SPARK supports people in post-conflict regions to provide for their own means of subsistence by building the capacity of local economic and educational institutions.
SPARK actively mobilises support for this within the Dutch Society, especially among economic and educational institutions.

SPARK is an independent non-profit institution and was founded in 1994. It has field offices in Belgrade, Mitrovica, Pristina and Skopje and SPARK-supported Business Start-up Centres in Bar, Bitola, Kragujevac, Pristina and Zenica. Our annual budget is over 10 million Euro and over 40 staff are employed.

• A demand-driven approach that pinpoints the needs and priorities of local beneficiaries;
  
         In 2009 SPARK and Birzet University began the process of establishing an ICT incubator in the Business 
         and IT sector in Ramala, in the Palestine Territories with the aim to encourage students to practice their
         entrepreneurial skills, enabling them to make the most of the local market potential and start a profitable
         business in the future. The pre-incubation project will build a stronger, more cohesive entrepreneurial
         environment that will encourage new business start-ups and spur an entrepreneurial spirit and self employment
         attitude that will lead to job creation and increased local economic development.It will enable participants to
         better understand the modern demand driven economy and market conditions as well as the positioning of SMEs in the
         global economy.
  

• The promotion of local ownership as precondition for sustainability;
        Our entrepreneurial support initiatives reached an important stage in 2009 when the SPARK-run Business Start-Up 
        Centres (BSC's) in South East Europe began their path towards becoming self-sufficient and independent. In 2009,
        they created 706 jobs, helped start 163 new SME's and trained over 4,500 people. SPARK will remain involved in
        these centres as an active donor, but it is a true testament to our mission of providing sustainable projects that
        our local actors now take ownership of the BSC's. As the BSC's in South East Europe become independent, two new
        ones were opened in 2009, one in Liberia's capital Monrovia and one in Birzeit in the Palestine Territories.

• A society-oriented focus that ultimately benefits society as a whole;
          Transparency is a key value at SPARK and we believe that being open with our work and impact is beneficial for
        everyone working with us and who are involved in our programs. Evaluations from our projects are continuously
        presented on our website and with the launch of the TranSPARKency we now display all financial information for
        anyone interested.
  

• The support of long-term cross-regional and international cooperation processes;
          The Private Sector Development projects in South Eastern Europe directly contributed to strengthening regional
        cooperation initiatives by encouraging partners to create networks and work together through joint initiatives. It
        strengthens national institution capacities hence having a long term positive impact in each country's development
        and progress. The regional network adds value to the regional cooperation initiatives since partners are jointly
        working on development of regional activities. This enables them to directly share experiences and knowledge that
        can improve the private sector environment in their own countries.