The African Water Facility (AWF) has launched a new website designed to enhance user experience, knowledge sharing and access to information about its grants and projects, as well as to keep visitors more engaged and better updated on the latest AWF news and activities. While the website address remains www.africanwaterfacility.org, users will discover an upgraded tool with a look that revitalizes the AWF brand.
The website features engaging content such as an interactive project map where visitors can explore all of its 90 projects across 52 countries as well as Water Reflections, a new blog where the AWF team and guest bloggers will regularly write about water, sanitation and sustainability issues in Africa.
Simultaneously, the AWF announced that is has expanded its online presence via Facebook, and a Linkedin discussion group.
In addition, the AWF plans to release its first electronic newsletter in the spring of 2014. People and organizations interested in receiving the AWF newsletters are invited to sign up to its mailing list here.
"We wanted to offer a tool tailored to our audience that can better meet their demand for information and engagement with the AWF," said Akissa Bahri, Coordinator of the African Water Facility. "While the new website now has a lot more to offer, it also better reflects who we are today - a mature organization with a very impactful portfolio supported by a highly dedicated team of professionals."
The AWF is a multilateral fund initiated by the African Ministers' Council on Water (AMCOW) and hosted by the African Development Bank (AfDB). The AWF was established in 2004 as a Special Water Fund to help African countries achieve the objectives of the Africa Water Vision 2025.
The AWF offers grants from €50,000 to €5 million to support projects to a wide range of institutions and organizations operating in Africa. Its three strategic priority activities are (1) preparing investment projects; (2) enhancing water governance to create an environment conducive to sustainable investments; (3) promoting water knowledge for the preparation of viable projects and informed governance.
Since 2006, AWF has funded 90 national and regional projects in 52 countries, including in Africa's most vulnerable states. It has mobilized more than €935 million as a result of its project preparation activities, which constitute 70 percent of its portfolio.
On average, each €1 contributed by the AWF has attracted €30 in additional follow-up investments.
The AWF is funded by Algeria, Australia, Austria, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Burkina Faso, Canada, Denmark, the European Commission, France, Norway, Senegal, Spain, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the African Development Bank. The AWF is governed by a Governing Council representing its 15 donors, UN-Water Africa, the AU via NEPAD, AMCOW and the AfDB.