Mohamed bin Zayed Water Initiative and World Economic Forum partner to scale water solutions
A two‑year collaboration will accelerate the adoption of practical water technologies and align policy, finance and markets to tackle global scarcity.
Partnership to bolster water innovation and deployment
The Mohamed bin Zayed Water Initiative has entered a two‑year agreement with the World Economic Forum to speed up the translation of water innovations into real‑world impact. Running through September 2028, the collaboration will combine the Initiative’s emphasis on deployment with the Forum’s convening power across government, industry, finance and civil society.
Both organisations identified a persistent bottleneck in the global water ecosystem: promising solutions often stall before they reach the policy frameworks, financing instruments, market demand and cross‑sector partnerships necessary for scale. The new partnership aims to strengthen those pathways so technologies and approaches can be adopted more rapidly where they are most needed.
Activities under the agreement will include developing shared resources to disseminate knowledge and best practice, supporting investment flows, and convening leaders and stakeholders to convert ideas into action. The organisations also intend to leverage major international water conferences and forums to promote collaboration and progress on innovation, investment and implementation.
Khaldoon Khalifa Al Mubarak, Vice‑Chairman of The Mohamed bin Zayed Water Initiative, said the UAE’s long‑term strategy on water scarcity — founded on strategic planning, innovation and partnership — underpins the Initiative’s work. He emphasised the need for united, accelerated efforts to address rising water challenges and their economic and social consequences.
Ayesha Al Ateeqi, Chief Executive Officer of The Mohamed bin Zayed Water Initiative, described the partnership as a vehicle to reinforce the connections between innovators, policymakers, industry and investors. She said the joint work will focus on creating the enabling environments — from regulation to market development — that allow promising solutions to achieve impact at scale.
From the World Economic Forum, Co‑Chair Larry Fink underlined the requirement for greater investment and cooperation to confront water scarcity globally. Sebastian Buckup, Managing Director of the Forum, noted that while water is central to energy, food, industry and urban development, it has been relatively under‑resourced. He said the two‑year collaboration recognises that accelerating water innovation requires not just technology but bolder leadership, widespread knowledge sharing and new approaches to financing and policy.
By aligning expertise on policy, markets and finance with technical innovation, the partnership seeks to reduce barriers to adoption and create stronger conditions for widespread deployment of water solutions.
Source: WAM