The OECD and the African Development Bank (AfDB) co-convened the 10th Roundtable on Financing Water: Regional meeting on Africa on 22-23 November in Abidjan, in partnership with the government of the Netherlands, the World Water Council, and the World Bank.

Representatives and leaders from the water and finance communities such as water utilities, water regulatory authorities, government, public and private investors, financial institutions, and commercial banks, gathered to review and explore new approaches to water finance and promote impactful ways of financing water-related investment in Africa.

Water is a driver for growth and sustainable development globally, and most specifically in Africa. While there is a strong economic case to invest in water, investments are lagging on the continent. The challenging macroeconomic and financial context  (burgeoning public debt, liquidity problems, increased difficulty in accessing financial markets), as well as the recent decline in ODA to Africa, have reduced the capacity of African countries to invest in crucial sectors, including water and sanitation.

Objectives

The regional meeting of the Roundtable on Financing Water in Africa in 2023 aimed to:

• Promote a regional perspective on financing water challenges and opportunities;
• Engage with public and private actors, in particular financial institutions and investors on solutions to scale up investments for water in Africa. The focus will be on enabling policy and institutional frameworks, innovative financing approaches, arrangements that improve the risk/return profiles of water investments, and the financial sustainability of water utilities;
• Explore practical ways to deliver on commitments made at the UN 2023 Water Conference. 
  
  

Sessions of the Roundtable meeting focused on:

• African perspectives on global water agendas and the global financial architecture;
• Investing in water for growth and development (energy, agriculture, urban development);
• Financing universal access to sanitation in urban and rural areas;
• Unlocking the potential of private finance (international, regional, domestic) and regional/national development banks for water;
• Highlighting the global value of water and biodiversity in Africa.
• Understanding water risks and their implications for financial institutions in Africa.

Background Documents

• Diversifying sources of finance for water in Africa
• Water-related risks and their implications for financial institutions in Africa
• Refinancing debt for conservation and climate: the example of TNC's Nature Bonds program and its applicability to freshwater
• How to attract new sources of financing to sanitation

Video Recordings

10th OECD Roundtable on Financing Water: Regional meeting on Africa - DAY 1

10th OECD Roundtable on Financing Water: Regional meeting on Africa - DAY 2

Presentations and Speeches

DAY 1

Opening remarks - Keynote address

• H.E. Serigne Mbaye Thiam, Minister of Water and Sanitation, Senegal
  
  

Session 3 – Leveraging private finance for water

• Slav Gatchev, Managing Director, Sustainable Debt, The Nature Conservancy (TNC)
  
  

Keynote address

• H.E. Bouaké Fofana, Minister of Sanitation and Hygiene, Ivory Coast
  
  

Side event 1 – Towards the launch of the High-Level Panel Investment Action Plan:  enhancing financing for national, and transboundary water projects under the Programme for Infrastructure Development in Africa 

• Alex Simalabwi, Executive Secretary & AIP Director GWPSA-Africa 
  
• Eng. Martin Okirya, NELSAP

DAY 2 

Side event 2 – Utility challenges to service delivery and opportunities for financing in Africa

• Gilbert Akol Echelai, Echelai, Chief Operations Officer, 2ML Consulting Limited
• 300 Water Leaders Initiative

Session 4– The Global Value of Water and Biodiversity in Africa

• Nick Hepworth, Executive Director, Water Witness International / Fair Water Footprint
  
  

Session 5 – Water-related risks and implications for financial institutions in Africa

• Antoine Godin, Head of Macroeconomic Modelling Unit, AFD