African Water Facility
| Title | African Water Facility |
| E-mail, phone number and mailing address | African Water Facility Tel: +225 20262771 |
| Facility URL | www.africanwaterfacility.org |
| Facility Objectives | The African Water Facility (AWF) is the primary water instrument in Africa that supports & facilitates resources mobilisation to meet the huge investment gap for water infrastructure development. An initiative of the African Ministers’ Council on Water (AMCOW), the AWF is hosted and managed by the African Development Bank (AfDB). Established in 2004, the AWF assists African countries to address the increasing investment need for the development and management of water resources in Africa, towards meeting the goals and targets of the Africa Water Vision (AWV) and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). The AWF is a demand-driven, African-led project preparation facility that is focused on the funding of investment planning and preparation projects, with the aim of mobilising additional financing to meet Africa’s water infrastructure needs. |
| Key activities | The AWF’s strategic focus is on Project Preparation, Catalytic Investments and Investment Promotion, providing grants and technical assistance to ensure that projects are bankable, viable and future-proofed, with a clear opportunity for effective implementation. The AWF helps to design high quality & sustainable water projects, attract investment to finance the water sector, and increase the implementation of projects. Target goals include increased water, food and energy security, and enhanced regional cooperation and socio-economic growth. |
| Type of finance provided | The AWF awards grants of between €50,000 and €5,000,000 to water projects that need financial and technical help for implementation, or to meet the strict criteria expected by development partners and the global investment community. Occasionally, the AWF also provides grants to fund the implementation of small-scale pilot projects. It also provides technical expertise and know-how to support project grantees all the way to project completion. The AWF provides grants that are reimbursable upon attaining financial closure. |
| Size of project supported | The AWF supports projects of all sizes, from large projects through to small-scale pilot projects. |
| Range of funding provided (min/max) | From €50,000 to €5,000,000 |
| Beneficiaries supported | African governments (central and local/regional); African municipalities; Non-Governmental Organisations; Civil Society Organisations; Community-Based Organisations; regional, sub-regional and sectoral organisations (e.g. Regional Economic Communities, River Basin Organisations) and the private sector |
| Project type | Regional / cross-border; national; sub-national |
| Project preparation phases supported | From early stage to late stage of the preparation. The AWF provides support for enabling environment, project definition and feasibility, transaction support and post-implementation support. |
| Application process | To be eligible for financing, proposed activities and projects must typically meet one of AWF's strategic pillars - Project Preparation, Catalytic Investments and Investment Promotion. Outcomes consistent with priority issues such as climate change, social and gender equity, environmental protection, water governance and water knowledge will also be given priority. All projects financed by the AWF should have clear performance indicators with good expected outcomes and clear targets. |
| Eligibility exclusions | Applications must be endorsed by the government in the country in which the project will be implemented, in order to confirm relevance to the sectors programme and strategy for the country. |
| Countries | Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Democratic Republic of Congo, Congo-Brazzaville, Côte d'Ivoire, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mozambique, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, São Tomé & Príncipe, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Tunisia |
| Sub-Sectors | Water resources protection, Water supply and sanitation, River development, Waste management/disposal |