Switzerland's CHF 500 million for Swiss companies in Ukraine's reconstruction, and SECO's third call

The commitment, in three numbers

On 10 April 2024 the Federal Council decided to support Ukraine's reconstruction over the long term, earmarking CHF 5 billion for 2025 to 2036. The first CHF 1.5 billion, funded from the international cooperation budget, runs from 2025 to 2028 under the International Cooperation Strategy 2025-28; how the remaining CHF 3.5 billion is financed is a decision the Federal Council has reserved for the second phase. In June 2024 the Federal Council took the decision that gives this programme its distinctive character: CHF 500 million of the first phase is dedicated to involving the Swiss private sector in Ukraine's recovery and reconstruction. One third of the first-phase funds set aside for reconstruction in cooperation with Swiss companies, on the FDFA's own description.

Who runs it

The Swiss cooperation programme for Ukraine 2025-2028, adopted by the Federal Council on 12 February 2025, was developed jointly by the SDC, SECO and the FDFA's Peace and Human Rights Division. It sets three priority areas: economic recovery with an emphasis on SMEs and competitiveness, public services including energy, water, transport and health, and the protection of civilians including humanitarian demining. A dedicated project organisation spans the two federal departments involved, led by Jacques Gerber as the Federal Council's Delegate for Ukraine. SECO alone is working with around CHF 650 million for Ukraine over the four-year phase and is engaged in around 45 projects, alongside contributions through the World Bank and the EBRD.

The private-sector envelope is implemented through six measures, from financing project preparation studies through to strengthening the risk-bearing capacity of SERV, the Swiss export risk insurance agency, and de-risking private investments. The measure most visible to companies is M2: direct project financing awarded through competitive calls for proposals. The remaining measures promote Swiss industries in large-scale foreign infrastructure projects (M3) and support communication and bilateral economic relations between Switzerland and Ukraine (M4).

Three calls with different focuses

Each call has had a different focus, and the sequence matters for reading where the programme is going.

The first call (2025) produced twelve awarded projects, selected jointly by the Swiss and Ukrainian authorities. The list is instructive: Divario (CHF 15 million) and DM Bau (CHF 8.9 million) for locally produced modular housing for displaced persons, Schwihag (CHF 14.4 million) for rail fastening production in Ukraine, Arthur Flury (CHF 12.9 million) for railway overhead lines built to Swiss standards, Glas Trösch (CHF 9.9 million) for replacing over 32,000 war-damaged windows, Roche Diagnostics (CHF 8.8 million) for a medical laboratory, and Geberit, Hitachi Energy, REHAU and others for energy, sanitary and vocational-training projects.

The second call ran from 9 January to 8 March 2026, with up to CHF 150 million available and individual contributions of CHF 3 to 30 million. It was restricted to public infrastructure: energy, water and sanitation, housing, public mobility, social infrastructure and agriculture. Alignment with Ukraine's Single Project Pipeline, managed through the DREAM ecosystem, was expressly rewarded in the award criteria.

The third call closed to Stage 1 proposals on 20 September 2026. Launched on 27 May 2026, it moved from procurement-style projects to foreign direct investment: the construction, reconstruction or modernisation of assets in Ukraine for production or the provision of services, greenfield or war-damaged, which stay on the Ukrainian subsidiary's balance sheet and are operated by it for the long term, in six priority sectors from construction materials and heavy machinery to renewable energy, transport infrastructure, agribusiness and IT and digital infrastructure. SECO contributes CHF 3 to 10 million per project, capped at 50 per cent of total project costs, from an envelope of up to CHF 50 million; the applicant finances the other half, of which at least a quarter of the total budget must be its own cash, the balance may come from a professional third-party investor, an IFI loan or a Ukrainian state grant raised for the project, and the whole budget may not exceed CHF 30 million.

Selection runs in two stages before a joint Swiss-Ukrainian committee: shortlisted applicants are to be told by 24 November 2026, present in December and file Stage 2 proposals by 21 February 2027, all tentative dates, with the final decision due by the end of April 2027; the contract is signed only once the full financing is secured, within six months of selection, extendable by three months where justified, and projects must be completed by the end of 2031.

What the awarded projects tell us

Four features recur across the first-round list, unevenly. Several winners produce in Ukraine, among them modular houses built locally, rail components manufactured on site and one project sourcing 95 per cent of its components locally, while others replace or rebuild damaged assets. Most pair hardware with training: vocational programmes, staff training at Swiss institutions, skills transfer alongside equipment. Two name the jobs they create. And all map onto the programme's priority areas, above all housing, rail, energy and health. The third call adds a rule of its own: the assets financed must sit on the Ukrainian subsidiary's balance sheet and be operated by it, so a pure export transaction is outside its scope, though SECO imposes no minimum local spending and no Swiss-content requirement, and imported equipment is permitted.

Eligibility in the third call turns on the group chart. The applicant must be a company registered in Switzerland on or before 1 January 2023, a date SECO applies without derogation, and must itself hold a direct majority of the Ukrainian entity: sister companies under a common owner, intermediate holding companies and consortia are out. The Ukrainian entity may be new, so long as it is registered by the Stage 1 deadline, and a group whose chart fails the direct-ownership test may restructure, provided it commits firmly to the restructuring in Stage 1 and completes it before the Stage 2 deadline.

The Swiss parent is also tested on its own numbers: equity above a quarter of total assets, the own contribution below half of equity, the project budget below a third of three-year turnover, positive operating cash flow in two of the last three years, net debt below 3.5 times EBITDA and no insolvency proceedings, evidenced by three years of audited accounts (Annex 1, EC 6); a group with the right structure and financing plan can still fail here.

For a company positioning for future rounds, the Ukrainian subsidiary, direct majority ownership and a clean compliance record are eligibility conditions, and the contract then binds the group: the assets stay on the Ukrainian entity's balance sheet and are retained and operated for at least three years after completion, with SECO's written consent for any sale, lease or intra-group transfer and repayment of the grant on breach; the grant may not fund dividends, distributions or non-arm's-length shareholder-loan repayments, and distributions from the project are capped at its cumulative profits while the agreement runs; and the money moves through dedicated project accounts into the Ukrainian entity through a structure that is lawful and fiscally sound under Ukrainian law.

The governance and the intra-group contracts are how a group meets those terms, and they take time to put in place properly, particularly where the group also needs sanctions screening, export-control checks and anti-corruption controls that stand up to scrutiny. SECO's application package includes a sector exclusion list, self-declarations on labour standards, sanctions and dual-use goods, and a risk identification and mitigation framework; the compliance file is assessed as part of the bid.

Cover and de-risking

Two of the six measures address the downside question: what happens to the money if the project fails. Measure M5 strengthens the risk-bearing capacity of SERV specifically for exports to Ukraine, and M6 targets the de-risking of private investments. SERV's cover position for any given transaction is set case by case under its cover policy, so early engagement with SERV's advisers is part of project preparation. For investment projects, Swiss support sits alongside the international guarantee architecture, including MIGA's Ukraine programmes and EBRD instruments, which we noted in our companion piece on the EU funding architecture and examine in our update on war-risk cover and guarantees.

How the Swiss layer fits the bigger picture

The Swiss programme is deliberately complementary to the EU and IFI channels described in How the EU funds Ukraine. The EU's Ukraine Facility and Support Loan move money at a scale Switzerland cannot match; the Swiss programme's advantage is precision. It is a channel through which a Swiss company can obtain direct co-financing of CHF 3 to 10 million for a Ukrainian project, judged by a committee on which its own and the Ukrainian government sit, under Swiss federal subsidy law and in an English-language procedure. The DREAM alignment criterion in the second call showed the systems converging for public-infrastructure projects, which enter the same Ukrainian pipeline the EU instruments use; the third call, being foreign direct investment, expressly does not require pipeline alignment and looks instead to Ukraine's FDI strategic framework. A well-advised company treats the Swiss and EU layers as one architecture with several entry points, and reads each call's criteria on their own terms.

What this means for you

• If you filed in the third call, prepare for Stage 2 now. Shortlisting is due by 24 November 2026, presentations in December, the Stage 2 deadline on 21 February 2027, all tentative, and the full financing, including any third-party commitment, must be secured within six months of selection, extendable by three where justified, or the contract is not signed; the 50 per cent co-financing requirement, with at least 25 per cent of the budget in the applicant's own cash, means board-level financing decisions.
• Structure before you apply. The Ukrainian entity, direct majority ownership and a clean compliance record are eligibility conditions; the asset-retention, distribution and flow-of-funds commitments are contractual. Design the governance and intra-group contracts to meet both and to survive due diligence, tax review and sanctions screening.
• Design for the pattern. Production or services delivered from assets held in Ukraine, training components, job creation and priority-sector fit are what most of the awarded projects share and what the third call's criteria reward. Build the proposal around them.
• Engage SERV early. Cover is case-by-case; knowing your insurability shapes the financing plan and strengthens the proposal.
• Watch for the next call. Three calls in under two years, each with a different focus, and CHF 500 million allocated to the private-sector measures for the phase to 2028, with third-call projects running to 2031. No fourth call had been announced as at 25 September 2026; a company that missed this round should keep its file current.

Isak Legal advises Swiss and European companies on structuring for Ukraine-related projects, including entity structure, group contracting, compliance frameworks and the interaction between Swiss, EU and IFI funding channels, and Ukrainian companies on reaching Western partners and financing. See our Ukraine: Investment and Reconstruction page, or get in touch.

This client update is provided for general information only, reflects the position as at 26 September 2026 and does not constitute legal advice or create a lawyer-client relationship. Call conditions, deadlines and eligibility criteria are those published by SECO at the sources linked above; always rely on the current official call documents. For advice on a specific matter, please contact us.