What type of funding does AWF provide ?
AWF provides mainly grant funding to eligible recipients.
What type of projects are financed by AWF ?
AWF supports project preparation, catalytic projects, investment promotion and institutional water governance projects. The projects should be climate-resilient and gender-sensitive, focused in the following sector areas (i) Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM), (ii) Rural and Urban Water Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH), (iii) Capacity Building, (iv) Policy, legal and Institutional Reform, (v) Knowledge and Information building or dissemination, (vi) Developing and Implementing a Regulatory Framework, (vii) Effective Management of Shared Waters, (viii) Monitoring and Evaluation, (ix) Environmental Management, (x) Strategic capital investment programs and projects implementation, and (xi) Investment Promotion for water and sanitation projects.
What are characteristics of projects which normally qualify for Funding ?
The AWF does not guarantee funding to any applicant. Funding decisions depend on several factors and considerations, some of which are highlighted below :
- Projects that clearly show how climate change adaptation, mitigation, resilience building measures, gender equality, social inclusion, women and youth empowerment and other social safeguards are mainstreamed.
- The application quality, strength of alignment with AWF strategic priorities, budget, and the resources available in the fund for new commitments.
- Applications whose projects have existing commitments for downstream financing, those that feature in the AfDB Country Indicative Operational Programs (IOP) or those of prioritized for financing by other donors and financiers.
- Projects with good co-financing from the Government, beneficiaries, or other funding sources, and potential to attract downstream investment.
- Projects listed in Country and/or Regional Development Plans and National Determined Contribution (NDCs).
- Projects that show the integration, interlinkages, interconnectedness between water, sanitation, hygiene, nutrition, health, and economic prosperity as well as the nexus between water, food, energy, ecosystem, climate and peace.
- Projects that are focused on addressing urban sanitation challenges or provision of services to unserved or underserved populations.
- Projects that are catalytic, scalable, transformative and show innovation.
- Projects where applicable, that show inclusion of transboundary water cooperation and basin development with integrated water resources management approaches.
Which other criteria are considered in the project selection to receive funding ?
In project selection and prioritization, AWF also considers other factors namely: geographical/regional, and subsector balance, strategic pillars, urban and rural, water and sanitation, national and multi-national/transboundary balance. Special attention and priority are given to applications from fragile/transition countries.
What project duration is typically acceptable for funding ?
Projects whose preparation can be completed within 2-3 years.
What is the project budget funding limit at AWF ?
AWF provides grant funding to projects in the budget range of 50,000 Euro to 5.0 million Euro. However, the amount of funding provided to selected projects is dependent on the resources available in the fund for new commitments and the number of prioritized projects within the annual work plan.
What is the average size of grants provided by the AWF ?
AWF grants typically lie in the range of EUR 200,000 to EUR 2,000,000, with a mean of about EUR 1,000,000.
What is the maximum amount of grant that the AWF provides ?
There is no defined maximum grant, but in the nearly 20 years of its existence, the AWF has given a grant exceeding EUR 5 million only once.
Can AWF co-finance projects with other donors on a project ?
Yes, AWF strongly encourages co-financing of projects with other donors and financiers with the scope to be financed clearly defined and project outcomes to be attributed to AWF funding clearly identified.
Does the AWF fund individuals for scholarships/studies or participation in international conferences ?
No. The AWF does not provide funding to individuals, nor for academic studies and participation in international conferences.
What does a catalytic project mean ?
The AWF defines a catalytic project as a pilot innovative project that provides solutions to a complex water and sanitation challenge, whose results, technology/innovation, lessons leant/experience is transformative, scalable, replicable to other regions and different contexts.
Does the AWF provide funding for construction and rehabilitation of water and sanitation works ?
AWF mainly supports studies for project preparation (pre or full feasibility, ESIA and RAP studies, scheme design and tender documents, PPP transaction advisory services), construction pilots for transformative and catalytic projects, investment and institutional water governance projects.
Can AWF support a water supply focused project only ?
AWF supports the preparation of climate-resilient focused water supply projects that include and integrate sanitation improvements, hygiene promotion, solid waste management and institutional strengthening of operation and management of water and sanitation systems at local level, with inclusion of private sector, where enabling environment prevails.
Are projects aimed at addressing humanitarian needs eligible for funding ?
Only in very special cases from earmarked funds, immediate interventions may be integrated to address immediate needs/risk reduction and humanitarian measures, in largely development and early recovery contexts.