Africa Water Investment Summit Kicks Off in South Africa with Call to Secure Safe Water for All Across Continent

Addis Ababa, August 14, 2025 (ENA) -- The inaugural Africa Water Investment Summit kicked off in Cape Town, 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 organized 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 mobilize at least 30 billion U.S. dollars a year to close Africa's water investment gap.

The primary objective of the Summit is to accelerate investments in African water and sanitation programs by promoting a pipeline of investible projects, creating an enabling environment for landmark investment partnerships, and facilitating transformative financing.

The three-day event brings together African heads of state, G20 representatives, investors, ministers, and development institutions under South Africa's G20 Presidency theme of "Solidarity, Equality, Sustainability."

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, in his opening address, said, "This summit is a landmark moment not only for Africa, but for the global movement for access to safe water for all."

 

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 capitalized global effort through the Global Water Investment Platform," he added.

 

The Continental Africa Water Investment Programme (AIP) was adopted by African Union Heads of State in 2021 as part of the Programme for Infrastructure Development in Africa, as an initiative to transform the investment outlook for water and sanitation in Africa.

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, according to Xinhua.