million, an increase of 11 per cent on 2022 (EUR 572 million). More than half (62.5 per cent; EUR 396 million) of all cofinancing was provided by the EU, GIZ’s largest source of cofinancing.

In 2023, GIZ’s work once again focused on the climate and energy sector. GIZ used more than 40 per cent of revenue in the public-benefit business area (EUR 1.24 billion) to work on solutions for climate and energy issues worldwide.

Half of GIZ’s revenue in the public-benefit business area was received in competition with public and public-benefit institutions. This includes funds from BMZ’s special initiatives and for development partnerships with the private sector.

International Services (Ins), GIZ’s taxable business area, recorded significant growth again, up 23.5 per cent. Total operating performance increased to EUR 247 million in 2023 (2022: EUR 200 million).

Last year, 25,634 people from 152 different countries worked for GIZ. Two thirds of them are national staff (17,098) in the approximately 120 countries in which GIZ operates.

The Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH is a federal enterprise with worldwide operations. It supports the German Government in the field of international cooperation for sustainable development. It is also engaged in education activities around the globe. GIZ assists people and societies in shaping their future and improving their living conditions.

You can find the Integrated Company Report 2023, which contains these figures and information and more, at https://berichterstattung.giz.de.

The press kit for the annual press conference 2024 is available here.