‘We are laying the foundation for a GIZ fit for the future’
Annual press conference reviews the 2025 fiscal year and outlines reorganisation plans
The Chair of GIZ’s Management Board, Thorsten Schäfer-Gümbel , announced a fundamental reorganisation of the federal enterprise at today’s annual press conference. GIZ is consolidating key functions in Germany and streamlining its organisational structure.
Thorsten Schäfer-Gümbel says, ‘Nostalgia is not a strategy. We are making ourselves fit for the future and in doing so, laying the foundation for a GIZ fit for the future.’ These changes will make it possible for the company to respond more systematically and rapidly to the requirements of its clients and partners in the future, in the face of changing political and economic conditions.
Schäfer-Gümbel explained that GIZ aims to achieve long-term savings in structural costs of around EUR 60 million. The new structure will come into effect in May 2027. Local presence will remain key. Schäfer-Gümbel says, ‘Partnerships are our strategic capital. As political rivalry intensifies, Germany must forge and shape strategic networks.’
International cooperation ‘Made with Germany’ is not just a slogan, but an attitude: ‘International cooperation ‘Made with Germany’ means working together to create dependable framework conditions based on democratic values. That’s what GIZ stands for.’
Event impressions
Integrated Company Report 2025: Business figures
Thorsten Schäfer-Gümbel also presented the business figures for 2025. GIZ’s business volume amounted to EUR 3.97 billion in 2025. The Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development was the main commissioning party, accounting for EUR 3.2 billion, including cofinancing. Last year, 23,787 people from 152 countries worked for GIZ. Two-thirds of them are national staff.
