Blue Deal

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.

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

Product category

International Water Management Services

SIC

International Affairs (9721)

akta.pro primary industry

Water Resources, WASH & Integrated Water Management (BPADALAH)

Keywords

• International water management
• Water governance partnerships
• Capacity building programmes
• Wastewater treatment solutions
• Flood risk management

Headquarters

HQ city

The Hague

HQ country

Netherlands

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. 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

Core 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

Named customers9 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

20 partnerships are on record, tiered major, core and strategic.

• EU Water Operators' Partnerships (EU-WOP) ProgrammemajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2026EU-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 HousingmajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023Partnership with Indonesia focusing on flood management and flood safety in three areas: Tangerang, Semarang and Pekalongan, with emphasis on Integrated Water Resources Management.
• World BankmajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2020Cooperation 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 AffairscoreOthersCo-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 ManagementcoreOthersCo-funding partner of the Blue Deal programme providing government backing and policy alignment for international water cooperation initiatives.
• 21 Dutch Regional Water AuthoritiescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe 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 UniversitymajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerVietnamese 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 NetherlandsstrategicGTM or Marketing PartnerActs as strategic partner and promoter of the Sustainable WOP Peru programme, recognizing the experience and work of Dutch water authorities.
• Young Expert Programme (YEP)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerProgramme 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 WaternetmajorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerImplements 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 ProjectstrategicStrategic or Co-development PartnerEU 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.
• WaterWorxmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerWater operators' partnership programme cooperating with Blue Deal on initiatives like the BluElephant wastewater recycling units pilot in the Palestinian Territories.
• UN-Habitat / GWOPAmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerGlobal Water Operators' Partnerships Alliance managed by UN-Habitat, running the EU-WOP Programme that awarded partnerships based on Blue Deal experience.
• GIZstrategicStrategic or Co-development PartnerGerman development agency engaged in Mali partnership, strengthening the international cooperation network around the Blue Deal programme.
• National Water Authority (ANA) - PerumajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPeru's national water authority collaborating through CRHC Chira-Piura and CRHC Tumbes regional committees for water governance improvement.
• uMngeni Ecological Infrastructure Partnership (UEIP)strategicStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership connecting stakeholders for catchment management and water resource challenge discussions in South Africa's KwaZulu-Natal region.
• World Water AcademystrategicStrategic or Co-development PartnerDutch knowledge institution supporting women's empowerment initiatives in the South African water sector through digital platform facilitation.
• ARA-Sul IP (Mozambique)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAdministração Regional de Águas do Sul - Mozambique's regional water authority collaborating on water security, allocation and quality programmes.
• JRBA (Eswatini)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint River Basin Authorities Project Board in Eswatini working on transboundary water management cooperation with Mozambique.
• Inkomati-Usuthu Catchment Management Agency (IUCMA)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSouth 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

Direct 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

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@uvwvideokanaal
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/blue-deal-water

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Blue Deal