ABOUT

The Systems Leadership Symposium 2026 - Transforming Water and Sanitation for Investment and Prosperity in Africa will take place at the Kigali Convention Centre in Rwanda, from 17 to 21 August 2026. The symposium is co-convened by the African Ministers’ Council on Water (AMCOW) the African Union’s Africa Water Investment Programme (AIP); hosted by the Government of Rwanda; and facilitated by IRC.

The event will mobilise leadership at political, fiscal, financial, and technical levels. It will spotlight financial credibility as the foundation for unlocking sustainable investment and building resilient systems. The symposium will bring together African leaders, reformers, financiers, and global partners to drive momentum, share country experiences, and align on solutions that deliver credible and investable water and sanitation services.

EXPLORE THE PROGRAMME

What is it?

The Symposium is structured around six transformational dialogues:

High-level political dialogues

Ministers of Water, of Finance and DFIs on national reforms agenda for financial credibility

Strategic dialogues on regulation and accountability

pathways for alignment with financial credibility

Strategic dialogues on professionalisation

empowering public institutions with skilled staff, planning tools, and bankable projects.

Youth and innovation dialogues

connecting innovative solutions and startups with WASH leaders

Strategic dialogues on public finance

pathways for fiscal and budgetary reforms and domestic resource mobilisation for accelerating financial credibility

Systems reform and investments dialogues

connecting country project holders with DFIs to explore concrete collaborations for de-risking, efficiency-based savings and domestic resource mobilisation.

The Symposium will spotlight inspiring country experiences and learning, and generate actionable commitments that bridge governance and finance, preparing national systems to attract large-scale investments.