Overview: UG WATERCARE addresses Uganda’s $1.1B annual adaptation gap in the water-agriculture nexus, where 80% rely on climate-vulnerable rain-fed agriculture. Objectives: Catalyse systemic resilience by scaling multipurpose water infrastructure, nature-based watershed restoration, and climate-smart agri-food systems, aligning with Uganda's NDC and Vision 2040. Rationale: Hydrological variability threatens food security and macro-fiscal stability. Despite robust policies, implementation is stalled by fragmented financing, institutional silos, and high perceived risks deterring private capital. Opportunity: Leveraging CIF ARISE’s concessional, risk-tolerant capital, UG WATERCARE will de-risk investments and mobilize private finance (via a 40% Private Sector Set-Aside). This shifts Uganda from reactive adaptation to proactive, investment-grade resilience, integrating climate risk into fiscal planning and driving inclusive green growth.
Project overview
Investment opportunity
Investment types sought
Project status
Development stage
Concept
Additional project information
- Lead agency
- Ministry of Water and Environment
Expected impact
Economic & development benefits
- UG WATERCARE drives systemic economic transformation, safeguarding Uganda’s Vision 2040 and Tenfold Growth Strategy
- It fuels four priority sectors: agro-industrialisation, tourism ($50B target), mineral industries ($25B exports), and tech
- By expanding irrigation from 3% to 10% of arable land and cutting water O&M costs by 30-50% via solar transitions, it secures livelihoods for the 80% of Ugandans reliant on rain-fed agriculture
- Primary beneficiaries are women (77% of the agricultural workforce) and youth (78% of the population)
- The programme mandates 40% female leadership in governance and directs 30% of Private Sector Set-Aside funds to women- and youth-led SMEs
- It will catalyse $3 in private capital per $1 of ARISE funding, generating green jobs
- Ultimately, it shifts millions from climate vulnerability to investment-grade resilience, closing the $1.1B annual adaptation gap and driving inclusive green growth
Climate & resilience benefits
- UG WATERCARE delivers immediate and transformative climate resilience
- Short-term impacts include deploying solar-powered, multipurpose water infrastructure and nature-based watershed restoration, cutting water O&M costs by 30-50% and reducing women's time poverty
- It provides urgent shock-responsive mechanisms like parametric insurance and drought funds, while diversifying livelihoods via climate-smart inputs
- Long-term benefits fundamentally shift Uganda from rain-fed vulnerability to investment-grade resilience
- Expanding irrigation from 3% to 10% and restoring aquifers secures food systems against hydrological variability
- Systemically, it embeds climate-risk screening into macro-fiscal planning and public investment management
- Ultimately, UG WATERCARE catalyses $3 in private capital per $1 of concessional finance, sustaining inclusive green growth, safeguarding economic gains against climate shocks, and driving Uganda’s Vision 2040 transition
Contact
Contact team
For more information about this project, please contact the Commonwealth Investment Platform team.