UAE, Senegal unite to boost water investment across Africa

Image credits: Freepik | Cropped by GBN

The United Arab Emirates and the Republic of Senegal, co-hosts of the 2026 UN Water Conference, have partnered to advance the water investment agenda in Africa ahead of the event.

In collaboration with AUDA-NEPAD, the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation (CIFF), the Global Water Partnership (GWP), and the Global Climate Finance Centre (GCFC), the nations co-hosted the high-level session titled ‘Financing Africa’s Water Future: Catalyzing Investment and Partnerships on the Road to the 2026 UN Water Conference’, at the Africa Water Investment Summit.

The UAE’s Heads of State, ministers, development finance institutions, private investors, project developers and civil society representatives convened in Cape Town from August 13-15, to tackle the $6.7 trillion investment gap to 2030 and the $22.6 trillion gap to 2050 for climate-resilient water infrastructure globally.

Africa mobilizes just $10–19 billion annually against its $30 billion target for water infrastructure, an opportunity for innovative financing models and public–private–philanthropic partnerships to bridge the gap.

Against this backdrop, and within the context of its G20 Presidency, South Africa hosted the AU-AIP Africa Water Investment Summit to mobilize climate-resilient water and sanitation investments that advance water security, economic growth, and sustainable development across the continent.

The Summit represents a key milestone on the road to the 2026 UN Water Conference, following last months adoption of its six interactive dialogue themes, by consensus. The themes place a particular emphasis on “Investments for water: Financing, technology and innovation, and capacity building”, positioning the Summit in Cape Town as a critical input to the preparatory process.

The session started by the co-hosts highlighting the political will needed to accelerate water investments in Africa and globally.

Abdulla Balalaa
UAE Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs –
Energy and Sustainability

“With all 193 Member States having just agreed last month, by consensus, on the themes for the 2026 UN Water Conference, the AU-AIP Africa Water Investment Summit comes at exactly the right moment. It is a vital platform to advance one of those priorities: ‘Investments for Water’, by driving the financing, innovation, and partnerships needed to deliver results for Africa and the world.”

Nardos Bekele-Thomas, CEO of AUDA-NEPAD, emphasized the critical role of water in shaping Africa’s future prosperity. She highlighted that affordable and reliable access to water is fundamental to advancing health, stability, and economic growth across the continent. She added that the AUDA-NEPAD continues to prioritize strategic partnerships and innovative financing mechanisms to transform Africa’s water challenges into sustainable solutions that benefit communities today and secure a better future for generations to come.

Participants then turned to four core themes, exploring concrete solutions:

• Showcasing scalable financing models such as blended finance, concessional loans and guarantees tailored for water investment and infrastructure
• Identifying policy, regulatory and technical barriers hindering private investment and exploring solutions to de-risk projects
• Improving bankability and pipeline readiness through standardized metrics, data transparency and aggregation platforms
• Shaping the ‘Investments for Water’ theme for the 2026 UN Water Conference interactive dialogue on financing, technology and capacity-building

As part of their inclusive, transparent, and wide-reaching consultation process, the UAE and Senegal used the plenary session to gather input from stakeholders on concrete recommendations and actionable deliverables to boost water investments across Africa. These insights will help shape the agenda for the 2026 UN Water Conference, where they aim to highlight impactful solutions and progress.

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