Water utilities in Africa : case studies of transformation and market access : inputs to the regional practitioners’ workshop on “Market Finance for African Water Utilities” in Pretoria, South Africa : final report

Case studies of six water utilities were presented at the workshop on “Market Finance for African Water Utilities” in Pretoria, South Africa as well as a survey assessing the readiness of 14 utilities (including the six case study utilities) to tap into domestic financial markets. This report will set out a summary of the case studies, then go on to discuss the qualities and attributes that signal readiness to access commercial finance. The report is accompanied by a summary and an overview of the workshop summarizing all of the key outputs. The case studies encompass a range of different business structures, countries, and regions in Sub-Saharan Africa: Burkina Faso’s National Office of Water and Sanitation, (ONEA), Senegalese Water Company (SDE) and Senegalese National Water Corporation (SONES) in West Africa; Nairobi Water and Sewerage Company (NWSC) of Kenya in East Africa; National Cooperation for the Exploitation and Distribution of Water, Tunisia (SONEDE) of Tunisia in North Africa; and Johannesburg Water and eThekwini (Durban) Water Department in South Africa. Despite the lack of uniformity across the six cases, similarities were apparent among highly performing utilities that already successfully access commercial finance. Each case study includes an assessment of the local financial market environment and the attempts undertaken by the utility to access those markets.