Philanthropy Instead of donations: Foundations and NGOs discover impact investing
With their Elea Foundation, the Swiss Peter Wuffli and his wife Susanne Wuffli invest in young companies in the Global South. (Image: Elea Foundation for Ethics in Globalization)
Image: Keystone
The company Bukapo, which is supported by Elea, promotes home chefs in Indonesia, many of whom are women. (Image: Elea Foundation for Ethics in Globalization)
Image: Keystone
Former UBS CEO Peter Wuffli has been committed to impact investing for 20 years. (archive picture)
Image: Keystone
With their Elea Foundation, the Swiss Peter Wuffli and his wife Susanne Wuffli invest in young companies in the Global South. (Image: Elea Foundation for Ethics in Globalization)
Image: Keystone
The company Bukapo, which is supported by Elea, promotes home chefs in Indonesia, many of whom are women. (Image: Elea Foundation for Ethics in Globalization)
Image: Keystone
Former UBS CEO Peter Wuffli has been committed to impact investing for 20 years. (archive picture)
Image: Keystone
More and more Swiss people not only want to do good with their money, they also want to measure its impact. Foundations and traditional aid organizations have to adapt.
12.12.2025, 10:53
SDA
When her husband lost his job during the pandemic, a housewife in a small garage in Indonesia started cooking for her neighbors. Today, she employs eleven helpers and delivers up to 800 meals a day, including to hotels.
She is one of around 4,000 so-called home chefs who belong to the Bukapo online platform. This connects chefs with private customers and companies on a digital marketplace.
The business model fascinates Peter Wuffli from Switzerland. The former UBS CEO founded the charitable Elea Foundation 20 years ago. Through this foundation, he has invested in around 30 young companies in countries affected by poverty, including Bukapo.
Traditional donations are losing their appeal
"We are seeing increasing demand from people and institutions who want to use their money in such a way that it has a measurable social impact," says Wuffli in an interview with the news agency AWP. The younger generation in particular wants to be more "entrepreneurial", i.e. not just donate their money.
With good reason, says Wuffli. Entrepreneurial models are better suited to combating absolute poverty. This is because they are designed for the long term. "An entrepreneur thinks in terms of decades, if not generations," he says. Development cooperation, on the other hand, follows a project logic with a budget for a few years.
The Elea Foundation has more than tripled its initial capital of 20 million Swiss francs since its establishment through external donations. This means that the foundation now has more money available for investments. "Our aim is to get back 80 to 100 percent of the capital in investments like Bukapo," says Wuffli.
Over one trillion dollars in the sector
According to an analysis by the Global Impact Investing Network, almost 4,000 organizations worldwide recently managed impact investment assets of around 1.6 trillion dollars. Since 2019, the sector has grown by a good fifth each year.
Switzerland is considered a charitable country. According to the "Yearbook of Charities 2025" published by the University of Basel, 82% of households donated last year. On average, this is four times as much per capita as in neighboring countries.
However, the traditional donation logic is coming under pressure. "In the non-profit sector, it is becoming increasingly difficult to acquire sufficient funds," says Georg von Schnurbein, Professor of Foundation Management at the University of Basel.
On the other hand, some foundations and investors are increasingly relying on loans or deficit guarantees, where they potentially get some of the money back. "This allows them to use their money multiple times and increase their impact," explains the professor. According to him, NGOs should also develop such financing models.
Heks as an investing pioneer
One organization that does this is the aid organization of the Swiss Protestant Reformed Church (Heks). It founded an impact investment vehicle back in 2021. This supports small and medium-sized enterprises in rural sub-Saharan Africa that improve the lives of small farmers and their families.
Last year, Heks also founded the independent impact investment company Balim together with the Somaha Foundation and the Zurich-based company iGravity. "The process of setting up an impact investment company as a traditional aid organization was not easy," says Marisa Althaus, Team Leader Acquisition and Partnerships at Heks.
Nevertheless, the step was worth it: "We need impact investing in order to tap into other sources of funding in the medium term." This will make us less dependent on often volatile donations and development funds.
"Not possible for the majority of projects"
Caritas Switzerland is also currently monitoring developments in this area. "Impact investment can be a useful addition to international cooperation," says Martina Weber from the organization.
According to Weber, Caritas could support companies in project countries in future and provide investors with specialist advice. However, the possible applications are limited: "The vast majority of our projects take place in contexts where investments are not possible or not responsible." For example, in economically unstable countries that are not very attractive for companies.
It is now important for the impact investing sector that new framework conditions are created - both for foundations and NGOs. Until now, for example, it was unclear in many cantons whether tax-exempt foundations could record social investing on the investment side or on the support side.
According to expert von Schnurbein, Switzerland offers good conditions for the sector with its strong financial market, large proportion of humanitarian capital and flexible jurisdiction. "We just need the right volumes to be able to do this efficiently," says the professor.
