African Cities Water Adaptation (ACWA) Platform

The African Cities Water Adaptation Platform (ACWA Platform) is a coalition of cities and partners including research institutes, civil society actors, development agencies, national governments, businesses, private sector investment groups, national banks, professional consultancies, and associations joining forces to advance urban water resilience in Africa.

Developed through deep engagement with a diverse group of institutions and individuals, the ACWA Platform is founded on a set of strategic priorities and principles, as identified in the 2030 Joint Agenda for Urban Water Resilience in Africa, and a strong call for implementation.

The ACWA Platform partners with city champions to overcome water challenges through research, planning and analysis on urban water resilience pathways; provides technical assistance and capacity-building support to identify, design, finance, and implement innovative solutions; and leverages collective action to improve the enabling environment for mature water resilience programs.

The ACWA Platform aims to coordinate, align, harmonize, and scale existing programs, expertise, and solutions across a wide network of partners to accelerate advocacy and implementation of new solutions and programs to build resilient water systems in cities. It also aims to help cities access financial grants and support for implementation, which can be used for piloting, experimentation, and demonstration.

The African Cities Water Adaptation Fund (ACWA Fund) is the key funding and financing instrument of the ACWA Platform, with the target of leveraging USD $5 billion to scale urban water resilience solutions to 100 African cities by 2032.

After months of deep engagement with a diverse group of institutions and individuals, the official launch of the ACWA Platform was held at COP27.