Method Capacity building Founded 1965 Number of employees 1,100 | Website snvworld.org Motto Smart Development Works | |
Focus Agriculture; Water, Sanitation & Hygiene; Renewable Energy Location The Hague, The Netherlands Area served 38 countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America Slogan Smart Development Works Similar Oxfam, International Fund for Agricultur, Plan, CARE, Catholic Relief Services Profiles | ||
SNV Netherlands Development Organisation is a non-profit, international development organisation, established in the Netherlands in 1965.
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SNV aims to alleviate poverty by enabling increased income and employment opportunities and increasing access to basic services. The organisation currently works in 38 countries in Africa, Asia, and Latin America.
History
SNV was established as the Stichting Nederlandse Vrijwilligers (Foundation of Netherlands Volunteers) in 1965, under the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Originally focused on posting young Dutch volunteers to the South, SNV stopped working with volunteers in 1988 in response to the changing needs of host organisations and countries, instead assigning paid development workers to fulfil increasingly policy-related assignments. SNV has since evolved to become one of the largest Dutch development organisations and now focuses on providing capacity development services to local organisations.
In 1993 the organisation changed its name to SNV Netherlands Development Organisation and in 2002 formally separated from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, although the organisation continues to receive a subsidy from the Ministry (ending 2015).
Activities
SNV currently provides capacity development services to local organisations in three sectors: Agriculture, Renewable Energy, and Water, Sanitation & Hygiene (WASH).
Organisation
SNV has its headquarters in The Hague, the Netherlands, with sector offices in Vientiane (Water Sanitation & Hygiene), Nairobi (Agriculture) and Ouagadougu (Renewable Energy) and a representative office in Washington, DC.
SNV currently operates programmes in the following countries:
Bangladesh; Benin; Bhutan; Bolivia; Burkina Faso; Cambodia; Cameroon; Central African Republic; Colombia; Congo-Brazzaville; Costa Rica; DR Congo; Ecuador; El Salvador; Ethiopia; Equatorial Guinea; Gabon; Ghana; Guatemala; Guinea Bissau; Honduras; Indonesia; Kenya; Lao PDR; Mali; Mozambique; Nepal; Nicaragua; Niger; Pakistan; Peru; Rwanda; South Sudan; Tanzania; Uganda; Vietnam; Zambia; Zimbabwe.
The organisation employed over 1100 staff worldwide in 2012.
Awards
SNV-supported programmes have won a number of international awards, including the International Energy Globe and Ashden awards for sustainable energy (2008, 2010).