About Dropstone
DROPSTONE sarl is a Swiss private company established in Geneva in 2013. It provides advisory services to governmental agencies, national and local authorities, humanitarian and development organisations, NGOs, foundations and the private sector.
Our clients and partners include prestigious organizations such as the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue, the Carter Center, the ICRC, the United Nations, the Environmental Services of the cantons of Geneva, Wallis, and Vaud, and many others.
Dropstone has provided advisory support services in 26 countries since its creation in 2013, mainly in Western and Central Africa, but also in the MENA region, in Central and South Asia, in Latin America and in Europe.
founder and owner
Patrick Kilchenmann
Patrick is a geologist and hydrogeologist by education. He has thirty years of professional experience, acquired first in Switzerland as a scientist in applied research, and then internationally, working as a chief of project or a senior manager, with long-term assignments in Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast, Mali, Haiti, Nepal and Sudan. He has extensive field experience in Africa, the Middle East, Far East, South Asia and the Balkans. He was previously employed by the ICRC, SKAT_Consulting, the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, and the NGO Helvetas. His fields of expertise encompass groundwater management, water supply and sanitation, infrastructure rehabilitation, road construction and maintenance, conflict prevention and resolution, negotiation of humanitarian access, security management, governance, institutional strengthening, change management, and information management.
Staff - Geologist and Hydrogeologist
Mehdy Al-Zoubaidy
Mehdy holds a bachelor degree in geology and a master degree in hydrogeology. He has 12 years of professional experience, first in Switzerland as a geologist and hydrogeologist in charge of engineering and environmental impact studies, then internationally as a consultant for the mining sector, international and non-governmental organizations, and national governments (Swiss Humanitarian Aid, German Cooperation). He has worked on groundwater management issues in Morocco, Lebanon and Madagascar, and humanitarian operations in Bangladesh before joining Dropstone in 2023. Mehdy has extensive experience in implementing integrated water management programs, institutional capacity building, and dialogue with national authorities and stakeholders, as well as strong background in spatial analysis and GIS-based remote sensing methods. His skills help decision-makers to rely on thematic maps to better understand and manage water resources. He is now supporting our hydrogeological projects in Switzerland (Cantons of Wallis and Geneva) and abroad.
Staff - Senior Geologist and Geomatician
Blaise Loup
Blaise is a qualified geologist and geomatician (UNIGE) with over 30 years of experience in database management, analysis, and use. He is proficient in GIS tools like ArcGIS Pro, SQL queries, and adheres to high-quality database management standards. His geological work in the canton of Geneva and collaborations with GESDEC have given him in-depth knowledge of Geneva’s subsoil and its specific challenges. At Dropstone, Blaise will apply his expertise in supervising hydrogeological projects and managing geological databases for different institutional partners. He joined our team in June 2024.
Staff - Geologist and Hydrogeologist
Cyrille Scherrer
Cyrille holds a PhD in hydrogeology, specialising in groundwater potential mapping for rapid borehole siting in humanitarian crisis situations. His research, conducted in collaboration with SDC, UNHCR and CHYN, was driven by the sudden and urgent need to provide large volumes of water following the significant influx of South Sudanese refugees into Uganda around 2017. His work directly contributed to the successful implementation of over 100 high-yield boreholes in the largest refugee camps. Since then, his methodology has been applied in several countries across sub-Saharan Africa. Cyrille combines in-depth hydrogeological expertise with extensive practical experience in groundwater supply, drilling, borehole design and pumping tests to meet specific water demands. He also has experience in integrating groundwater monitoring systems to assess resource sustainability and is skilled in the design of green, solar-powered groundwater extraction schemes.
CONSULTANT - Junior Evaluation Specialist
Caroline Gloor
Caroline is a dedicated Junior Evaluation Specialist at Dropstone since June 2024. She holds a degree in International Relations and Territorial Development/Urban Planning, with a focus on gender-based violence, women’s empowerment, development, and sustainability. Her bachelor’s research examined the use of rape as a weapon of war during the Congolese civil wars (1996-2003). Caroline has extensive knowledge of Kosovo’s political situation, history, and ethnic communities, and a strong interest in political issues, women’s empowerment, and environmental concerns. Her passion for the African continent and fieldwork led her to project management, monitoring, institutional strategy development, and evaluation. Caroline started her career with a women’s rights association in Morocco and Cuba, then moved to Senegal, where she managed and monitored a mobile app for tracking women’s menstrual cycles and developed an ‘Ecological Third Place’.
Consultant - PUBLIC STRATEGIES EXPERT
Hala Moughanie
Hala Moughanie is Dropstone’s partner. She is based in Lebanon and has more than 15 years of experience in public strategy building on local and national levels in addition to public reform and public governance. Her work experience also covers the design and implementation of development projects, project management, networking and communication strategies, coordination and monitoring & evaluation activities. Hala is the managing director of Madina for Service Development, a consultancy firm founded in 2016 with a mission to support public institutions in enhancing service provision. She collaborates with Dropstone since 2018 and has provided her valuable support for several evaluations of projects executed in Burundi (AFD), DRC (TCC), Lebanon (SDC) and Mali (SDC).
Consultant - Database Developer and IT specialist
Kingsley Akoh Akebegho
Kingsley is consultant to Dropstone. He holds a BSc degree in Environmental and Botanical Sciences at the University of Buea, Cameroon. He later acquired deep skills in Database Management Systems, Web Development technologies and Microsoft Solutions Development. He has more than 12 years of professional experience with the Cameroon GCE Board as an IT specialist. He has also worked with Dropstone from 2018 till date on the development of tailor-made databases for monitoring humanitarian aid projects.
Consultant - Senior Disaster Risk Reduction Expert"
Pedro Basabe
Pedro holds a Dr. ès Sc. in hydrogeology and applied geology training at the EPFL Lausanne, Switzerland. He combines technical expertise on disaster risk reduction (DRR), early warning systems, disaster preparedness, humanitarian assistance and rapid response with policy formulation, diplomacy and intergovernmental negotiations. Being member of UNDAC (UN specialised team for disaster assessment and coordination) and SDC Swiss humanitarian aid since 1994, he was on missions in Latin America in the nineties formulating and implementing several projects on the ground. Then, 15 years as senior staff of UN Office for DRR, he integrated the team to formulate and negotiate the Hyogo (2005), Sendai framework (2015) and the terminology on DRR. Head of UNDRR regional office for Africa from 2008 to 2013, he developed cooperation with the African Union and five Regional Economic Communities. As Head of SDC humanitarian aid and DRR for SE Asia and the Pacific from 2017 to 2022, he developed cooperation with ASEAN, UNESCAP, PIF, SPREP and the Pacific Community SPC. The last two years he advised the funding mechanism “Climate Risk and Early Warning Systems” CREWS and evaluated international projects in Central America, Asia and the Pacific.
Consultant - SENIOR WATER EXPERT
Shukhrat Igamberdyev
Shukhrat has more than 20 years of professional experience on a multiple of comprehensive projects that contributed and helped the Government of Tajikistan transform its water sector management with application of IWRM principles across Tajikistan’s river basins. He has managed projects that supported water sub-sectors of drinking water supply and sanitation, Irrigation & Drainage, watershed management, disaster risk reduction and mitigation, environmental protection in fragile contexts of climate change, inter-stream water conflicts, and water use inefficiencies and scarcity. Shukhrat’s experience and expertise ranges across various sectors, primarily in livelihoods improvement, WASH strategy and development, Water Sector Reforms, and agriculture. He has acquired solid skills in projects development, implementation, monitoring and data management, as well as programs evaluation. Preparation of policy briefs, case study and feasibility reports had been one of his regular products.
Consultant - SENIOR HUMANITARIAN EXPERT
Georges Comninos
Georges is a seasoned humanitarian expert with more than 30 years of professional experience with the ICRC. During his 25 years in the field, he has been directly involved, at various levels – from delegate, team leader, coordinator to head of delegation and finally regional director – in the analysis of the protection needs of affected populations arising from violations of IHL and Human Rights in various complex contexts; then in the design, implementation, coordination and supervision of protection programs and activities, taking into account the realities on the ground, the capacity of local authorities as well as the programs developed by other actors present. Georges participated in the feasibility study mandated by SDC in Mali in 2021 with Dropstone.
Clients & Partners
