The conference, convened by South Africa as part of its G20 presidency and jointly organised with the African Union (AU), the AU Development Agency, and the African Union-Africa Water Investment Program (AU-AIP) International High-Level Panel on Water Investments
The inaugural Africa Water Investment Summit kicked off on Wednesday in Cape Town, the legislative capital of South Africa, with a call to secure safe water for all across the continent.
The conference, convened by South Africa as part of its G20 presidency and jointly organised with the African Union (AU), the AU Development Agency, and the African Union-Africa Water Investment Program (AU-AIP) International High-Level Panel on Water Investments, aims to mobilise at least 30 billion U.S. dollars a year to close Africa’s water investment gap.
The event, held from Wednesday to Friday at the Cape Town International Convention Center, brings together African heads of state, G20 representatives, investors, ministers, and development institutions under South Africa’s G20 Presidency theme of “Solidarity, Equality, Sustainability.”
“This summit is a landmark moment not only for Africa, but for the global movement for access to safe water for all,” said South African President Cyril Ramaphosa in his opening address.
Ramaphosa took the opportunity to launch the Global Outlook Council on Water Investments, a G20 presidential legacy initiative. “The launch of the Global Outlook Council on Water Investments will see the AIP scaled up into a global water investment platform,” he said.
“The Global Outlook Council and the Global Water Investment Platform will serve as the world’s premier high-level political and investment platform on water,” he noted.
Ramaphosa underlined four ambitions of the summit: to endorse a summit declaration that commits to scale up investments, improve governance and increase accountability in the water sector; to showcase a pipeline of 80 priority water investment projects from 38 countries; to facilitate matchmaking between governments, finances, and partners; and position water at the highest levels of global political and financial agenda.
“The Council will guide the transition from fragmented water investments to a coherent, coordinated and capitalised global effort through the Global Water Investment Platform,” he added. During the summit, delegates will engage in high-level dialogues, project matchmaking sessions, and work toward a Declaration on Water Investments to be adopted at its conclusion.
An additional $30 billion per year must be invested in water and sanitation in Africa by 2030 to meet the growing social and economic demands of its population, the African Union (AU) has recommended.
In a concept note issued on Wednesday in connection to the African Union-AIP Water Investment Summit being held in Cape Town, South Africa, the AU said investments in Africa’s water sector are well below the requirements of the continent.
The AU said investment in water and sanitation is linked to achieving most of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), creating a prosperous and equal society, and securing a climate-resilient future.
“Climate-resilient water security is synonymous with the theme of solidarity, equality and sustainability, as it forms the foundation of joint prosperity, inclusive growth, and sustainability,” it said.
The pan African bloc said that more than half of African countries, sub-optimal governance arrangements sustain the low implementation of coordinated approaches to water management, development, and sanitation services.
In September 2023, during the United Nations General Assembly in New York, African leaders together with the African Union Commission and the High-Level Panel, formally launched the Mind the Gap – Invest in Water campaign.
The campaign aims to raise awareness, influence change, and ultimately – prompt the strategic transformation that can result in the mobilisation of increased investments towards climate-resilient water security and sustainable sanitation in Africa.
The summit has four goals, said Cyril Ramaphosa, including “to endorse a summit declaration that commits us to scale up investments to improve governance and to increase accountability in the water sector.”
It also aims to “showcase a pipeline of 80 priority investment projects from 38 countries” and to “facilitate matchmaking between governments, financiers, and various partners.”
“And fourthly, we are also gathered here to position water at the highest level of the global political and financial agenda, from G20 and COP30 (annual UN climate change conference) to the UN 2026 water conference, and beyond,” he added.
“We can clearly say that water must no longer be an afterthought at climate and finance discussions. It must be at the center of discussions. It must be financed; it must be tracked in terms of whether progress is being made or not,” the president stressed, noting that water could be a “driver of economic transformation, innovation, and peace.”
He called for building a world “where water is recognised as a human right and not weaponised against women, children, and communities.” The three-day summit brings together leaders and officials from African countries, as well as policymakers from across the world.
Also speaking at the event, Nardos Bekele-Thomas, executive secretary of the African Union Development Agency (NEPAD), said Africa needs to safeguard its critical water resources from climate threats, and insufficient water investments whose impact costs the continent $200 billon each year.
