The Global Water Partnership is calling on G20 Leaders to prioritise bold, coordinated investment to achieve water security by 2030. With just five years left to meet the Sustainable Development Goals, the world faces a staggering annual water investment gap of over USD 140 billion, leaving billions vulnerable to water scarcity, disease, and economic instability.
This call builds on GWP’s Global Transformation Agenda on Water Investments, which urges stronger engagement with the G20, MDBs, private sector, and global partners to accelerate investment scale and impact.
GIP Presented at the G20 Social Summit
During the G20 Social Summit from 18–20 November 2025 in Johannesburg, the G20 Presidential Legacy – Global Water Investment Platform (GIP) will be presented as a new global mechanism to accelerate the mobilisation and implementation of water investments worldwide.
The GIP will be presented during a side event on Wednesday, 19 November, titled G20 Presidential Legacy: Global Outlook Council on Water and Global Water Investment Platform (GIP). Led by the G20 Presidency of South Africa, African Union, and AUDA-NEPAD, GWP is honoured to co-convene the session, spotlighting water as a strategic engine of economic growth and resilience. It will present outcomes of the AU-AIP Africa Water Investment Summit and highlight the urgent need to close the global water-investment gap—over USD 140 billion annually by 2030, through the G20-Global Water Investment Platform. Mr Alex Simalabwi, CEO of GWPO and Executive Secretary of GWP, will present the Roadmap for accelerating implementation of the African Union-Cape Town Declaration on the Water Investments-G20.
The GIP expands the Continental Africa Water Investment Programme (AIP) into a global initiative across Asia, Latin America & Caribbean, Europe while accelerating AIP implementation as its African Pillar in collaboration with African Union.
H.E Cyril Ramaphosa, President of South Africa and the G20, inaugurated the Global Outlook Council on Water Investments and its Global Water Investment Platform as a Legacy Initiative advocating for water investments at the highest levels of global diplomacy. Together, the Global Outlook Council on Water Investments and GIP form a core pillar of GWP’s new Strategy 2026–2030, which sets out plans to unlock USD 15 billion in water investments by 2030.
This side event at the G20 Social Summit will also advance the following:
- Recognition of water security as integral to the G20 Social Summit outcomes on inclusion, resilience, and sustainable livelihoods.
- Strengthened collaboration among governments, multilateral institutions, and private investors through the G20 Presidential Legacy- Global Water Investment Platform.
- Commitment to support the G20 Presidential Legacy as part of the preparations towards the UN 2026 Water Conference (co-chaired by the UAE and Senegal) as a milestone for global water investment transformation.
From Africa Water Investment Summit to G20
The GIP builds on the outcomes of the Africa Water Investment Summit, which adopted the Cape Town Declaration and identified USD 10–12 billion per year in water investment opportunities. Apart from showcasing the GIP, the side event at the G20 Social Summit will also highlight the Roadmap for the G20 Presidential Legacy, unveiled on the margins of the 80th UN General Assembly in New York, providing a clear pathway for mobilising global partnerships and financing for climate-resilient water and sanitation systems.
At the just ended AWSISA Africa & Global South Water & Sanitation Dialogue, GWP also presented on the outcomes of the African Union – Africa Water Investment Programme, underscoring Africa’s progress in developing a USD 10–12 billion pipeline of bankable water and sanitation investments through the Global Water Investment Platform (GIP), while highlighting the need for coordinated partnerships among governments, financiers, and the private sector.
The unveiling of the GIP at the Social Summit marks a pivotal moment in elevating water security within the G20 and catalysing the partnerships required to deliver resilient water and sanitation systems for all.
“Water investment must no longer be an afterthought at climate and finance discussions. It must be at the center of discussions. It must be financed, tracked and championed. Let us leave this Summit with deals, pipelines, partnerships and a permanent global mechanism to sustain the momentum.”
– H.E. Cyril Ramaphosa, President of South Africa and G20 President