The Foundation worked with the World Bank, a stakeholder with the power to achieve transformational change in the sector, to unlock private sector engagement and investment in piped water across five countries in Africa and Asia.
Fix the system, not just the financing
Water utilities in many emerging markets struggle to attract private capital not because capital is unavailable but because they are not yet ready for investment. Our work with the World Bank’s Water Practice showed how targeted upstream support can create the conditions that make private investment possible – stronger utilities, better regulation, clearer tariffs and credible business plans. We supported programmes in five countries (the Philippines, Cambodia, Indonesia, Kenya and Uganda) that focused in three areas:
- Stronger utility performance: helping utilities develop business plans, improve efficiency, reduce losses and strengthen financial management to build creditworthiness.
- Clear policy and regulation: supporting governments to develop regulatory frameworks that give investors predictability while protecting service quality and affordability.
- Bankable investment pipelines: structuring projects, developing performance improvement plans, conducting energy audits and preparing financing strategies to attract commercial lenders and private investors.
Results
The programme delivered tools and frameworks, business plan templates, performance improvement methodologies, energy audit models and tariff-setting guides — that are now being adopted more widely across the sector.
- Cambodia: National guidelines for supporting over 400 private water operators were approved by the Ministry. Progress was made toward establishing a dedicated water sector regulator — a long-standing barrier to investment. A creditworthiness course reached over 60 participants from 17 utilities and 6 financial institutions.
- Indonesia: Five utilities completed business plans now guiding investment planning and budget approvals. Two are pursuing PPP opportunities valued at around US$25 million. The Ministry of Home Affairs is using this methodology to support additional utilities.
- Kenya: Performance Improvement Action Plans were developed with 33 water service providers — the first time such a framework has been applied across the sector. Nine bankable projects worth US$6 million were identified, and nine utilities are expected to sign commercial loan agreements in 2026. Energy audits identified US$10 million of potential private investment across five utilities, with contracting expected by mid-2026.
- Philippines: Business plan and tariff-setting templates were piloted with four local government utilities, building towards cost-reflective pricing, a prerequisite for private investment.
- Uganda: The programme supported the National Water and Sewerage Corporation in preparing for what could be the first long-term corporate bond by a water utility in sub-Saharan Africa outside South Africa.
What’s next
These tools are now being taken forward across all five countries. The work is far from done, but this programme illustrates the kind of sustained, upstream support that is crucial — and chronically underfunded — to attract private capital into the water sector at scale.