The African Water Facility was established in 2004, on the initiative of the African Ministers Council on Water (AMCOW), which aims to assist African countries to mobilise and apply resources for the water and sanitation sectors in order to implement the Africa Water Vision (2025). It is managed by the AfDB and has been resourced by the AfDB, Algeria, Australia, Austria, Canada, Denmark, European Union, France, Norway,

Senegal, Spain, Sweden, the UK and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. The Fund currently has approximately € 130 million. In March 2018, the fund was not receiving any new applications until further notice, due to the high volume of submissions.

Eligibility to Receive Funding

Governmental and non-governmental institutions and entities.  Eligibility criteria can be found online.^[1]

Regional Focus: Africa

Sector Focus

AWF provides support in the following areas:

• Strengthening water governance by increasing the capacity of African countries to govern their water resources;
• Meeting water needs through the preparation of programs and projects that attract

investments, and pilot innovative technologies and approaches that may lead to widespread adoption;

• Strengthening the financial base of African countries and regional organizations by attracting additional funding to the sector and ensuring its effective use;
• Improving water knowledge by increasing the capacity of countries to make informed decisions to guide water development planning and implementation, including in the context of climate change.

Funding Conditions

Available funding is mainly in the form of grants, and ranges from € 50,000 to > 2,000,000. All projects should have clear performance indicators and well defined expected outcomes and targets. The following project-related criteria are relevant:

• Clear political commitment of the country;
• Consistency with national priorities and regional consensus;
• Credibility, ownership, and commitment of the project-holder;
• Effectiveness and sustainability of the institution;
• Opportunity for effective implementation.

Application Procedure: More information on the application process once open again can be found online.^[2]

Contact

African Development Bank Group

Avenue Joseph Anoma

01 BP 1387 Abidjan 01

Côte d’Ivoire

Jean-Michel Ossete, Acting Coordinator, African

Water Facility (j.ossete@afdb.org) Tel: +225 20 26 27 71

Partnerships and Cooperation Unit Focal Point:

ChiomaOnukogu, Principal Resource

Mobilisation Officer (c.onukogu@afdb.org) Tel: +225 20 26 42 20