The African Union-AIP Water Investment Summit 2025 will take place in Cape Town, South Africa, from August 13 to 15, 2025. The event is convened by the Republic of South Africa, the African Union Commission, the AU-Continental Africa Water Investment Programme (AIP), the AU-AIP International High-Level Panel on Water Investments for Africa, and the African Union Development Agency – NEPAD, under the framework of South Africa’s G20 Presidency.
The Summit aims to drive South Africa’s G20 priorities of rapid and inclusive economic growth, poverty and hunger eradication, and climate sustainability. It will focus on accelerating investments into climate-resilient water and sanitation systems.
On December 3, 2024, President Cyril Ramaphosa announced that South Africa had adopted the theme “Solidarity, Equality and Sustainability” for its 2025 G20 Presidency. He said the country would use the platform to put Africa’s and the Global South’s development priorities firmly on the G20 agenda.
This year’s G20 Summit will mark the first time in history that the forum is hosted on African soil, a milestone made even more significant after the African Union’s admission as a G20 member.
During the World Economic Forum in Davos on 21 January 2025, President Ramaphosa reaffirmed South Africa’s intentions, saying the Presidency would address “huge gaps in economic capabilities and levels of human development that countries in the Global South face, including a lack of predictable financing for development, as well as climate change.”
Focus On Water Security And Sustainability
South Africa’s G20 priorities include building resilience against climate-induced disasters, mobilising finance for a just energy transition, and securing debt sustainability for low-income countries. President Ramaphosa emphasised that the country would push for higher quality and larger quantities of climate finance to flow to developing nations.
Water and sanitation investment in Africa falls far short of the continent’s needs. By 2030, an additional US$30 billion annually will be required to meet growing social and economic demands. Investment in these sectors is closely linked to achieving most of the Sustainable Development Goals, creating an equal society, and ensuring a climate-resilient future. Climate-resilient water security aligns with the G20 Presidency theme, forming the foundation of shared prosperity, inclusive growth, and sustainability.
The Continental Africa Water Investment Programme (AIP) was endorsed by African Union Heads of State in 2021 as part of the Programme for Infrastructure Development in Africa (PIDA). The initiative aims to transform water and sanitation investment prospects across the continent.
The AU Climate Change and Resilient Development Strategy (2022–2032) recognises the AIP as a flagship programme for transforming Africa’s water systems. The AU-AIP International High-Level Panel on Water Investments for Africa, co-chaired by Senegal and Namibia, with former Tanzanian President H.E. Jakaya Kikwete as Alternate Co-Chair, helped produce two significant documents in 2023 — Africa’s Rising Investment Tide and the Africa Water Investment Action Plan. These publications offer guidance to AU Member States, development partners, and the private sector on how to mobilise the additional US$30 billion annually for climate-resilient water and sanitation by 2030.
In September 2023, during the United Nations General Assembly in New York, African leaders, together with the African Union Commission and the High-Level Panel, launched the Mind the Gap – Invest in Water campaign. The initiative seeks to raise awareness, influence policy change, and drive a strategic shift in water investment.
The campaign’s goal is to close Africa’s water investment gap and implement both the AIP High-Level Panel Investment Action Plan and the UN 2023 Water Action Agenda for the continent. Mobilised commitments and resources will play a critical role in achieving climate-resilient water security and sustainable sanitation, thereby improving livelihoods across Africa.
READ ALSO: NDC National Chairman Urges Calm Over Tamale Central MP Replacement
