Inform, guide and support: these are the key words that have marked the career so far of Sophie Rosman, Country Director Morocco of Swisscontact, an NGO whose path she crossed in Niger, far from her native Belgium, while working for France Volontaire on a project dedicated to creating integration schemes for young people. An openness to the world that she has cultivated since her first steps in the job market.
“I began my career in an information and guidance organisation for young people in France, where I supported those who wished to build a career plan abroad and welcomed young foreigners arriving in France. This experience gradually led me to Niger, where I joined a project dedicated to creating integration schemes for young people, funded by French cultural cooperation. During this two-year assignment, I crossed paths with Swisscontact in Niger, who were working on the same issues,” explains Sophie Rosman.
It was also in Niger that she would join Swisscontact, before taking over the management of the country office and building a solid portfolio there. Her assignment in Niger completed, Sophie Rosman flew to Senegal to head Swisscontact there in 2024, before settling, a few months later, in Morocco.
“Last year, the organisation offered me the chance to head operations in Morocco: a great opportunity to broaden my horizons beyond the Sahel, discover a new context, and contribute to the development of a particularly dynamic country”, she says.
A bridge between the business world and development cooperation
Asked about Swisscontact’s mission and what sets it apart in the world of international cooperation, Sophie Rosman states that it is an NGO very close to the private sector, founded in 1959 at the initiative of major Swiss industrial companies and employers’ organisations, to meet the need for a skilled workforce in partner countries and to contribute to economic development through the transfer of technical and managerial skills.
“Today, Swisscontact continues to position itself as a bridge between the business world and development cooperation. It works on vocational training as a lever for private-sector engagement and specialises in economic development and support for SMEs. Its approach is fully based on market systems development (MSD), making companies agents of sustainable market transformation. We are convinced that sustainable development depends on viable, inclusive and responsible companies”, stresses Sophie Rosman.
Under her leadership, Swisscontact structures its action in Morocco around several complementary areas: the employability of young people and women; support for entrepreneurship and SMEs; the development of sustainable tourism; and support for the transition towards a greener economy, notably through actions related to biodiversity and conservation.
Youth employment, inclusive entrepreneurship and the green transition
To achieve this, Swisscontact Morocco works closely with local players: companies, professional organisations, training centres, local authorities and public institutions.
“Our starting point is always an analysis of market systems: who the key players are, what the formal and informal rules are, which services support the market, and where the bottlenecks lie that limit access to employment, entrepreneurship or economic opportunities. On this basis, Swisscontact identifies the functions of the system that need to be strengthened — whether technical skills, business services, coordination mechanisms or regulatory frameworks”, explains Sophie Rosman, Country Director Morocco of Swisscontact. A field of action that ranges from strengthening trainers’ skills to better meet market needs, to supporting companies or professional organisations so that they offer better-suited services, to facilitating collaboration between public and private players.
“We therefore design our projects starting from market needs, while making sure to include those who are furthest from it: young people, women, low-skilled people. Training then becomes a lever for inclusion, and the economy a space of opportunities”, says Sophie Rosman, for whom economic development, social inclusion and vocational training are inseparable.
Highlighting the richness of the Moroccan ecosystem, she stated that in the years ahead, Swisscontact wishes to strengthen its impact in Morocco by deepening its work on youth employment, inclusive entrepreneurship and the green transition. “Particular attention will be paid to developing green economy jobs, notably in sustainable tourism, natural resource management and biodiversity conservation”, she specifies. And she continues: “As part of this momentum, Swisscontact draws on its recognised Swiss expertise, particularly in dual vocational training, quality of skills and the close link between training and labour market needs, adapting it to Moroccan realities and priorities”.
A lover of travel and discovery
Reflecting on her professional and personal experience, Sophie Rosman, a lover of travel and discovery, admits that she knew little about Morocco before her arrival in July 2025, but she says: “What strikes you most is the energy, professionalism and creativity of local players. You meet young people, entrepreneurs and trainers who are extremely committed, capable of innovating with sometimes limited resources. Professionally, Morocco is a country where projects move forward quickly; on a human level, it is a country of relationships, trust and dialogue”.
A keen reader, Sophie Rosman also loves spending time with her family or friends, when she is not travelling around the Kingdom to discover more of its secrets. “I use my free time to discover Morocco; there are so many very different things to see. I have already had the chance to walk in the Atlas, to go hiking in the Benslimane forest and to visit several cities with their historic centres”, says the Country Director Morocco of Swisscontact, who draws her inspiration from contact with people on the ground, from exchanges with teams and partners, and from the collective ability to find solutions, even in the face of complex challenges.
If you were…
- A colour, which would you be, and why? Blue, the colour of the sky and of dreams, because it is always important to aim high
- A country, which would you be? Belgium, my home country, for its surrealism and its tongue-in-cheek humour
- A human value? Respect and empathy
- An animal…? a bird
- A connected object? a smartphone, which lets you keep in touch with those far away, take beautiful photos and organise daily life (GPS, alarm clock, etc.)
- A superpower? Happiness
- A book…? “The Poisonwood Bible” by Barbara Kingsolver