Call for Applications: Water and Sanitation Enterprises in Ethiopia

The focus areas of this call include drinking water, sanitation, and cross-cutting themes such as climate-resilience and gender, with an overall objective of improving access to water and sanitation services aligned with SDG 6 through market-based approaches.

This initiative by Aqua for All is designed to support catalytic solutions that improve access to safe drinking water and sanitation services in Ethiopia. Under drinking water, the programme prioritises safe water enterprises, household water treatment and safe storage solutions, operation and maintenance services, smart water technology providers such as metering, billing, and IoT-based systems, hardware and infrastructure providers including drilling, pumping, and materials production and distribution, as well as other distribution models such as water trucking. Under sanitation, the focus includes toilet economy service providers, faecal sludge management covering collection, transportation and treatment, and circular economy approaches for human waste reuse services.

The programme supports enterprises that are contributing to market-based solutions aimed at strengthening long-term access to water and sanitation services. It also places emphasis on initiatives that integrate climate-resilience and gender considerations, as well as those that can generate broader ecosystem-level impact beyond individual enterprise growth.

Aqua for All provides financial support and technical assistance through multiple instruments designed to match different stages of enterprise growth. Milestone-based grants offer funding between EUR 50,000 and EUR 250,000, with payments released upon completion of agreed activities and milestones. Results-based grants provide between EUR 150,000 and EUR 300,000, disbursed upon independently verified achievement of predefined results aligned with enterprise scaling goals. Social Impact Incentives (SIINC) range from EUR 150,000 to EUR 400,000 and reward additional verified social impact outcomes beyond core business performance. Technical assistance support ranges from EUR 20,000 to EUR 100,000 and is focused on capacity development, knowledge transfer, and advisory services.

Eligible applicants must be registered enterprises with at least two years of operations, demonstrate a clear impact mission aligned with SDG 6, operate in Ethiopia, and have already achieved at least proof-of-concept for their core products or services. Applicants must provide water and sanitation solutions through a market-based or commercial approach and either be financially sustainable or have a clear pathway toward financial sustainability.

For more information, visit Aqua for All.