wearefreemovers gets the swiss made software label

The swiss made software label is run by swiss made software GmbH in Basel and has been around for well over a decade. To use it, a company has to meet three conditions: it has to be based in Switzerland and registered in the commercial register, at least 60 percent of its production costs have to be incurred in Switzerland, and the most significant part of the production has to take place here as well. For software, production costs are mostly the salaries of the people doing the research, development and actual building of the product. These conditions come from the Swiss Trade Mark Protection Act, which also says that calling something Swiss made when it isn’t is a punishable offense.

That last part is what makes it feel serious to us. Other countries have labels for software too, but this one is written into Swiss law. When you join, you answer for what you claim, and you have to keep meeting the conditions for as long as you use it. We think that’s how it should be: the label stands for quality and precision in software development, and it only means something if the company behind it can be held to it. You can find us in the label’s member directory.

We’re Italian expats, and we decided to base our operations in Switzerland because of the way things work here. We really value the precision, the effectiveness and the efficiency of this country, and we know it sounds funny coming from two Italians, but it’s exactly how we want to run our company. Over time Switzerland stopped being just the place where we work and became our home. wearefreemovers is a Swiss company, we operate from Switzerland, and our software is developed here, together with the costs that come with it. It also helps that “Swiss made” is one of those names people recognize all over the world, which doesn’t hurt when you want students and universities everywhere to trust what you do.

We haven’t forgotten where we come from. “Made in Italy” means something around the world too, and Italy is full of small manufacturers that make things that are beautiful, original and really well crafted. We come from that way of thinking, and we like to believe it’s an advantage: it makes us creative, and it makes us want to tailor things for each student instead of offering the same thing to everyone. What Switzerland gives us is the ground to build on: reliable infrastructure, clear rules and a culture where quality is simply expected. So we get a bit of both, and we try to build something that is both beautiful and excellent, here in Switzerland.

If you’re new here: wearefreemovers helps university students spend a semester abroad as free movers, which means choosing the university yourself instead of waiting for an exchange spot. You can browse our partner universities in the University Finder, compare tuition, deadlines and costs, and apply with one profile. We review every application before it reaches a university, there’s no application fee, and universities pay us when a student we referred enrolls, so it’s free for students. We’re not the biggest platform out there and we don’t try to be: we’d rather give each student something tailored and done properly. If you’d like to know more, start with what a free mover is, or meet the team.

We’re really proud of this label, and for a small team like ours it’s a big deal. We’ll do our best to deserve it.