Metito + BII launch Africa water investment platform: Metito and British International Investment (BII) launched yesterday the Africa Water Infrastructure Development (AWID), an investment platform targeting water infrastructure and provision in Africa. Metito is a Dubai-headquartered water management solutions provider and BII is the UK’s development finance institution and impact investor.

About AWID: The joint venture will target sustainable water projects at scale to address the funding gap in water security, Metito Managing Director Rami Ghandour and BII’s Managing Director and head of Africa Chris Chijiutomi said at the launch event at the British Embassy in Cairo. The headquarters of the venture have not yet been set but AWID will initially operate from Dubai.

The JV has been seeded with two existing projects: The first is a desalination project that has been operational in Egypt’s Sharm El Sheikh since 1999, providing around 63 hotels with potable water and some wastewater management services. The second project is a water treatment facility that has been operating in Kigali, Rwanda for two years.

Metito has a track record in Egypt’s water infrastructure industry: The company, alongside Orascom Construction, Hassan Allam Construction and Arab Contractors is developing the Al Mahsama agricultural drainage treatment plant. Focused on providing water infrastructure in emerging markets, Metito wants to take a “bold [investing] approach” that “brings in private sector capital”, Ghandour said. AWID will target Egypt as the government has positioned the water infrastructure and security as a key priority for its privatization strategy, he added.