Water investment: path to prosperity

IN AUGUST, leaders, policymakers, financiers, and water sector experts gathered at Cape Town International Convention Centre for a three-day Africa Water Investment Summit.

- MARIA LEBESE

That moment was more than a conference and it was a call to action and perhaps Africa’s most decisive opportunity to reframe water not as a peripheral issue of service delivery, but as the very foundation of economic growth, social justice, and climate resilience.

Across the continent, water insecurity remains one of the greatest barriers to progress. According to the African Development Bank, over 300 million people still lack access to clean drinking water, while climate change threatens to intensify droughts, floods, and unpredictable rainfall.

Yet water is not just about taps and buckets. It is about agriculture and food security. It is about reliable energy generation through hydropower. It is about industrial growth in our cities and resilience for rural livelihoods. In essence, water is the bloodstream of Africa’s development. Without bold investments in this sector, the African Union’s Agenda 2063 and the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) will remain out of reach.