Blue Deal
Blue Deal is a Dutch government-funded international water management partnership programme operated by the 21 Dutch regional water authorities. It supports water authorities in 15 countries through knowledge exchange, capacity building, training, and technical assistance, with a 2030 goal of improving water access for 20 million people.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2019
- HeadquartersThe Hague, Netherlands
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Blue Deal does
Blue Deal is a Dutch government-funded international water management partnership programme, not a commercial enterprise. It is operated by Dutch Water Authorities (Unie van Waterschappen), the umbrella organisation representing 21 regional water authorities in the Netherlands, in cooperation with the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management. Founded in 2019, the programme maintains long-term bilateral partnerships (structured through 2030) with national and regional water management authorities in 15 countries spanning Latin America, Africa, the Middle East, Southeast Asia, and Eastern Europe, with a stated goal of improving water access for 20 million people. Its "products" are structured knowledge-exchange and capacity-building offerings rather than commercial software or hardware: the Young Expert Programme (YEP), country-specific training pools (GIS, asset management), the W-Flow hydrological modelling tool, Decision Support Systems deployed in Romania, nature-based solutions for coastal and water resilience, and the BluElephant mobile decentralized wastewater recycling units.
The underlying technology portfolio is conventional: GIS platforms, hydrological modelling, remote monitoring (HydroNET), decision support software, and IoT-enabled wastewater treatment hardware. Blue Deal derives its competitive positioning from the institutional credibility and operational track record of Dutch water management — a model dating to the 13th century, managing 18,000 km of flood defenses, 235,000 km of watercourses, 3,700+ pumping stations, and 2 billion cubic meters of annual wastewater purification — and from its alignment with multilateral institutions including the World Bank, UNDP, EU-WOP/GWOPA/UN-Habitat, and GIZ.
Blue Deal generates no commercial revenue. Its funding flows consist of grants and inter-governmental transfers from Dutch ministries, supplementary multilateral development funding, and contributions from Dutch regional water authorities. The programme does not charge partner countries for services; instead, it operates as a government-to-government development cooperation initiative distributing knowledge, expertise, and technical assistance through expert exchanges, training programmes, working visits, and pilot projects.
Blue Deal firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Blue Deal
- Legal name
- Unie van Waterschappen
- Website
- https://dutchwaterauthorities.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2019
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Blue Deal is a Dutch government-funded international water management partnership programme operated by the 21 Dutch regional water authorities. It supports water authorities in 15 countries through knowledge exchange, capacity building, training, and technical assistance, with a 2030 goal of improving water access for 20 million people.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Blue Deal industry classification
Industry- Product category
- International Water Management Services
- SIC
- International Affairs (9721)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Water Resources, WASH & Integrated Water Management (BPADALAH)
Keywords
Where Blue Deal is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- The Hague
- HQ country
- Netherlands
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
Blue Deal business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others
Revenue model
- Development Cooperation Funding: Blue Deal is funded by the Dutch government through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management, combined with contributions from Dutch regional water authorities. The programme provides development assistance and knowledge exchange without commercial revenue generation.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels7 records
Blue Deal product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Blue Deal is an international cooperation programme run by the Dutch Water Authorities (Unie van Waterschappen) under the Partners for Water framework. It facilitates knowledge exchange and capacity building between Dutch water authorities and partner water institutions in 15 partner countries across Africa, Asia, Latin America, and Eastern Europe, focused on water security, climate adaptation, and integrated water resource management.
Product overview
Blue Deal is a unified international partnership programme — not a multi-module platform — operated by Dutch Water Authorities in collaboration with the Dutch ministries of Foreign Affairs and Infrastructure and Water Management. It consists of long-term partnerships (until 2030) with water management organisations in 15 countries, structured around knowledge exchange, capacity building, and technical assistance. The core programme is complemented by specific initiatives including the Young Expert Programme (YEP) for professional development, the BluElephants wastewater recycling units for decentralised purification, GIS and asset management training pools, the W-Flow hydrological modelling tool, and Decision Support Systems for institutional strengthening. These components operate together under the Blue Deal umbrella, each addressing different aspects of sustainable water management from operational training to technology deployment.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Blue Dragon: Local name for the Blue Deal partnership in Vietnam, named after the local name for the dragon in Vietnamese culture. Includes Blue Dragon Academy, Accelerator and Community providing local courses for trainers, scope for scaling up and knowledge sharing.
Products and services
- Blue Deal Programme
- Young Expert Programme (YEP)
- BluElephants Platform
- Regional Water Conferences
- Blue Dragon Academy
Companies that use Blue Deal
Customer profileNamed customers9 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles1 record
Blue Deal technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature5 records
Blue Deal partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
20 partnerships are on record, tiered major, core and strategic.
- EU Water Operators' Partnerships (EU-WOP) ProgrammemajorEU-funded programme managed by GWOPA/UN-Habitat that awarded the Sustainable WOP Peru partnership. Blue Deal Peru's experience and trust built foundation for new EU-WOP programme continuing until 2030.
- Indonesia Ministry of Public Works and HousingmajorPartnership with Indonesia focusing on flood management and flood safety in three areas: Tangerang, Semarang and Pekalongan, with emphasis on Integrated Water Resources Management.
- World BankmajorCooperation agreement with World Bank focusing on flood defence infrastructure in Romania. World Bank is enthusiastic about strengthening institutional and financial water management and sees this as necessary for overseeing its infrastructural projects.
- Dutch Ministry of Foreign AffairscoreCo-funding partner of the Blue Deal programme alongside the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management. Provides the primary government funding for international water management partnerships.
- Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure and Water ManagementcoreCo-funding partner of the Blue Deal programme providing government backing and policy alignment for international water cooperation initiatives.
- 21 Dutch Regional Water AuthoritiescoreThe collective of 21 Dutch regional water authorities forming the backbone of the Blue Deal programme, contributing expertise, professionals, and operational experience in water management.
- Can Tho UniversitymajorVietnamese university partnership for GIS training programmes in the Mekong Delta, cooperating on agriculture and water management training with all provinces participating.
- Embassy of Peru in the NetherlandsstrategicActs as strategic partner and promoter of the Sustainable WOP Peru programme, recognizing the experience and work of Dutch water authorities.
- Young Expert Programme (YEP)majorProgramme deploying young professionals from partner countries and the Netherlands to support water experts locally. Provides continuity and local expertise in Blue Deal partnerships across multiple countries.
- World WaternetmajorImplements Blue Deal activities on behalf of Dutch water authority Amstel, Gooi en Vecht, including work in conflict regions like the Palestinian Territories.
- EU Interreg Interlink Hard ProjectstrategicEU Interreg project with total budget of €3.5 million focusing on river and ecosystem restoration in Romania's Jiu Valley. Dutch Water Authorities is an associate partner.
- WaterWorxmajorWater operators' partnership programme cooperating with Blue Deal on initiatives like the BluElephant wastewater recycling units pilot in the Palestinian Territories.
- UN-Habitat / GWOPAmajorGlobal Water Operators' Partnerships Alliance managed by UN-Habitat, running the EU-WOP Programme that awarded partnerships based on Blue Deal experience.
- GIZstrategicGerman development agency engaged in Mali partnership, strengthening the international cooperation network around the Blue Deal programme.
- National Water Authority (ANA) - PerumajorPeru's national water authority collaborating through CRHC Chira-Piura and CRHC Tumbes regional committees for water governance improvement.
- uMngeni Ecological Infrastructure Partnership (UEIP)strategicPartnership connecting stakeholders for catchment management and water resource challenge discussions in South Africa's KwaZulu-Natal region.
- World Water AcademystrategicDutch knowledge institution supporting women's empowerment initiatives in the South African water sector through digital platform facilitation.
- ARA-Sul IP (Mozambique)majorAdministração Regional de Águas do Sul - Mozambique's regional water authority collaborating on water security, allocation and quality programmes.
- JRBA (Eswatini)majorJoint River Basin Authorities Project Board in Eswatini working on transboundary water management cooperation with Mozambique.
- Inkomati-Usuthu Catchment Management Agency (IUCMA)majorSouth African agency managing shared water resources in the Inkomati-Usuthu basin, participating in REMCO transboundary cooperation.
Scale indicators7 records
Recent moves5 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Blue Deal competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- SNV (Netherlands Development Organisation): Dutch development organisation working on WASH, water resources management, and climate adaptation across Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Shares the Dutch international cooperation footprint and WASH governance mandate with Blue Deal.
- GIZ (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit): German development agency explicitly engaged as a strategic partner in Blue Deal's Mali partnership. Runs comparable bilateral water management and WASH capacity-building programmes worldwide under a similar government-funded development cooperation model.
- Netherlands Water Partnership (NWP): Dutch umbrella organisation coordinating the Dutch water sector internationally; NWP's NWB Fund co-financed Blue Deal Ghana. Operates with the same Dutch water expertise-export mandate and government-to-government delivery model.
- WaterWorx: Dutch water operators' partnership programme that directly collaborates with Blue Deal (e.g., on BluElephant pilots in the Palestinian Territories). Both run government-backed peer-to-peer capacity building between Dutch water utilities and international partners.
- World Bank Water Global Practice: Active cooperation partner with Blue Deal on flood defence in Romania. Funds and implements large-scale water infrastructure, governance reform, and institutional capacity building in many of the same partner countries.
- UN-Habitat / GWOPA (Global Water Operators' Partnerships Alliance): UN-Habitat-managed alliance running the EU-WOP Programme that awarded partnerships to Blue Deal. Operates the same water operators' partnership model globally with multilateral funding and similar peer-to-peer capacity-building methodology.
- UNDP Water and Ocean Governance Programme: UNDP has mobilised co-funding for Blue Deal (Mali partnership) and runs parallel integrated water resources management and governance programmes globally, with the same SDG-6 alignment and government-capacity-building methodology.
Emerging players
- IRC WASH (International Rescue Committee): Operates WASH capacity-building and emergency water services in fragile and conflict-affected states including several of Blue Deal's partner countries (Ethiopia, Burkina Faso, Mali), with overlapping institutional resilience and water-system rehabilitation goals.
- WaterAid: International NGO focused on WASH access in low-income countries; operates across many of Blue Deal's geographies with similar water governance, sanitation, and capacity-building objectives, though with an advocacy/fundraising model rather than government-to-government delivery.
Broad incumbents
- USAID Water Resources and Sanitation Programs: Largest single bilateral water-sector funder globally, with comparable WASH, water governance, and integrated water resource management programmes in many of Blue Deal's partner countries, but operating at much greater scale with a US policy mandate.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Blue Deal social profiles
Digital presenceBlue Deal financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Blue Deal leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Blue Deal funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Blue Deal M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Blue Deal
What does Blue Deal do?
Blue Deal is an international cooperation programme run by the Dutch Water Authorities (Unie van Waterschappen) under the Partners for Water framework. It facilitates knowledge exchange and capacity building between Dutch water authorities and partner water institutions in 15 partner countries across Africa, Asia, Latin America, and Eastern Europe, focused on water security, climate adaptation, and integrated water resource management.
Is Blue Deal a public or private company?
Blue Deal is a private company. It is classified as state government owned and is currently operating.
When was Blue Deal founded?
Blue Deal was founded in 2019. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Blue Deal based?
Blue Deal is headquartered in The Hague, Netherlands, in the Europe region.
How does Blue Deal make money?
One revenue line is on record: development Cooperation Funding.
Who are Blue Deal's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are SNV (Netherlands Development Organisation), GIZ (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit), Netherlands Water Partnership (NWP), WaterWorx, World Bank Water Global Practice, UN-Habitat / GWOPA (Global Water Operators' Partnerships Alliance) and UNDP Water and Ocean Governance Programme. Emerging players are IRC WASH (International Rescue Committee) and WaterAid. USAID Water Resources and Sanitation Programs is listed as a broad incumbent.
Does Blue Deal have an API?
No public API is recorded for Blue Deal.
What industry is Blue Deal in?
Blue Deal's product category is International Water Management Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPADALAH, Water Resources, WASH & Integrated Water Management. Its SIC code is 9721.