Strategic Foundation

First Principles

The fundamental truths that guide our approach to water independence. We build from first principles, not assumptions.

Resource Scarcity
Market Response
Opportunity Matrix
Core Framework

Our Three Main First Principles

1

Resource Scarcity

  • Water scarcity and impending degradation of our water systems.
  • The Water Foundation empowers individuals, organisations, and states to develop strategic capacity, increase resilience, and shape circular water and resource infrastructures for the future.
  • We build an ecosystem that addresses one of the least appreciated challenges of our time: water scarcity and impending degradation of our water systems.
2

Market Response

  • In 2024, investor interest surged in technologies like desalination, advanced treatment, and PFAS destruction — solutions that are vital for environmental resilience and rich with market potential.
  • The Water Foundation empowers individuals, organisations, and states to develop strategic capacity, increase resilience, and shape circular water and resource infrastructures for the future.
  • We build an ecosystem that addresses one of the least appreciated challenges of our time: water scarcity and impending degradation of our water systems.
3

Opportunity Matrix

  • This is more than a crisis. It's a call to invest in the future — where innovation meets impact.
  • The Water Foundation empowers individuals, organisations, and states to develop strategic capacity, increase resilience, and shape circular water and resource infrastructures for the future.
  • We build an ecosystem that addresses one of the least appreciated challenges of our time: water scarcity and impending degradation of our water systems.

First Principles → Strategy → Action

Our core framework for transforming water challenges into systemic opportunities

First Principle

Strategic Response

Donor Example

Investor Example

Water is essential — but mispriced.

Align capital with access and risk.

Fund women-led kiosks for clean water access in underserved regions.

Invest in a digital water rights platform scaling across LATAM.

Resilience is the true return.

Build for long-term, systemic stability.

Core support for water-health-data systems across rural zones.

Growth equity in climate-smart irrigation with cross-border reach.

Complexity is the alpha.

Step in where others hesitate.

De-risk blended municipal water reuse pilots in India.

Structure SPV for desalination plant in MENA with ESG premiums.

Tech must meet governance.

Fund tech + policy + community capacity.

Grants for soil-water-tech agroforestry in climate-hit Sahel.

Hybrid investment in leak detection SaaS + retrofitting ops.

Value compounds across sectors.

Track and multiply co-benefits.

Cross-sector school WASH programs embedded in gender equity.

Carbon + biodiversity credits via blue-carbon mangrove assets.

We don't bet on silver bullets. We underwrite the ecosystem.

This is not charity — it's catalytic capital designed for systemic return.

UAE Strategy

Four Pillars for UAE Water Independence

Tech

  • → Deploy 3+ regional pilots
  • → Integrate desalination management technologies to cut costs by 25% to improve energy efficiency
  • → Create a GCC water innovation testbed connecting startups from Africa, India, and Asia to UAE scale-up infrastructure
  • → Pilot project: 1) Cleaning up sludgy water from oil extraction, fracking. 2) Building closed-loop water cycles for human reuse

Scale

  • → Build a pipeline of 50+ investable ventures from MENA, Africa, India
  • → Serve as the primary commercial gateway for scaling Nigerian and Indian water technologies into MENA markets
  • → Mobilise €200M+ in follow-on investment from sovereign wealth funds, DFI, FOs by 2030
  • → Establish joint innovation zones with free zones + global accelerators

Policy

  • → Partner with UAE ministries and regional multilateral bodies to advance integrated water-energy strategies
  • → Host annual MENA Water & Food Security Diplomacy Forum connecting policy makers
  • → Align regional frameworks with the Commonwealth Water Charta and COP30 water credit initiative

Geographies

  • → Dubai hub linked to Abuja, Delhi, Munich for multi-directional tech & investment flows
  • → Act as the MENA headquarters for pan-African & Asian water innovation exchange
  • → Extend market access for innovators into 15+ Gulf, Levant, and North African markets with growing populations for VC scale growth
Nigeria Strategy

Creating A Water Innovation Ecosystem in Nigeria

Tech

  • → Deploy 5+ cutting-edge water purification & treatment technologies in Nigeria within first 24 months
  • → Support 150-250+ Nigerian entrepreneurs via the Abuja Water Venture Builder in the first 3 years
  • → Reduce hospital cleaning costs by up to 40% in pilot facilities using our disinfection method
  • → Recover 90%+ of contaminated mining wastewater to potable standards in pilot regions

Scale

  • → Build a pipeline of 50+ investable African water ventures by 2028
  • → Replicate at least 3 successful Nigerian pilots in 10+ African countries within 5 years
  • → Connect innovators to €500M+ in capital via our global hubs in Delhi, Dubai & Munich
  • → Mobilise €50M+ in follow-on investment through blended finance instruments by 2030

Policy

  • → Support development of Nigeria's National Water Strategy 2025-2035
  • → Convene 1-2 high-level water diplomacy dialogues per year with African & global partners
  • → Integrate Nigeria into the Commonwealth Water Charta by 2026
  • → Co-develop Water Credit framework for launch ahead of COP30

Geographies

  • → Abuja as the African hub, linked to Delhi, Dubai & Munich for tech & capital exchange
  • → Expand Nigerian-led innovations to 15+ African countries
  • → Cross-regional partnerships with Germany, Malaysia, NZ for knowledge transfer
  • → Position Nigeria as a global water leader at UNGA, WEF, COP30 and beyond
India Strategy

Building India's Water Innovation Leadership

Tech

  • → Deploy 3+ regional pilots
  • → Integrate desalination management technologies to cut costs by 25% to improve energy efficiency
  • → Create a GCC water innovation testbed connecting startups from Africa, India, and Asia to UAE scale-up infrastructure
  • → Pilot project: 1) Cleaning up sludgy water from oil extraction, fracking. 2) Building closed-loop water cycles for human reuse

Scale

  • → Build a pipeline of 50+ investable ventures from MENA, Africa, India
  • → Serve as the primary commercial gateway for scaling Nigerian and Indian water technologies into MENA markets
  • → Mobilise €200M+ in follow-on investment from sovereign wealth funds, DFI, FOs by 2030
  • → Establish joint innovation zones with free zones + global accelerators

Policy

  • → Partner with UAE ministries and regional multilateral bodies to advance integrated water-energy strategies
  • → Host annual MENA Water & Food Security Diplomacy Forum connecting policy makers
  • → Align regional frameworks with the Commonwealth Water Charta and COP30 water credit initiative

Geographies

  • → Dubai hub linked to Abuja, Delhi, Munich for multi-directional tech & investment flows
  • → Act as the MENA headquarters for pan-African & Asian water innovation exchange
  • → Extend market access for innovators into 15+ Gulf, Levant, and North African markets with growing populations for VC scale growth