Water.org's Global Finance Sessions for Water and Sanitation
Thank you for participating!
We thank everyone who was able to attend and participate in the IRC-Water.org Global Finance Sessions at Stockholm World Water Week. We hope the conversations advanced your understanding of the financing challenges and opportunities for achieving SDG 6. Below is a summary of the key points as well as the presentations from both sessions. We look forward to connecting with you again in the future. To that end, if there is a particular aspect of water and sanitation finance that you would like to explore more deeply at next year’s Stockholm World Water Week, please let us know via this one-question survey.
Key resources for download:
- Summaries from Session 1 (Blended finance: from principles to practice) and Session 2 (Blended finance deep-dive: What are the real blockages to financing SDG 6? Examples and recommendations to overcome them).
- Blended finance for water investments - Paul Horrocks and Kathleen Dominique, OECD
- What are the real blockages to financing SDG 6? - Catarina Fonseca, IRC
- Mobilizing technical services and financial capital to improve water services for small communities in Latin America - Ian Moise and Maren Barbee, Catholic Relief Services
- Using philanthropic grants to catalyze domestic commercial capital for the BOP's water and sanitation needs - Vedika Bhandarkar, Water.org
Partnering to reach the last mile
Water.org is proud to partner with IRC and many other sector leaders in Stockholm from August 27-28 for in-depth conversations about the financing strategies needed for advancement toward meeting SDG 6 targets.
More than two years into the Sustainable Development Goals, the WASH sector recognizes the financial odds it is working against to meet SDG targets 6.1 and 6.2 ensuring universal access to safely-managed water and sanitation. While understanding of the financial challenge runs deep, the search for and implementation of sustainable solutions remains a barrier to significant progress towards achieving those targets.
Please join us for Global Finance Sessions for Water and Sanitation and participate in a deeper curated discussion around the financing mechanisms needed and the coordination required to move us all forward in the race to 2030. The conversation will be grouped into two sessions (see details below). While everyone is welcome and encouraged to attend both events, seating is limited for Session 2. Therefore, your registration is kindly requested.
In partnership with IRC.
Session 1
Blended finance: From principles to practice
Drawing on the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Blended Finance Principles and a diverse set of case studies in water and other sectors from Asia and Africa, this Stockholm World Water Week session will explore how blended finance instruments and mechanisms can be designed to mobilize additional commercial finance. It will examine how water-related investments can benefit from recent developments in blended finance, the prerequisites to make blended finance work at scale, and the ways to engage development finance institutions and private financiers.
This session will open with introductory remarks and a series of short "ignite presentations" that will be followed by a panel discussion and an interactive debate with the audience. Confirmed speakers include:
- Mr. Henk Ovink - Special Envoy for International Water Affairs, Kingdom of the Netherlands
- Kathleen Dominique - Environmental Economist, OECD
- Dr. Alex Money - Oxford Smith School
- Dick Pajarillo - Senior Programs Officer, Water.org-Philippines
- Dr. Catarina Fonseca - Head Innovation and International Department, IRC
- Dr. Fatimatou Sall - Lecturer, Université Gaston Berger Saint-Louis, Sénégal
- Christopher Flensbourg - Head of Climate and Sustainable Finance, SEB
- Monday, August 27
- 2:00pm-3:30pm
- Location: FH 300
- Co-conveners: Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), World Water Council, Government of the Netherlands Ministry of Infrastructure, IRC
Session 2
Blended finance deep-dive: What are the real blockages to financing SDG 6? Examples and recommendations to overcome them
Financing the achievement of SDG 6 requires approaches relatively untested in the WASH sector. Moreover, existing blended finance mechanisms are predominantly available in wealthier countries. To appropriate blended solutions in lower-income countries, water and finance experts need to better understand how these mechanisms function so they can then develop context-specific adaptations with an eye to serving the poor. This session will showcase how existing blended financing instruments are (or are not) working for WASH with regard to the poorest and what changes in the enabling environment are required to attract the additional resources required for the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goal 6 by 2030.
This session will open with introductory remarks and context setting that builds upon Session 1. From there, experts will share their real-life experiences, positive and negative, with adapting blended finance approaches specifically for the poor. Finally, participants will have the opportunity to move into small breakout tables and discuss finer points of the conversation in detail, drawing upon their own experiences. Confirmed speakers include:
- Claire Lyons - Senior Strategist, Water.org; former Senior Officer, Global Grant Portfolios and Partnerships at PepsiCo Foundation
- José Tomás Frade - former Deputy Director and Head of the Water and Environmental Protection Division at the European Investment Bank
- Dr. Catarina Fonseca - Head Innovation and International Department, IRC
- Vedika Bhandarkar - Managing Director, Water.org-India; former Chairwoman at Credit Suisse
- Benson Ajisegiri, Director of Water Supply and Public Private Partnerships, Federal Ministry of Water Resources, Nigeria (TBC)
- Maren Barbee; Blue Harvest Regional Manager and Ian Moise; Senior Advisor - Water, WASH, & Environment, at Catholic Relief Services
- Tuesday, August 28
- 8:30am-10:30am**
- Location: 7A Centralen, Vasagatan 7, Stockholm
- Co-convener: IRC
**Coffee and light breakfast will be served
Want more information?
- While in Stockholm, check out some other sessions where Water.org will be actively participating.
- Click here to learn more about Water.org's research, impact and perspective on financing SDG 6.
If you have have any questions, please contact: [email protected]
