About Us

TIKOS is a tax-exempt Swiss association that helps committed women and men in developing countries to create and/or grow their small businesses. It provides coaching and financing to carefully selected entrepreneurs. It connects these local entrepreneurs with sponsors and coaches in Europe.

With its activities, TIKOS seeks to kick off an entrepreneurship cycle of goodness: The small businesses supported will create jobs and opportunities in communities, including those outside the big urban centers. Their success will motivate others to start their own small businesses. And, as entrepreneurs pay back their loans to TIKOS, the proceeds are re-invested into new entrepreneurs to ensure a perpetual cycle of goodness.

Vision

TIKOS grants committed people (women as well as men) in developing countries loans to create and develop their own small enterprises. These small businesses will create jobs locally and will give their owners and their employees as well as their family members an opportunity for a better future.

TIKOS helps the small enterprises to become financially self-sustaining after a certain period of time. Scaling potential of their business is desirable, but not mandatory.

TIKOS wants to encourage committed people in Europe to invest into such small enterprises in developing countries. People with

professional & life experience
diverse leadership & project responsibility
many contacts to people in the business community

are welcome not only to support projects with a financial contribution, but also to coach the entrepreneurs with their business expertise. Financial contributions to TIKOS can be deducted by taxpayers residing in Switzerland in their tax return.