Team BPN Nicaragua
Located in Central America between the Pacific and the Caribbean, Nicaragua impresses with its diverse nature and culture. Despite its natural wealth and geopolitically advantageous location near the Panama Canal, today it is one of the financially weakest countries in the western hemisphere. Natural disasters and unrest have left their mark on the country.
Since 2006, BPN has been supporting selected entrepreneurs in Nicaragua who have set up their own business out of passion or often out of necessity and who are prepared to question the familiar and adopt new ways of thinking.
Adrian Borter
Country Director Nicaragua (since 2008)
The figures refer to BPN Nicaragua (since its foundation in 2006).
Team BPN Rwanda
Rwanda, one of the smallest countries in Africa, has a turbulent history. The genocide in 1994 plunged the country into misery. Since then, with the support of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, Rwanda has implemented important economic and structural reforms and is considered Africa's rising star. The goal: to achieve the status of a middle-income country by 2035. The government's strategy also includes promoting the establishment of domestic companies.
BPN has been supporting ambitious entrepreneurs in the country since 2011. They often achieve an international presence and are seen as role models for entrepreneurship throughout the country.
Alice Nkulikiyinka
Country Director Rwanda (since 2011)
The figures refer to BPN Rwanda (since its foundation in 2011).
"In the beginning, I was alone with the business idea. BPN helped me to make targeted use of my few resources. Now I employ 30 people." Mary Ange has undergone impressive development with her company. Find out more in the video.
Team BPN Kyrgyzstan
Kyrgyzstan, also known as Switzerland on the Silk Road due to its landscape, is located in Central Asia. With an area of around 200,000 km², the country is around five times the size of Switzerland, but has a population of only around 6.6 million.
Kyrgyzstan borders Kazakhstan to the north, Uzbekistan to the west, Tajikistan to the southwest and China to the southeast.
Kyrgyzstan became an independent state in 1991 with the collapse of the Soviet Union. Despite major challenges and tensions, the country is pressing ahead with poverty reduction, economic stabilization and the acceleration of structural reforms. The economy is slowly showing signs of improvement - particularly in agriculture, trade, services and industry.
The very first BPN program was launched in Kyrgyzstan in 1999 - making the country something like the birthplace of BPN. Since then, BPN has been supporting around 30 small and medium-sized enterprises at 2 locations (Bishkek & Osh), creating up to 400 jobs every year.
Thomas Lauwiner
Country Director (since 2021)
Paul Urusov
Executive Expert (with BPN since 1999)
The figures refer to BPN Kyrgyzstan (since its foundation in 1999).
Bektur runs a security company in Kyrgyzstan. From 2015, he took part in the BPN program and attended numerous coaching sessions and seminars. In the video, he tells you about the successful development of the company.Â
Team BPN Mongolia
Mongolia stretches between Russia and China. Almost 40 times the size of Switzerland, but with only 3.3 million inhabitants. Nomadism still plays an important role in the country, as do traditional economic sectors such as livestock farming. The government is promoting entrepreneurship, diversifying the economy with start-ups and creating new jobs.
Since 2012, BPN has been working with local employees in Mongolia and supports small businesses based on values with a wide range of business training, as well as consulting, access to finance, networking and coaching.
René Luchsinger
Country Director Mongolia (since 2023)
The figures refer to BPN Mongolia (since its foundation in 2012).
"I made sweets for my children, who loved them every time. That's how my business idea came about. Today, we produce a large quantity of different hard candies every day." Find out more about the development in the video.Â
Team BPN Georgia
Georgia, located at the crossroads of Europe and Asia, chose a decidedly
pro-Western and economically liberal orientation after the collapse of the Soviet Union. This decision quickly earned the country a reputation as a top reformer and attractive investment location. The strengths of the Georgian economy lie particularly in agriculture and tourism.
BPN has had a presence in Tbilisi, the capital city of 1.2 million people, since 2016. In recent years, the BPN program has been successively expanded and now supports entrepreneurs throughout the country.
Chris Langenegger
Country Director Georgia (since 2025)
The figures relate to BPN Georgia (since its foundation in 2016).
"I try to apply the business management know-how and the latest methods in the industry that I learned on the BPN program in my company." Davit is constantly striving to further develop his catering company, which focuses on quality.Â
Country Director Uganda, Daniel Matter (left), working with his team in the office in Kampala.
Uganda borders South Sudan to the north, Kenya to the east, Tanzania to the south, Rwanda to the southwest and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west.
The official languages are English and Swahili. In Kampala, however, English and Luganda are primarily spoken.
Uganda is characterized by lakes, the White Nile, and savannas. There is tropical rainforest in national parks in the southwest. The equator runs through the south of the country. The lowest point in Uganda is the lower reaches of the Albert Nile at around 610 meters above sea level. The highest point, Margherita Peak (also known as Mount Stanley) in the Rwenzori Mountains, is 5,110 meters high. Both extreme points are close to each other.
In 2025, a total of three seminars and four workshops were successfully held, with 72 entrepreneurs participating. In addition, 32 individual coaching sessions took place, which enabled participants to deepen their understanding of the content taught and focused on the specific challenges faced by the companies. The training and workshop formats focused on core entrepreneurial skills with direct relevance to business practice. Topics covered included
the structured development of business plans, market and marketing strategies, the basics of human resources management, and financial planning.
In the coming months, the focus will be on finalizing the business plans of the first cohort and officially accepting the entrepreneurs into the BPN program. At the same time, we will continue to expand our network, both through personal contacts and through a targeted presence on social media. Even though the quantitative results achieved so far may seem modest at first glance, they are in line with the expected course of a start-up phase and should be considered a remarkable achievement in this context. With a very lean team, we were able to establish a viable operational basis in a short period of time and achieve our first substantial results.
Daniel Matter
Country Director Uganda (since 2025)
The figures refer to BPN Uganda (since its foundation in 2024).
