Partnership with private sector

Partnering with a wide range of stakeholders has far-reaching benefits for future generations and brings shared value to all involved. UNICEF strives to strengthen strategic partnerships with the private sector, public sector, civil society organizations and other UN agencies.

There is a growing potential for private sector partnerships to positively influence the health and wellbeing of children and families, create a healthy, educated future workforce, and help accelerate achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals. Businesses are key stakeholders in UNICEF’s agenda for children, and they advance child rights by demonstrating child-friendly business practices, supporting advocacy, and leveraging their core business and assets to develop innovative products and shape markets in ways that help children.

To accelerate results for children in Kosovo, UNICEF collaborate with private sector.

In 2023, the first-ever private-sector financial partnership was signed with the Devolli Corporation, a local business entity, with the aim of supporting the Early Childhood Development in Kosovo by establishing two community-based ECD centers in Dragash Municipality. 

Additionally, UNICEF has  established non-financial collaboration with Raiffeisen Bank Kosovo (RBKO),  and AXIOM, which manages the major brands The Body Shop and The Entertainer. UNICEF is leveraging the networks and knowledge of these companies to expand the knowledge and capacities of parents of  young children, to promote social inclusion of children with disabilities, and to improve the skills and employability of young people in Kosovo.

RBKO and AXIOM’s support for Foleja, the free all-in-one mobile app for parents and caregivers of children from birth to age 6, will extend to the companies’ 800 staff as well as their clients.

To further improve the lives of young children, RBKO is supporting the expansion of the Home Visiting Programme – where infants and toddlers receive quality and integrated health and education services during the first 1,000 days of life – by donating vehicles to selected health centres for home visits.

Expanding Kosovo’s Generation Unlimited (K-GenU) Internship Programme is another example of how UNICEF and the private sector can work together to accelerate results at scale. With the leadership of the Ministry of Finance, Labour and Transfers, we are working with the Kosovo Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Network to provide paid internships, mentoring and skills development to young people aged 16-24. So far, CSR has placed around 3,000 interns in over 320 companies, with 30 percent of these assignments resulting in employment. Now, the goal is to reach 10,000 young people with these life-changing opportunities, with a special focus on those not currently in employment, education, or training those from non-majority communities, those with functional difficulties and disabilities, or from rural and poorer backgrounds.