This is an initiative that should lead to others on the African continent. Investment companies are mobilizing to accelerate access to drinking water in Africa and Asia. They have thus committed to the first financial mobilization of the Water Access Acceleration Fund (W2AF). The fund mobilized 36 million euros from the Investment Fund for Developing Countries (IFU), the U.S. Finance Corporation for International Development (DFC), the Norwegian Investment Fund for Developing Countries (NORFUND), the French bank BNP Paribas, the French food multinational Danone, and the Aqua for All Foundation.
The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) provided catalytic funding to enable a first tranche of losses through the Invest initiative. W2AF’s second financial mobilization also aims to mobilize 36 million euros. The fund aims to provide access to clean water to 30 million people by 2030.
Reducing the investment gap in the water sector in Africa
“Lack of access to clean water has profound consequences for billions of people in emerging economies, and we are far from achieving the Sustainable Development Goal 6 (SDG 6) target on access to clean water for all,” says Arent Christian Kjær, IFU’s director of investments. According to the United Nations (UN), 2 billion people still do not have access to safe drinking water worldwide, the vast majority of them in sub-Saharan Africa.
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And the investments made so far remain insufficient. In Africa alone, the needs amount to 20 billion dollars per year. Faced with this situation, the W2AF fund will invest in private companies specialized in the production and distribution of drinking water. The aim is to support the efforts of African governments who “alone are not able to fill the investment gap” observed.
“The societal gains are obvious, as every dollar invested in basic drinking water yields three dollars. The figures are even higher for water investments in rural areas,” says IFU, which has invested 6.8 million euros in the W2AF fund. According to the World Bank, African states devote no more than 0.5% of their gross domestic product (GDP) to the water sector.
Jean Marie Takouleu