Context
The African Water Facility is a unique project preparation facility, a continental accelerator mobilising financial resources to achieve water security and sanitation for all towards the attainment of the African Water Vision 2025 as well as water-related Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It is the only continent’s dedicated project preparation facility for climate-resilient water and sanitation projects, which get results by preparing bankable projects, making innovative investments that leverage capital, and improving governance across the water sector.
The African Development Bank’s Strategy for 2024-2033 sets out two key objectives which are supporting inclusive growth and a transition towards green growth for African countries. The Bank’s High 5 priorities are to: light up & power Africa, feed Africa, industrialize Africa, integrate Africa, and improve the quality of life for the people of Africa, and Gender Strategy for 2021-2025.
The African Development Bank (AfDB) is the trustee for the African Water Facility Special Fund. The Bank houses the AWF on behalf of the African Ministers’ Council on Water (AMCOW), and in its capacity as trustee and legal owner of the Facility, holds in trust the funds, assets and receipts which constitute the resources of the Water Fund, and manages and applies them for the purpose of, and in accordance with, the provisions of the Establishment Instrument of the water fund.
The AWF was legally established by the Board of Governors of the African Development Bank, in 2004 by approving the Instrument for its establishment. The AWF was established as a critical financing tool to support the attainment of the African Water Vision.
The African Water Facility is housed within the headquarters of the African Development Bank Group in the Centre de Commerce International d'Abidjan (CCIA) building on Joseph Anoma Avenue in Plateau, Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire.
The purpose and mandate of the African Water Facility is to pool the resources mobilized from donors and participants to finance water and sanitation infrastructure and water investment facilitating activities in Africa. The AWF has a current existence mandate up to 2050, which shall be reviewed and extended as required.
The AWF provides grants and technical assistance to support the preparation and implementation of water and sanitation infrastructure projects as well as water management measures throughout Africa, thereby contributing to attainment of the Africa Water Vision 2025 and water-related Sustainable Development Goals. The AWF’s long-term goal is contribute to improved quality of life for rural and urban communities in Africa. The objectives of the AWF 2017-2025 Strategy are anchored on four strategic pillars. They are (1) supporting the preparation of investment-ready projects for rural and urban water supply and sanitation, agricultural water management and multipurpose water storage, (2) funding catalytic investments with innovative or alternative business models or technologies piloted or replicated with financing from public and commercial sources, (3) supporting investment financing for priority water infrastructure mobilized through application of various marketing, promotion and networking tools and events, and (4) supporting water governance, knowledge management, institutional capacity and partnerships for water security on the African continent.
The AWF is funded through cash and in-kind contributions from donor countries, multilateral development finance institutions, philanthropic and other organizations.
The funders of the AWF to-date are Algeria, Australia, Austria, Burkina Faso, Canada, Denmark, France, Nigeria, Norway, United Kingdom, Senegal, Spain, Sweden, AfDB, European Commission, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and The Nordic Development Fund.
The AWF current Strategy covers the period 2017-2025 and aligns with the operations of the Bank Group’s new Water Policy (2021) and AfDB Water Strategy (2021), which embrace a broader focus on water security. The long-term goal of the AWF strategy revised in 2021 is to contribute to “improved quality of life for urban and rural communities in Africa”. This is achieved under four strategic priorities, namely: (i) project preparation, (ii) catalytic investments, (iii) investment promotion, and (iv) water governance. The strategy puts emphasis on mainstreaming and integration of climate resilience at centre of its program interventions among other key crossing cutting issues of gender, environmental, safety, employment creation and social safeguards.
The AWF addresses climate change mainstreaming in its projects through integration of :
- Climate adaptation and disaster risk reduction focusing to (i)reduce exposure & vulnerability (ii) improve early warning systems (iii) create knowledge and awareness of climatic risks (iv) strengthen adaptive capacity and resilience (v) gender mainstreaming, social inclusion and women empowerment; (vi) emergency preparedness and response.
- Climate mitigation and green growth infrastructure focusing on (i) low-carbon emissions using renewable energy, (ii) maintaining and enhancing ecosystems/water catchments, (iii) promoting integrated and sustainable land and water resources management, (iv) use of technology in water resource efficiency, demand management, circular economy.
- Build climate resilience with emphasis and focusing on sustaining water resources, infrastructure assets, systems (climate focused polices and strategies, operation, management, efficiencies), people/community and governance institutions.
Under its revised 2017-2025 Strategy, the AWF seeks to contribute to the development of effective water governance systems, river/lake basin level cooperation, and an enabling environment for water investments in Africa by supporting the development and review of policy and regulatory frameworks, capacity building of water sector institutions at national/subnational, REC and RBO levels. The key interventions promoted include: strengthening mechanisms for river/lake basin level cooperation, cross-sectoral coordination and stakeholder engagement at basin level/national/subnational, REC and RBO levels; supporting reviews of water sector policies and regulations; promoting sector-wide approaches; strengthening information and knowledge systems at REC and RBO levels; strengthening capacity of urban and rural institutions in the RMCs; strengthening AWF’s knowledge management and communications systems; ensuring the flow of knowledge and information on water resources and WASH; creating entrepreneurship opportunities for SMEs and African youths in rural and urban settings; and nurturing partnerships essential for increasing the visibility of the AWF.
The AWF promotes consideration of gender and social equality themes in the context of water resources development, management and WASH service delivery in Africa. Women and girls are often the primary users, providers and managers of water and sanitation in their households, and the guardians of personal and domestic hygiene. Stemming from this viewpoint, gender inequities in water resources access, and efforts to empower women in the use and management of water resource, are incorporated within AWF’s investment project preparation work as a cornerstone of equitable and sustainable development. Similarly, in supporting catalytic investments, priority is given to innovative projects that contribute to gender equality. Effort is also made to attract gender-focused investors, pro-poor business financiers and other niche funds. At the organizational level, the AWF strives for gender parity in its staffing and continuously reviews and works to remove barriers to the hiring, retention, and promotion of women at the workplace.
Eligibility
Regional member countries of the Bank, sub-national entities or agencies thereof as well as regional governmental agencies including river/lake basin organizations, regional economic communities., non-sovereign entities, non-governmental organizations whose activities are aligned with national development or institutions concerned with water resource development or development in general in Africa or a region thereof shall be eligible to receive either grants, non-grant financing or other assistance from the resources of the Water Fund.
Yes, All African countries are eligible to apply.
Yes, the local authorities/Municipalities are eligible to apply since they are Government entities. However, ultimately the project has to be endorsed by the sector Ministry and demonstrate that it is a high priority for the country. Preference is to receive the application and project concept note through the respective sector Ministry.
Yes. The project must have strong country ownership and, in the case of multi-national projects, strong ownership of participating countries, and ownership from project sponsors at the country and regional levels. Evidence of such commitment could include a no-objection letter, agreement, or memorandum of understanding from governmental, intergovernmental, or regional economic communities (RECs) and strategies and plans to access other sources of international climate finance. Please note that this is not required for sub-national governments and government entities applying since their application demonstrates country ownership.
AWF strategy considers project delivery through government systems as essential and first option, since it builds lasting institutional capacity, ensures country ownership, and creates high potential to prioritize the project, mobilize and attract downstream project construction investment funding. However, if you have a good project concept, you could ask the relevant sector Ministry to submit it.
All members of the consortium must be eligible beneficiaries. Any expertise required for the execution of the project that does not reside within the consortium members may be contracted through a competitive procurement process during the project execution.
Yes, the use of third-party entities to deliver a project is only considered in unique and special circumstances, where the recipient capacity has limitations to implement the project effectively and requests the use of a third-party entity. In all cases, the actual project implementation delivery mechanism is agreed upon at project appraisal stage, in close consultation and concurrence with Country/project owners.
The AWF supports projects that fall in its priority areas, which are(i) Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM), (ii) Rural and Urban Water Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH), (iii) Capacity Building, (iv) Policy, legal and Institutional Reform, (v) Knowledge and Information building or dissemination,(vi) Developing and Implementing a Regulatory Framework, (vii) Effective Management of Shared Waters, (viii) Monitoring and Evaluation, (ix) Environmental Management, (x) Strategic capital investment programs and projects implementation, and (xi) Investment Promotion for water and sanitation projects.
In such a case you may send an inquiry email to the Facility through [email protected].
Application Process
Eligible applicants are first required to submit a written application for funding accompanied by the project concept note and other supporting documents. These are screened for eligibility and alignment with the Facility’s strategic priorities and only projects that quality for inclusion into the AWF projects pipeline are asked to submit a full grant funding application. The grant funding application is then evaluated in line with set evaluation criteria to enable a ranking of projects the pipeline. Highest ranked projects are then considered for inclusion in the AWF annual work program approved by the Facility’s Governing Council for funding.
The application process time frame ranges from 3-6 months. It largely also depends on the quality of the funding application submitted by the applicant.
Yes, there is no limit to the number of projects from the Country/applicant institution, however, AWF encourages not more than three (3) highest priority projects from a country/ applicant institution, especially if there are many good project concept ideas, as AWF has to ensure regional and sector balance in the final project screening process.
The project funding application template can be accessed from the AWF website.
No, you need to fill in the project concept note first and then submit it to AWF for screening. Once the project concept idea is cleared by AWF, you will be notified by writing or mail to complete the project funding application and submit with Government project supporting letter(s).
Grant requests may be submitted by two or more institutions partnering on a proposal to draw on the respective strengths of each institution and promote collaboration towards a common goal. The roles and responsibilities of each institution must be clearly defined, including the identification of the lead member. Each institution in the joint submission must be an eligible recipient.
AWF can be contacted through [email protected].
Funded Projects
AWF provides mainly grant funding to eligible recipients.
The AWF does not guarantee funding to any applicant. Funding decisions depend on several factors and considerations, some of which are highlighted below :
- Projects that clearly show how climate change adaptation, mitigation, resilience building measures, gender equality, social inclusion, women and youth empowerment and other social safeguards are mainstreamed.
- The application quality, strength of alignment with AWF strategic priorities, budget, and the resources available in the fund for new commitments.
- Applications whose projects have existing commitments for downstream financing, those that feature in the AfDB Country Indicative Operational Programs (IOP) or those of prioritized for financing by other donors and financiers.
- Projects with good co-financing from the Government, beneficiaries, or other funding sources, and potential to attract downstream investment.
- Projects listed in Country and/or Regional Development Plans and National Determined Contribution (NDCs).
- Projects that show the integration, interlinkages, interconnectedness between water, sanitation, hygiene, nutrition, health, and economic prosperity as well as the nexus between water, food, energy, ecosystem, climate and peace.
- Projects that are focused on addressing urban sanitation challenges or provision of services to unserved or underserved populations.
- Projects that are catalytic, scalable, transformative and show innovation.
- Projects where applicable, that show inclusion of transboundary water cooperation and basin development with integrated water resources management approaches.
In project selection and prioritization, AWF also considers other factors namely: geographical/regional, and subsector balance, strategic pillars, urban and rural, water and sanitation, national and multi-national/transboundary balance. Special attention and priority are given to applications from fragile/transition countries.
Projects whose preparation can be completed within 2-3 years.
AWF provides grant funding to projects in the budget range of 50,000 Euro to 5.0 million Euro. However, the amount of funding provided to selected projects is dependent on the resources available in the fund for new commitments and the number of prioritized projects within the annual work plan.
AWF grants typically lie in the range of EUR 200,000 to EUR 2,000,000, with a mean of about EUR 1,000,000.
There is no defined maximum grant, but in the nearly 20 years of its existence, the AWF has given a grant exceeding EUR 5 million only once.
Yes, AWF strongly encourages co-financing of projects with other donors and financiers with the scope to be financed clearly defined and project outcomes to be attributed to AWF funding clearly identified.
No. The AWF does not provide funding to individuals, nor for academic studies and participation in international conferences.
The AWF defines a catalytic project as a pilot innovative project that provides solutions to a complex water and sanitation challenge, whose results, technology/innovation, lessons leant/experience is transformative, scalable, replicable to other regions and different contexts.
AWF mainly supports studies for project preparation (pre or full feasibility, ESIA and RAP studies, scheme design and tender documents, PPP transaction advisory services), construction pilots for transformative and catalytic projects, investment and institutional water governance projects.
AWF supports the preparation of climate-resilient focused water supply projects that include and integrate sanitation improvements, hygiene promotion, solid waste management and institutional strengthening of operation and management of water and sanitation systems at local level, with inclusion of private sector, where enabling environment prevails.
Only in very special cases from earmarked funds, immediate interventions may be integrated to address immediate needs/risk reduction and humanitarian measures, in largely development and early recovery contexts.
AWF Impact and Success Stories
As of January 2024, the AWF has mobilized €215 million from development partners and African governments. The resources have been used to finance 138 projects in 52 countries, two thirds of which have been completed, with the remainder ongoing. 27 completed projects successfully secure downstream investment funding to the tune of Euro 1.9 billion. The Facility has achieved a remarkable cumulative leverage factor of 1:29 so that every euro committed to the preparation of bankable projects has mobilized 29 euros in downstream investment. AWF’s support has impacted many lives. Financing from the Facility has enabled access to safe water supply services to over 15.9 million people and enabled over 9.3 million people to access improved sanitation facilities and hygiene services, 52% of whom are women. Furthermore, AWF-prepared multipurpose projects created 1.35 million hectares of irrigated land; 59,860 hectares of planted forests, 6,402,000m3 in water storage capacity, and benefitted 421,898 farmer households through improved land and water management. In addition to supporting water sector infrastructure development, the AWF has funded 21 projects focusing on strengthening the framework for water governance across the continent. The AWF has fostered far-reaching strategic and integrated planning and management of water resources at national and transboundary river basin levels. AWF has made considerable contributions to promoting regional and transboundary water resources management across Africa.
You may find completed (and ongoing) AWF projects on the AWF website.
The key indicators of success of the AWF are the following :
- Increase in population with access to safely managed drinking water
- Increase in population with access to safely managed sanitation facilities
- Increase in installed hydropower generation capacity
- Increase in area equipped for agricultural irrigation
- Increase in area under planted forests
- Number of farmer households to benefit from improved land and water management
- Increase in multipurpose water storage capacity
- Number of new jobs created
- Indirect project beneficiaries through improved livelihoods
The AWF may from time to time produce knowledge products including case studies and/or analytical reports. In addition the Facility posts a periodic newsletter.
To stay updated with AWF news, please bookmark and visit the AWF website frequently as all call for proposals are published on the website.
All jobs are published on the AfDB website. To find the whole list of hiring opportunities, please click on the AfDB careers webpage link.
AWF Partnerships and Collaborations
The AWF partners and consults with a wide range of multilateral and bilateral institutions from the water sector and related areas to maximize results and impact. Some of the partners double as its donors. The AWF’s main partners include the following :
- The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
- New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD)
- Urban and Municipal Development Fund (UMDF)
- Africa Climate Change Fund
- AfDB Transition Support Facility (TSF)
- African Legal Support Facility (ALSF)
- Global Water Security and Sanitation Partnership (GWSP)
- The Infrastructure Project Preparation Facility (IPPF)
- The Global Water Partnership (GWP)
- The Sanitation and Hygiene Fund (SHF)
- South African Water Resources Commission (WRC)
- Global Green Growth Institute
- The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)
- African Water and Sanitation Association (AfWASA)
African governments are among the donors to the water fund, and also the primary beneficiaries of the AWF’s funding. Furthermore, African governments, through AMCOW, provide the chairmanship, and the four other members of the Governing Council of the African Water Facility.
To partner with the AWF, please contact the secretariat directly through the contacts published on the website and discuss areas of collaboration.