Continental Africa Water Investment Programme - AIP

The Government of the Republic of Congo, through its Ministry of Environment, this week hosted a series of workshops, from 21 to 23 July, as part of the AU-AIP Multi-Country GCF Readiness Support Project which is supporting African countries to accelerate water and climate resilience gender-transformative investments. The Global Water Partnership Southern Africa together with the Global Water Partnership, Central Africa (GWP-CAf) and the Country Water Partnership Congo supported the Ministry, which is the country’s National Designated Authority for GCF, in hosting the workshops. Among others, the Republic of Congo officially launched the development of its Water Sector Investment Programme and preparation of a GCF Concept Note. The workshop brought together government institutions, technical experts and key stakeholders to initiate a coordinated process aimed at strengthening climate resilient water investments and improving the country's access to international climate finance. The process will culminate in a Water Sector Investment Programme that identifies national investment priorities, builds a pipeline of bankable, climate-resilient projects, and strengthens coordination across the water sector. Over the three days, participants reviewed the proposed methodology for developing the investment programme, agreed on governance and implementation arrangements, and identified a priority project concept for further development into a Green Climate Fund Concept Note. The process is expected to improve strategic investment planning while positioning the country to mobilise climate finance for sustainable water resources management and climate resilience. The African Union Commission is implementing the AU-AIP Multi-Country GCF Readiness Support Project with technical support from the Global Water Partnership Southern Africa. The project is financed by the Green Climate Fund.

How can national climate commitments be transformed into bankable investment opportunities driven by the most effective and context appropriate climate technologies? This is the challenge that the Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations has set itself in supporting Tunisia's transition towards a low carbon, climate resilient development pathway.   To advance this ambition, more than 40 stakeholders from across the public and private sectors, academia and civil society convened in Tunis on 26 June 2026 under the AU-AIP GCF Multi-country Readiness Project, to examine and discuss the financial, regulatory, technical and institutional barriers that continue to hinder the adoption, deployment and scaling of climate technologies.   Building on the mitigation and adaptation priorities identified in Tunisia's #NDC3.0, participants structured these challenges around 4 Ecosystem Nexus domains. These interconnected clusters, where multiple sectors converge, provide a strategic framework for identifying technology portfolios capable of addressing several development challenges simultaneously while maximizing cross sectoral synergies.   The four priority nexus areas are: 🏗️ Sustainable Construction and Climate Resilient Urban Development, focusing on energy efficiency, bio based construction materials, passive thermal solutions and climate resilient urban planning.   🚗 Smart and Decarbonized Mobility, promoting the integration of clean energy solutions, optimized transport and logistics systems, and low carbon mobility options.   🏭 Low Carbon Industry and Circular Economy, supporting industrial recycling, waste valorization and energy efficient production processes.   💧 ⚡ The Water-Energy-Food-Ecosystems #WEFE Nexus, strengthening synergies between water security, energy transition, decarbonized and resilient food systems and ecosystem conservation.   The technology portfolios identified through this process will subsequently be translated into #scalable, #financially viable and #investment ready business models capable of mobilizing both #public and #private capital and accelerating implementation at scale.   The outcomes of the workshop will serve as key inputs to CDC's action plan for the development and implementation of high impact #climatetechnology projects and programmes, fully aligned with the priorities of Tunisia's NDC 3.0. African Union Commission Global Water Partnership Southern Africa Green Climate Fund Sarra Touzi Global Water Partnership Global Water Partnership-Mediterranean (GWP-Med)

H.E. Commissioner Moses Vilakati, African Union Commissioner for Agriculture, Rural Development, Blue Economy and Sustainable Environment on July 1, 2026, had his first formal engagement with the Global Water Partnership (GWP). GWP was represented by Mr. Alex Simalabwi, Chief Executive Officer and Executive Secretary of GWPO, and Mr. Andrew Takawira, Chief Executive Officer and Executive Secretary of Global Water Partnership Southern Africa (GWPSA) and GWP Africa Coordination Unit. The meeting provided an opportunity to review progress in implementing the Continental Africa Water Investment Programme (AIP), discuss the strategic partnership between the African Union Commission (AUC) and GWP, and identify priority actions to strengthen implementation of the continental water agenda. The meeting reaffirmed the strategic importance of the Africa AIP as the African Union's flagship continental initiative for accelerating water investments under the Programme for Infrastructure Development in Africa (PIDA). It was recognised that the programme has evolved from the PIDA Water initiative into a continental platform that supports investment planning, project preparation and political engagement to advance Africa's water security agenda. The meeting acknowledged the significant contribution made by GWP in supporting the establishment and implementation of the AIP. Since its inception, GWPSA-Africa has provided Technical Support Unit and Secretariat functions, coordinated the work of the High-Level Panel on Water Investments for Africa, supported development of the AIP PIDA Water Investment Scorecard, facilitated preparation of investment programmes and projects, and provided technical support for continental implementation.

This week, the first-ever Transboundary River Basin Climate Finance Training with content developed under the Continental Africa Water Investment Programme - AIP took place in Dar es Salaam, United Republic of Tanzania. This is a significant milestone for regional water and climate resilience efforts. The training forms part of the African Union Commission mandate to support African Union Member States and transboundary river basin organizations in developing Climate-Resilient Water Investment Plans (CR-WIPs) and pipelines of bankable project proposals, with the aim of mobilising investment and reducing the financing gap in Africa's water sector. The training was funded by the African Union Commission (AUC) and the Blue Africa Action which is jointly co-financed by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and the European Union and implemented by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH, African Union Commission and African Ministers' Council on Water (AMCOW). Led by expert facilitators Judith Maryna Storie (PhD) and Dr Catarina Fonseca, with valuable insights from Dr Victor Kongo, the training brought together the Joint Songwe River Basin Commission (SONGWECOM) and its Member States to strengthen their capacity to transition from planning to investment mobilisation. Practical sessions focused on project budgeting and financial structuring. Participants worked through approaches for estimating both capital expenditure (hashtag#CAPEX) and operational expenditure (hashtag#OPEX) requirements over indicative implementation periods of three to four years. Discussions highlighted the importance of realistic life-cycle costing to improve project sustainability and investor confidence. Participants considered how different project components could be matched to suitable funding sources and discussed opportunities to gradually move beyond grant-dependent financing models through the strategic use of blended finance approaches. The identification of the Blue-Green Songwe Initiative and the Songwe Climate Investment Information System provides a clear starting point for advancing strategic climate-resilient investments that can support sustainable development, climate adaptation and water security across the Songwe River Basin. The training also addressed environmental and social safeguards, with participants examining how environmental, social and governance (ESS & ESG), redress mechanisms, and GEDSI & youth as well as faith and spiritual belief systems and considerations that should be integrated from the earliest stages of project design. African Union, GIZ African Union, Mary NAMUKOSE, Andrew Takawira, Francis Mtitu

#Somalia has validated its newly developed Climate-Resilient Urban Water Security Concept Note and the Somalia Water Investment Programme (WIP) 2026-2030. The National Validation Workshop held on Sunday, May 31, was organized by Somalia’s National Designated Authority (NDA) and the Global Water Partnership Southern Africa (GWPSA) in collaboration with Somalia's Ministry of Energy and Water Resources (MoEWR) and the Pipeline Development Expert. The workshop brought together approximately 30 participants from key stakeholder institutions. The workshop was held to test whether the proposed Urban Water Security Concept Note responds to the real drivers of water insecurity in target towns, and whether the WIP provides a coherent, nationally aligned and investment-ready framework for mobilizing domestic resources, grants, concessional finance, climate finance and private capital for Somalia’s water sector. The concept note proposes to break the recurring cycle of water unavailability, water loss, unstable supply, rising costs and deepening vulnerability; while the Somalia WIP provides the national investment framework within which this concept note will be positioned. The WIP translates Somalia’s water sector priorities into a sequenced investment portfolio. The validation workshop was held under the AU-AIP Multi-Country GCF Readiness Project, currently being implemented in 15 AU Member States by the African Union Commission, with technical support from the Global Water Partnership Southern Africa, which serves as the Secretariat for the AU Continental Africa Water Investment Programme. The project is funded by the Green Climate Fund.  

#Morocco held a two-day stakeholder workshop from 19 to 20 May 2026 focused on advancing development of a Green Climate Fund (GCF) Concept Note aimed at protecting the city of #Fez and the wider Sebou Basin from increasing flood risks linked to climate change. The initiative forms part of the African Union-led Multi-Country GCF Readiness Programme, implemented through the Global Water Partnership Southern Africa in collaboration with #GWP regions, including Global Water Partnership-Mediterranean (GWP-Med). #Morocco is among 15 African countries benefiting from the programme, which among others seeks to strengthen countries’ capacities to prepare climate-resilient water investments and develop bankable climate projects. Discussions during the workshop brought together key stakeholders to review the proposed project scope, financing considerations, technical requirements, and alignment with GCF investment criteria. The Sebou Basin, which represents nearly 30% of Morocco’s surface water potential, faces increasing climate pressures, including severe droughts and devastating flash floods. Studies have identified 178 flood-prone sites in the basin, including 52 priority sites in Fez, highlighting the urgency for investment in resilience measures. The workshop also emphasized the importance of moving from reactive flood response to a more integrated and proactive approach to climate resilience.

#Burundi officially launched the process of developing the country's Water Investment Programme (WIP) at a meeting held on May 14, in Bujumbura. About thirty stakeholders attended the meeting. The process started with the development of a roadmap, with the focus now being on conducting a situational analysis which will help identify priority areas for the WIP. The meeting was held under the auspices of the Green Climate Fund (GCF) National Designated Authority (NDA) for Burundi, Mr Diomede Ndayirukiye, who stressed the importance of the process and echoed the comments of participants on the need to strengthen governance, and adopt an integrated approach with water at the center of the operationalisation of other sub-sectors such as Agriculture and Energy. On Friday, May 15, participants kick-started the development of two concept notes to be submitted to the GCF. The session began with a crash course on GCF programming as well as process for developing and submitting concept notes to the GCF. In parallel, the country launched the process of identifying potential Direct Access Entities (DAEs) interested to carry and submit the concept notes to the GCF. Burundi is one of fifteen African countries implementing the AU-AIP Multi-Country GCF Readiness Support Initiative which GWPSA is implementing on behalf of the African Union Commission. The project is funded by Green Climate Fund (GCF).

March was a productive month for the AU-AIP Multi-Country GCF Readiness Initiative, with milestone being registered across participating countries. The work on the ground continues to focus on strengthening the foundations needed to unlock climate-resilient water investments. Engagements during the month supported countries to refine their investment approaches, strengthen coordination, and better align with climate finance processes. These are important building blocks for developing strong, bankable water projects that can attract the financing needed to make a real difference. The AU-AIP Multicounty Green Climate Fund Readiness Project aims to advance direct access of climate funds and developing country-level strategic frameworks and investment programmes for climate-resilient water resources management. The project further supports countries by filling a key financing gap in the early-stage project development cycle by supporting the development of concept notes for country and transboundary projects. The project is implemented by Global Water Partnership Southern Africa on behalf of the African Union Commission, and is funded by the Green Climate Fund. The progress made in March is another reminder that while the challenges are significant, so too is the commitment to address them. Read more about the country specific milestones in this article: https://lnkd.in/dDXktyGq