ESAWAS regulators association

What ESAWAS regulators association does

ESAWAS Regulators Association is a non-profit membership organization founded in 2007 and legally registered in Lusaka, Zambia under the Societies Act Cap 119, dedicated to supporting water supply and sanitation (WSS) regulators across Africa. The association serves a defined membership of 15 national and sub-national regulatory bodies spanning Eastern, Southern, and Western Africa, with an explicit strategic mandate ratified in September 2025 to expand continental-wide. Its core product offering comprises multi-country Regional Benchmarking Reports (now in their 10th edition), a portfolio of Regulatory Guidance Documents covering CWIS, rural WSS, sanitation, and tariff-setting, and country-level Regulator Fact Sheets covering 28 African countries.

The association operates a digital ecosystem including SaniTracker (a sanitation service management tool), the Engage Platform (digital networking hosted with NewIBNET), and GIS-based regulatory tools deployed in Rwanda, Burundi, and Zambia that mapped over 214,000 parcels in Kigali at 93.3% sanitation coverage. It runs the WSS Regulation Training Centre launched in 2024, delivering industry-recognized courses across seven modules (basics of WSS, regulation fundamentals, social fundamentals, regulatory governance, technical regulation, economic regulation, and contractual regulation), with over 600 sector actors trained to date.

ESAWAS generates revenue through annual member contributions from three regulator membership categories (RA, RC, RM), grants and donations approved by the Annual Forum from development partners including the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the World Bank, the African Development Bank, and UNICEF, training program fees, and newly authorized fee-for-service technical assistance offerings. The 4th Africa WSS Regulators Conference in May 2026 drew nearly 300 delegates from 39 countries, underscoring the association's role as a convening platform for regulatory cooperation, peer learning, and performance recognition across the African WSS sector.

Name

ESAWAS regulators association

Legal name

ESAWAS Regulators Association

Website

https://esawas.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2007

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Water and Sanitation Regulatory Services

NAICS

Environment, Conservation and Wildlife Organizations (813312), Regulation, Licensing, and Inspection of Miscellaneous Commercial Sectors (92615)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYBPADANAA

International Standards Development & Standardization Bodies

Business & Public Services/International Organizations & Development/International Standards, Policy & Regulatory Cooperation

SECONDARYBPADANAD

Conformity Assessment, Testing, Inspection & Certification Cooperation

Business & Public Services/International Organizations & Development/International Standards, Policy & Regulatory Cooperation

Keywords

• Water supply regulation
• Sanitation regulatory frameworks
• Utility benchmarking reports
• Regulatory capacity building
• WSS regulation training

Headquarters

HQ city

Lusaka

HQ country

Zambia

HQ region

Africa

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Member Contributions: Annual contributions by member regulatory bodies. Special contributions from members for specific initiatives. These form the core financial resources of the association.
2. Grants and Donations: Financial grants or donations approved by the Annual Forum, including support from development partners such as Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, African Development Bank, and World Bank.
3. Fee-for-Service Offerings: Technical assistance services to non-members and various stakeholders. Opening of funding sources to include fee-for-service offerings per new Constitution ratified September 2025.
4. Training Programs: WSS Regulation Training Centre offers industry-recognized courses. Training programs delivered both online and in-person, covering various aspects of water supply and sanitation regulation.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

ESAWAS is a membership-based association of water supply and sanitation (WSS) regulators in Africa that supports its members with regulatory frameworks, a training centre, regional benchmarking reports, peer reviews, and digital platforms (SaniTracker and Engage) to strengthen WSS regulation across 15 member countries.

Product overview

ESAWAS Regulators Association operates as a network of water supply and sanitation (WSS) regulators across Africa, offering a portfolio of products and services including the Engage Platform for digital networking, SaniTracker for sanitation service management, the WSS Regulation Training Centre for capacity development, and Regional Benchmarking Reports for utility performance comparison. The association also provides regulatory guidance documents, country fact sheets, and hosts the annual Africa WSS Regulators Conference. These products work together to support regulatory capacity building, knowledge sharing, and improved WSS service delivery across the continent.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• SaniTracker: An operator's tool for client service requests and delivery in sanitation services.
• Engage Platform
• WSS Regulation Training Centre

Products and services

• WSS Regulation Training Centre A dedicated training programme that delivers structured capacity-building courses to staff of national water supply and sanitation regulators in Africa; over 600 professionals have been trained.
• SaniTracker Platform A digital platform used by member regulators to monitor, track, and benchmark water and sanitation utility performance data.
• Engage Member Platform An online member collaboration platform that enables ESAWAS member regulators to share knowledge, coordinate peer reviews, and engage on joint regulatory work.
• Regional Benchmarking Reports Annual benchmarking publications that compare the performance of water supply and sanitation utilities and regulators across ESAWAS member countries.
• Africa WSS Regulators Conference The annual convening of African water supply and sanitation regulators hosted by ESAWAS, providing a forum for peer learning, policy dialogue, and member engagement.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 600 sector actors trained in WSS regulation through the Training Centre launched in 2024
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers15 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• African Ministers' Council on Water (AMCOW)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 25 September 2025Continental body co-convening the Africa Water & Sanitation Systems Leadership Symposium. AMCOW endorsed ESAWAS expansion to continental level following 2023 conference.
• African Water & Sanitation Association (AfWASA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerKey partnership for extending influence and informing work across Africa. AfWASA participates in Joint Working Groups for regulatory framework development.
• The International Benchmarking Network (NewIBNET)coreTechnology or IntegrationPartnership for hosting the Engage platform - digital networking community for ESAWAS regulators at connect.newibnet.org.
• International Water Association (IWA)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner5-year MoU signed December 2025 renewing earlier 3-year partnership. Successful collaboration on sanitation focus, technical trainings, and regulatory design input. ESAWAS participates in IWA Regulators Forum.
• Lisbon International Center for WaterminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerStrategic partnership established to support ESAWAS activities and extend global reach.
• Sanitation & Water For All (SWA)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerGlobal partnership for water and sanitation advocacy and coordination, supporting ESAWAS mission for effective WSS regulation.
• Water Integrity Network (WIN)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for promoting integrity in water and sanitation sector governance. WIN participates in Joint Working Groups for regulatory framework development.
• Water and Sanitation for the Urban Poor (WSUP)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMoU signed in 2018. Joint publication on sanitation regulation. WSUP participates in Joint Working Groups and Africa CWIS Network with ESAWAS leadership.
• African Forum for Utility Regulators (AFUR)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for training delivery and knowledge exchange. AFUR collaboration on 'Development of Regulatory Tools and Tariff Setting' training in Kigali.
• World Health Organisation-RegNetminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for regulatory knowledge and capacity building in water supply and sanitation regulation.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• International Benchmarking Network for Water and Sanitation Utilities (IBNET): Global water utility benchmarking network hosted as ESAWAS's Engage platform partner. Direct peer in producing comparative performance data for water utilities, though IBNET's scope is global benchmarking rather than regulatory association services.
• African Forum for Utility Regulators (AFUR): Continental forum of utility regulators covering electricity, water, and other utilities in Africa. Direct peer in regulatory capacity building, training delivery, and knowledge exchange across African regulators; ESAWAS partnership on tariff-setting training demonstrates peer-level overlap.
• African Water and Sanitation Association (AfWASA): Africa-wide association of water and sanitation utilities and operators, partnering with ESAWAS on Joint Working Groups. Directly comparable as a pan-African membership association for WSS sector actors, though focused on operators/utility side rather than the regulator side.

Broad incumbents

• WaterAid: Major international NGO focused on WASH access and advocacy. Comparable as a high-profile WSS non-profit with training and advocacy components, though focused on service delivery and campaigning rather than regulatory framework development.
• International Water Association (IWA): Global membership network for water professionals and a 5-year MoU strategic partner of ESAWAS. Comparable as the global convener of WSS regulatory dialogue (e.g., IWA Regulators Forum), but with a much broader utility, academic, and industrial remit beyond ESAWAS's regulatory niche.
• African Ministers' Council on Water (AMCOW): Continental policy body for African water ministers that co-convenes ESAWAS leadership events and endorses the continental expansion. Comparable as a pan-African WSS coordination body, but operating at the ministerial/policy level rather than the regulatory practitioner level.

Emerging players

• IRC WASH: International WASH knowledge and capacity-building NGO with a long-standing focus on sector systems strengthening. Comparable as a non-profit generating research, guidance, and training for WSS systems, though with stronger programmatic and country-presence orientation versus ESAWAS's regulatory association model.
• Sanitation and Water for All (SWA): Global partnership hosted by UNICEF that coordinates WSS sector finance and advocacy. Comparable in convening diverse WSS stakeholders and advocating for sector progress, but operating as a global partnership rather than a regional association.
• Water and Sanitation for the Urban Poor (WSUP): Non-profit focused on WSS service delivery in low-income urban areas and 2018 MoU partner of ESAWAS. Comparable in joint publications and Joint Working Group participation on sanitation regulation, but operating primarily as an implementing NGO rather than a regulatory association.

Others

• Global Water Operators' Partnerships Alliance (GWOPA): UN-Habitat-hosted alliance supporting peer-to-peer capacity exchange among water operators. Comparable as a global WSS capacity-building platform, though focused on utility operators rather than the regulatory community ESAWAS primarily serves.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks1 record

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/ESAWASreg
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@ESAWASRegulators
• Facebookfacebook.com/ESAWASreg
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/esawas

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about ESAWAS regulators association