The Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (German Agency for International Cooperation) or GIZ is an international enterprise founded in 1975 by Erhard Eppler and owned by the German Federal Government, operating in many fields across more than 130 countries. It primarily works for public-sector organizations and is headquartered in Eschborn, Germany. It was formerly known as Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ).
On January 1, 2011 Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit GmbH merged with three other German organisations: the German Development Service (Deutscher Entwicklungsdienst, DED), the German Technical Cooperation (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit, GTZ), and International Training and Capacity-Building (Internationale Weiterbildung und Entwicklung GmbH, InWEnt).
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The GIZ mainly operates on behalf of the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). Further clients are other departments of the government, international donors like the European Union, World Bank or the United Nations, partner countries and the private sector. The cooperation with private enterprises is an emerging field in the domain of sustainable development promotion. The GIZ is set up with International Services (IS) and the Public Private Partnership (PPP)[1] in this area.
With a total turnover of €1,057 million in 2007, some €860 million came from projects and programmes for public clients, such as the BMZ and other federal ministries. Some 81.3 percent of GIZ's turnover was under contracts from the German Federal Government. The GIZ made 18.7 percent (€197 million) in 2007 from contracts from other clients such as financing institutions or private sector companies. It has about 13,000 employees working in more than 130 countries, including about 1,700 at its head office in Eschborn near Frankfurt am Main and Bonn.[2]
The GIZ provides services in the following areas of sustainable development:[3]
GIZ works on a public-benefit basis. All surpluses generated are channeled back into its own international cooperation projects for sustainable development.