The Strategic Water Partners Network (SWPN), South Africa’s leading multi-stakeholder water platform, has concluded a successful exhibition and series of high-impact dialogues at IFAT Africa 2025, Africa’s largest environmental technologies trade fair.

The SWPN’s presence at this year’s event offered a unique opportunity to engage with a wide spectrum of stakeholders from government, industry, civil society, and academia, advancing its mission to drive public-private collaboration in solving South Africa’s most urgent water challenges.

“IFAT Africa 2025 was a powerful reminder of the sheer scale of innovation, expertise and willingness to collaborate that exists in the water and sanitation sector,” said Alyssa Jooste, Co-Chair of the SWPN. “As a platform that thrives on shared value partnerships, the SWPN used this opportunity to deepen relationships with municipal leaders, technical solution providers and financiers – reinforcing the need for a neutral, credible aggregator that can translate innovation into scalable impact.”

The SWPN hosted and participated in a few high-level panels and roundtable sessions, including those focused on closing the municipal water infrastructure gap, strengthening water governance, and unlocking digital and decentralised solutions. This also included the session on “Women in Water” held on the final day of the fair, that saw the participation of professional women – from scientists to more technical, hands-on women in plumbing.

Peter Varndell, CEO of the NEPAD Business Foundation (which hosts the SWPN Secretariat), emphasised the strategic value of the event: “This year’s IFAT Africa brought urgency and clarity to the water security conversation. It confirmed that the time is now to break silos, align around shared priorities, and accelerate blended investment into the water sector. The SWPN’s convening power – grounded in its track record and diverse partner base – positions us to lead this charge.”

Key insights from the SWPN’s engagements at IFAT Africa included the need for:

• Aggregation platforms to connect municipalities with fit-for-purpose technologies and finance;
• Innovative procurement models to fast-track adoption of new solutions;
• Capacity-building partnerships to equip local governments with the tools and skills required to manage complex water systems; and
• Collaborative pilot projects to de-risk and demonstrate the viability of new approaches.

The SWPN also highlighted its ongoing partnerships with the City of Tshwane, eThekwini Municipality, and leading private sector players, as examples of scalable, replicable initiatives. The network reaffirmed its commitment to supporting South Africa’s National Water Security Framework and the broader objectives of SDG 6.

For more information about the Strategic Water Partners Network, visit www.swpn.org.za