On February 28, the Water Finance Coalition organised the only session at the Finance in Common Summit in Cape Town dedicated to water financing. With around 50 participants in the room, the discussion focused on how public development banks (PDBs) can scale up investments in water and sanitation. Despite the sector’s critical importance, it remains severely underfunded—currently receiving $50 billion annually, while needing four to five times that amount. This session highlighted concrete ways PDBs can take action.
Thomas Marois presented compelling research on public-public collaborations, showing how PDBs can provide patient, low-cost financing to make universal water access a reality. Vietnam Development Bank (VDB) shared its experience financing over 200 water projects, leveraging concessional funding to create more accessible financing terms. Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA) emphasised the importance of making water projects bankable, developing structured programs to attract investment and reduce risks.
As Hélène Djoufelkit (AFD) stressed in her opening and closing remarks, PDBs are a missing link in water financing. Through advocacy, peer learning, and technical assistance, the Water Finance Coalition is helping PDBs unlock their full potential. The message was clear: if we want to meet SDG 6, we must scale up public bank investments in water—starting now.
The Water Finance Coalition gathers national and international public development banks aiming to improve the financing of the water & sanitation sector in order to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 6, the Paris Agreement objectives and to enhance biodiversity protection.
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