The Dawn Of A Groundbreaking Project
Global Water Center (GWC) launched a groundbreaking project on the 22nd day of March, 2025 to improve access to safely managed water across East Africa, with the initial phase supported by $1.1 million in grants from the Grundfos Foundation and The Coca-Cola Foundation.
The project focuses on skills development in the rural water sector in Kenya, Tanzania, Ethiopia, and Uganda while creating a scalable model to address the critical shortage of water professionals worldwide.
During the first phase of the project, GWC will use the grants to undertake a gap analysis to identify the most urgent vocational training needs, initiate course design, and launch a government technical assistance program.
“Safe and reliable water access is a cornerstone in securing livelihoods, health, and social progress in rural areas. It takes both knowledge and skill to maintain modern water systems, and we want to assist governments in building capacity in the water sector to bring essential services to their citizens,” says Kim Nøhr Skibsted, CEO, Grundfos Foundation.
A Solution Oriented Project
The recent Global Analysis and Assessment of Sanitation and Drinking-Water (GLAAS) report noted a severe shortage of skilled professionals needed for the design, construction, operation, maintenance, and monitoring of water and sanitation systems in Africa.
Many countries in the region have less than 50% of the necessary workforce, posing a significant risk to sustainable access to safe water and consequently, the health and well-being of communities.
A skilled workforce needed for the design, construction, operation, maintenance, and monitoring of water and sanitation systems in Africa.
This project seeks to fill the human resources gap through sustainable, scalable capacity development in the following ways:
1) Partnering with global and local stakeholders to help ensure the project is not only innovative but also deeply rooted in local contexts.
2) Including climate adaptation strategies to protect water systems against environmental challenges.
3) Equipping local governments and professionals with technical skills to enable them to sustain and expand water services in the long term.
“The initiatives we support aim to build resilience and improve water security in local communities. This work in East Africa takes a thoughtful, local approach to invest in water innovation and in the skills needed to strengthen the local infrastructure now and for the long term,” said Carlos Pagoaga, President of The Coca-Cola Foundation.
While this US $1.1 million in grants is essential for launching the first phase, completing all three phases of the project will require continued collaboration and additional support.
“We are immensely grateful for the launch funds and invite others to collaborate with us to catalyze these systemic changes,” said Thomas Johnston, CEO of GWC.
“Together, we can help provide rural communities across East Africa—and eventually beyond— access to safe, reliable water.” he continued.
The Global Water Center to provide access to safe water in rural areas.
About Global Water Center
Global Water Center believes everyone deserves access to safely managed water. Our three-pronged approach of capacity development, technical assistance, and collaboration focuses on making rural water projects more sustainable. As the go-to resource for the rural water sector, our safe water resources have reached people in 131 countries. In addition to capacity development, we also provide technical assistance to make water projects more effective and reliable. All of our efforts are rooted in collaboration with nonprofits, governments, and other entities. Together, we are solving the global water crisis.
About The Coca-Cola Foundation
The Coca-Cola Foundation’s mission is to make a difference in communities around the world where The Coca-Cola Company operates and where its employees live and work. It supports transformative ideas and institutions that address complex global challenges and leave a measurable and lasting impact. Since its inception in 1984, The Coca-Cola Foundation has awarded $1.6 billion+ in grants in service of its mandate to strengthen communities across the world.
About The Grundfos Foundation
The Grundfos Foundation (Poul Due Jensen Foundation) is a Danish commercial foundation. Grundfos’ founder, Poul Due Jensen, created the Foundation on 19 May 1975. With 88% of the shares, the Foundation is the majority shareholder in Grundfos, a world leader in pumps, water solutions and services.This year, the Grundfos Foundation has pledged DKK 250m to philanthropic purposes within three strategic areas: Water, Research and Inclusion. Find out more about the Grundfos Foundation.