Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH
Company overview
Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH is a German limited liability company (GmbH) registered with the commercial register (Handelsregister) at the Amtsgericht Bonn under number HRB 18384, with a second registration at the Amtsgericht Frankfurt am Main under number HRB 12394. Its registered address is Friedrich-Ebert-Allee 32-36, 53113 Bonn, and it also maintains a head office in Eschborn, Hesse. GIZ’s Handelsregister record is currently shown as active.
GIZ began operating under its current name and structure on 1 January 2011, following the merger of three predecessor organisations that had previously carried out German technical and personnel-based development cooperation: Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ) GmbH, the Deutscher Entwicklungsdienst (DED) and Internationale Weiterbildung und Entwicklung gGmbH (InWEnt). Zavia’s underlying record lists an incorporation date of 1 December 2010. GIZ’s own published materials confirm 1 January 2011 as the date the merged entity began operating, but do not state a separate Handelsregister entry date, so the exact registration date could not be independently corroborated during this review.
Business activities
GIZ provides international development cooperation and international education services on behalf of German federal government bodies — principally the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) — as well as other German ministries, the European Union, United Nations agencies and other public and private-sector clients. Its work covers areas such as economic development, governance, peace and security, climate and energy, agriculture, health, social protection, and vocational education and training. GIZ implements technical-cooperation programmes, provides advisory and project-management services, and deploys personnel and experts in partner countries.
Operating presence
GIZ operates worldwide through country and project offices in addition to its two German head offices in Bonn and Eschborn, and is one of the largest organisations globally in the field of international development cooperation implementation. As a state-owned implementing entity rather than a commercial trading company, GIZ is not listed on any stock exchange and does not publish a consolidated commercial revenue figure in the way a listed company would; its financial position is instead reported through annual accounts (Jahresabschluss) filed under German commercial law.
- Company fundamentals
- Corporate linkage & group structures
- Digitized company financials
- Firmographics — websites, social profiles, revenue and employee estimates
Shareholders
3
Shareholders of Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH
GIZ has a single shareholder: the Federal Republic of Germany (Bundesrepublik Deutschland). Zavia’s stored shareholder register lists three entries under this same shareholder name, recorded in different currencies (one in EUR, two in legacy Deutsche Mark, DEM) with percentages of 83.33%, 57% and 2% respectively, each dated as verified on 4 September 2026. These figures reflect separate historical share-capital records in the underlying source rather than three distinct owners; because they are expressed against different reporting bases, the percentages should not be summed or read as a current capital split. What is consistent across all three entries, and confirmed independently by GIZ’s own published information, is that the Federal Republic of Germany is GIZ’s sole shareholder.
GIZ’s own governance materials state that the Federal Government holds the company’s entire share capital and is represented as shareholder principally through the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), with the Federal Ministry of Finance (BMF) also holding a shareholder role. GIZ’s published integrated company reporting states its share capital as approximately EUR 20,452,000. No natural person holds a direct or indirect equity interest in GIZ.
Ultimate beneficial ownership
GIZ is a state-owned enterprise wholly owned by the Federal Republic of Germany. There is no natural-person ultimate beneficial owner: control rests with the German Federal Government, exercised through its ministries and reflected in the composition of GIZ’s Supervisory Board (see the officers block below). No UBO percentage calculation applies to a sole state shareholder of this kind.
Data availability
Ownership disclosure for GIZ is full at the level of identifying the sole shareholder (the Federal Republic of Germany), but the percentage breakdown across the three stored shareholder entries could not be reconciled to a single, current capital table from public sources and is treated here as a data-source artefact rather than as separate ownership stakes. Shareholder entries were verified in Zavia’s source data on 4 September 2026; the capital figure is taken from GIZ’s own published integrated company reporting.
Sources
- GIZ Imprint / Registration information — https://www.giz.de/en/imprint — retrieved 25 September 2026
- GIZ About us — https://www.giz.de/en/about-us — retrieved 25 September 2026
- GIZ Integrated Company Report, Registration information — https://reporting.giz.de/2024/registration-information/ — retrieved 25 September 2026
| Shareholder | Type | Holding | Source Document |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bundesrepublik Deutschland | 83.3% | Handelsregister (Commercial Register) | |
| Bundesrepublik Deutschland | 57% | Handelsregister (Commercial Register) | |
| Bundesrepublik Deutschland | 2% | Handelsregister (Commercial Register) |
Officers
77
Directors and officers of Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH
Zavia’s registry-sourced officer record for GIZ lists 79 entries covering 76 distinct individuals, of which 20 are recorded as currently active and the remainder as resigned; three names appear twice within the resigned group, consistent with separate appointment periods rather than duplicate individuals. Most entries carry the generic register role “Officer,” which in the German commercial register typically denotes a holder of procuration (Prokurist) or other registered signatory authority rather than a main-board role. Three currently active entries carry the role “Managing Director.”
Cross-checked against GIZ’s own published governance pages, those three active “Managing Director” entries correspond to GIZ’s Management Board (Vorstand): Thorsten Schäfer-Gümbel (Chair), Ingrid-Gabriela Hoven and Anna Sophie Herken. The Management Board represents GIZ externally and is legally responsible for its management under German GmbH law. Appointment dates are only partially populated in the source record — for example, Ingrid-Gabriela Hoven is recorded as appointed 26 October 2020 — while several current entries, including other Management Board members, carry no appointment date in the available data.
GIZ also maintains a Supervisory Board (Aufsichtsrat) of 20 members (10 shareholder representatives and 10 workforce representatives), which appoints, monitors and advises the Management Board; Supervisory Board members are not registered as GmbH officers and so do not appear in the commercial-register extract above. As of 2026, the Supervisory Board is chaired by Niels Annen, State Secretary at the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), per GIZ’s own announcement of this change. Nationality is not disclosed for any officer in the available data; the German commercial register does not routinely publish citizenship for GmbH officers, so nationality is reported as “Not disclosed” throughout rather than inferred from name, address or residence.
Recent officer changes
- Niels Annen (State Secretary, BMZ) became Chairperson of GIZ’s Supervisory Board; exact effective date not stated on the source page. Source: GIZ newsroom.
Data availability
Officer information for GIZ is partial: the commercial-register extract distinguishes active and resigned status and records appointment dates for some individuals, but does not consistently record appointment dates, occupation or nationality, and does not include Supervisory Board members. GIZ’s own website was used to independently confirm the current Management Board and Supervisory Board composition described above.
Sources
- GIZ Management Board — https://www.giz.de/en/aboutgiz/management_board.html — retrieved 25 September 2026
- GIZ Supervisory Board — https://www.giz.de/en/aboutgiz/supervisory_board.html — retrieved 25 September 2026
- GIZ Newsroom, State secretary Annen new chair of Supervisory Board — https://www.giz.de/en/newsroom/news/state-secretary-annen-new-chair-giz-supervisory-board — retrieved 25 September 2026
Registry feed — rows exactly as filed with Handelsregister (Commercial Register), including entries the profile above does not cover.
Group Structure
Group structure of Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH
Zavia’s stored corporate-linkage record for this profile is approximately 138 KB and contains roughly 1,800 entity nodes in total. Structural analysis shows the root entity of this dataset is not GIZ itself but “Bundesrepublik Deutschland” (the Federal Republic of Germany), with 54 immediate child entities. Those immediate children include entities with no verified corporate connection to GIZ, such as Deutsche Bahn-linked companies (for example Die Autobahn GmbH des Bundes), Deutsche Bundesbank, the Bundesrechnungshof (Federal Court of Audit), German embassies abroad, and various other federally linked research and finance bodies. This indicates the stored dataset represents the wider holding structure of the German Federal Government across many ministries and agencies, not a group structure specific to GIZ, and it should not be read or presented as GIZ’s own corporate group.
Within that wider federal tree, GIZ’s own entity is nested four levels down, under Bundesrepublik Deutschland > Bundesregierung > Bundesministerium für wirtschaftliche Zusammenarbeit und Entwicklung (its supervising ministry, BMZ) > Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH. GIZ’s own node lists 9 child entries, consisting of GIZ Unterstützungskasse GmbH (a Bonn-registered staff pension/support-fund entity) and a small number of GIZ’s own foreign-registered country entities and branch registrations (for example in Sarajevo, Togo, Serbia and India). These are consistent with GIZ’s own published description of maintaining country offices and a small number of dedicated entities abroad, and represent a far smaller and more plausible structure than the full federal tree in which they are embedded.
Verified corporate relationships
| Entity | Country | Registration number | Relationship | Ownership | Status | Information date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Federal Republic of Germany (Bundesrepublik Deutschland) | DE | Not applicable (sovereign state) | Immediate and ultimate parent (sole shareholder) | 100% (state ownership; not a share-capital percentage) | Active | 2026-09-08 |
| GIZ Unterstützungskasse GmbH | DE | HRB 21945 (Bonn) | Possible relationship — listed as a child entity of GIZ in the stored dataset; independent registry confirmation was not obtained in this review | Ownership percentage not disclosed | Status not disclosed in source | 2026-09-08 |
Other nodes nested under GIZ in the stored dataset, mainly GIZ’s own foreign country-registration entries, are omitted from this table because their registration-number formatting is inconsistent in the source and could not be independently verified against a primary registry during this review; they should be treated as possible relationships only.
Data availability
Corporate-linkage information for GIZ is restricted by a data-quality issue: the underlying dataset conflates GIZ’s position with the entire German Federal Government holding structure rather than isolating GIZ’s own group. The parent relationship (ownership by the Federal Republic of Germany) is confirmed directly by GIZ’s own published materials. Any subsidiary-level relationships referenced above should be treated as unverified pending direct registry confirmation.
Sources
- GIZ About us — https://www.giz.de/en/about-us — retrieved 25 September 2026
- GIZ Imprint / Registration information — https://www.giz.de/en/imprint — retrieved 25 September 2026
Registry feed — rows exactly as filed with Handelsregister (Commercial Register), including entries the profile above does not cover.
Bundesrepublik Deutschland
Germany
Get complete shareholder and officer records, ultimate beneficial owner resolution, and ongoing ownership monitoring.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH do?
GIZ is a German GmbH that delivers international development cooperation and international education services on behalf of German government bodies, the EU, the UN and other public and private clients, operating worldwide through country and project offices.
Who owns Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH?
GIZ has a single shareholder, the Federal Republic of Germany. The stored register shows this shareholder recorded across three historical entries with inconsistent percentage figures that should not be summed; ownership is entirely state-held, not divided among private investors.
Who is Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH's UBO (Ultimate Beneficial Owner)?
There is no natural-person ultimate beneficial owner. GIZ is wholly owned and controlled by the Federal Republic of Germany, exercised through the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and other ministries represented on its Supervisory Board.
What is Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH's company registration number?
Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH's registration number is HRB 18384 Bonn, filed with Handelsregister (Commercial Register) in Germany. Its current status on the register is active.
Is Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH still an active company?
Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH's status on Handelsregister (Commercial Register) is listed as active.
When was Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH incorporated?
Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH was incorporated on 1 December 2010, according to Handelsregister (Commercial Register).
What is Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH's registered address?
The registered address on file for Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH is Bonn, Germany.
What is Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH's revenue?
GIZ does not publish a commercial revenue figure in the way a listed company would. Its financial position is reported through annual accounts (Jahresabschluss) filed under German commercial law rather than a consolidated group revenue figure disclosed here.
Is Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH listed on a stock exchange?
GIZ is a state-owned entity and is not listed on any stock exchange; it has no ticker symbol.
Who are the officers/directors of Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH?
GIZ's current Management Board (Vorstand) comprises Thorsten Schafer-Gumbel (Chair), Ingrid-Gabriela Hoven and Anna Sophie Herken. The registry-sourced officer data also lists a further 76 individuals, most holding procuration (signatory) authority, of whom 20 are currently active.
Does Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH have a parent company or subsidiaries?
The stored group-structure data for GIZ is dominated by an unrelated, federal-government-wide holding tree spanning many ministries and agencies. GIZ's own verified group is limited to its sole shareholder (the Federal Republic of Germany) and a small number of entities such as GIZ Unterstutzungskasse GmbH and its own foreign country registrations.
Can Zavia monitor changes to Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH's ownership over time?
This profile reflects a point-in-time snapshot from Handelsregister (Commercial Register). Zavia's monitoring API can track changes to Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH's registered shareholders, officers, and group structure going forward, flagging updates as they're filed rather than requiring a manual recheck.
Can I access Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH's data through an API?
Yes. Zavia's API connects directly to official government ownership registries across 195 countries and territories, including Germany, so records like Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH's registration, shareholder, UBO, and group-structure data can be queried programmatically instead of viewed one page at a time.
Where does this company information come from, and how current is it?
This record is sourced directly from Handelsregister (Commercial Register) and was last synced on 8 September 2026.