Institut Méditerranéen de l'Eau (IME)

What Institut Méditerranéen de l'Eau (IME) does

Institut Méditerranéen de l'Eau (IME) is a Marseille-based institutional and professional non-governmental organization founded in 1994 that functions as a convening and knowledge network for the Mediterranean water sector. It serves water utilities, government ministries, regulators, multilateral organizations, and civil society across the north, south, and east shores of the Mediterranean plus the Balkans, providing a coordinated regional platform for cooperation on integrated water resource management, climate adaptation, and drought response.

IME's core products are knowledge and convening services rather than proprietary technology. The flagship is the Forum Méditerranéen de l'Eau, a triennial regional event initiated by IME in 2011 that has been held in Marrakech (2011), Murcia (2014), Cairo (2018), Malta (2021), and Tunis (2024), with a Euro-Mediterranean edition scheduled for Rome in 2026. Complementary outputs include the monthly INF'EAU PANORAMA press review, periodic expert webinars, methodological guides (e.g., on treated wastewater reuse for agriculture), feasibility studies for international observatories and public-private partnerships, technical assistance missions contracted by multilateral donors, and annual activity reports.

Revenue is generated through a hybrid model combining recurring membership fees from institutional and professional members across the Mediterranean with project-based technical assistance and consulting contracts funded by international financial institutions such as the Inter-American Development Bank and water agencies like Agence de l'eau Rhône Méditerranée Corse. Since July 2025, IME has been hosted at Centrale Méditerranée engineering school, embedding the organization within applied research and engineering talent pipelines.

Name

Institut Méditerranéen de l'Eau (IME)

Legal name

Institut Méditerranéen de l'Eau

Website

https://ime-eau.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1994

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

IME is a Marseille-based institutional NGO founded in 1994 that operates as the premier convening network for Mediterranean water sector professionals, organizing triennial forums, monthly webinars, technical studies, and donor-funded technical assistance missions for utilities, ministries, and multilateral partners.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Water Resource Management Services

NAICS

International Affairs (92812)

SIC

International Affairs (9721), Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Economic Research, Statistics & Policy Advisory (BPADAMAJ)

Keywords

• Water resource management
• Technical assistance missions
• Professional networking events
• Environmental knowledge sharing
• Water sector publications

Headquarters

HQ city

Marseille

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership fees: IME generates revenue through membership fees from institutional and professional members including water utilities, government bodies, and private sector entities across the Mediterranean region.
2. Technical assistance and consulting services: IME conducts technical assistance missions contracted by international organizations such as the Inter-American Development Bank (BID), providing Mediterranean expertise to water operators in other regions. Study conclusions are presented at international forums.

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

The Institut Méditerranéen de l'Eau (IME) is a Marseille-based non-profit NGO that serves as a pan-Mediterranean network for reflection, studies, and exchanges on water management. Its core offerings include the triennial Mediterranean Water Forum (Forum Méditerranéen de l'Eau), the monthly press review INF'EAU PANORAMA, periodic webinars, on-demand technical assistance missions, and the annual Activity Report.

Product overview

Institut Méditerranéen de l'Eau (IME) is an institutional and professional NGO functioning as a network for reflection, studies, and exchanges on fundamental water issues in the Mediterranean basin. Rather than a unified software product, IME's portfolio consists of programs and services centered around the Forum Méditerranéen de l'Eau (Mediterranean Water Forum) - a triennial regional event - along with publications including the monthly INF'EAU PANORAMA press review, periodic webinars, technical assistance missions, methodological guides, feasibility studies, and annual activity reports. Since July 2025, IME's offices have been hosted at Centrale Méditerranée engineering school, further strengthening its academic and research collaboration activities.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Forum Méditerranéen de l'Eau (Mediterranean Water Forum) Triennial flagship event that brings together water utilities, public administrations, international organizations, researchers, and private-sector actors from across the Mediterranean to discuss water management priorities and showcase initiatives.
• INF'EAU PANORAMA Monthly press review and knowledge product that synthesizes water-sector news and developments from across the Mediterranean for members and partners.
• Technical Assistance Missions On-demand consulting-style technical assistance missions delivered by IME to public, international, and partner organizations on Mediterranean water-management topics.
• Periodic Webinars Recurring webinar series enabling remote participation, expert exchanges, and capacity-building for the Mediterranean water-sector network.
• Annual Activity Report (Rapport d'Activité) Annual institutional report summarizing IME's activities, outputs, and member/partner engagements over the year.
• IME Membership (Adhésion à l'IME) Membership programme that gives organizations and individuals access to IME's network, publications, events, and Mediterranean Water Forum participation.

Quantifiable outcome

• The Mediterranean presents itself as a hub for innovative water management solutions developed locally to meet regional climate challenges
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

15 partnerships are on record, tiered core, flagship and minor.

• Union for the Méditerranée (UpM) SecretariatcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 29 September 2026IME and the UpM Secretariat jointly organize the Euro-Mediterranean Water Forum, with the 6th edition scheduled for Rome 2026. The Union for the Mediterranean's Water Agenda provides the integrated implementation framework that IME's work supports and contributes to.
• One Water Committee ItalyflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 29 September 2026One Water Committee Italy co-organizes the 6th Euro-Mediterranean Water Forum with IME and the Union for the Méditerranée in Rome 2026, representing the Italian water sector coordination in this flagship regional event.
• Centrale Méditerranée (Central Marseille School of Engineering)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 July 2025Since July 2025, IME offices are hosted at Centrale Méditerranée. The partnership enables synergy between engineering students and IME members/experts, joint projects for sustainable solutions, participation in forums, and access to European and regional project funding opportunities.
• ONAS Tunisia (Office National de l'Assainissement)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025ONAS collaborates with IME on a feasibility study for PPP on treated wastewater reuse for agriculture in Tunisia. The partnership is part of a broader initiative with the Tunisian Ministry of Agriculture, funded by Agence de l'eau RMC.
• FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023FAO and IME co-organized an expert round table in March 2023 in Rome on desalination solutions for agricultural development. IME produced a background document analyzing perspectives and challenges of desalination for irrigation in the context of climate change and food security.
• World Water CouncilcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021The World Water Council's Governors selected IME to conduct a feasibility study for an International Observatory on Non-Conventional Water Resources and Associated Renewable Energies in the Mediterranean-Sahel pilot zone. IME was chosen for its regional water expertise and network capabilities.
• GWP-Med (Global Water Partnership Mediterranean)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2011IME collaborates with GWP-Med as co-coordinators of the Mediterranean Regional Process for the World Water Forum. The partnership enables coordinated Mediterranean participation in global water forums and joint thematic working groups.
• ANEAS (Asociación Nacional de Entidades de Agua y Saneamiento de México)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Mexican National Association of Water and Sanitation Entities partnered with IME during the BID technical assistance mission, with IME's mission results published in the ANEAS journal in September 2025.
• Société du Canal de ProvencecoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerExperts from Société du Canal de Provence collaborated with IME on technical assistance for pilot perimeters of treated wastewater reuse in Tunisia, providing specialized engineering expertise alongside IME coordination.
• Société des Eaux de MarseillecoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerSociété des Eaux de Marseille participated in IME's technical cooperation mission in Tunisia, contributing operational water utility expertise to the treated wastewater reuse project with support from Sud Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Region.
• RADEEL (Morocco)coreTechnology or IntegrationRADEEL, a Moroccan water utility, was selected as one of four IME member services to share Mediterranean best practices with Mexican water operators during the BID technical mission, recognized for operational excellence in water management.
• RAK (Morocco)coreTechnology or IntegrationThe Regional Water Distribution Company of Kénitra (RAK) participated in IME-organized Mediterranean experience sharing, presenting innovations developed in Morocco to improve water systems in drought contexts for Mexican water operators.
• Aigües de Sabadell (Spain)coreTechnology or IntegrationAigües de Sabadell, a Spanish water service recognized for excellence, contributed Mediterranean innovations and technical expertise to IME's technical assistance mission in Mexico under the BID program.
• Aguas de Murcia (Spain)coreTechnology or IntegrationAguas de Murcia, the Murcia water utility, participated in IME's knowledge sharing mission to Mexico, providing expertise on water system improvements and operational innovations applicable to drought-affected regions.
• Plan BleuminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerIME collaborated with Plan Bleu on the 'State of Water Management in the Mediterranean' study under the EU Co-Evolve project, analyzing water availability and quality across Mediterranean tourism coastal zones.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• World Water Council: The global convening body for the World Water Forum, with which IME coordinates the Mediterranean regional process. Both operate as international policy-advisory networks organizing multi-stakeholder forums on water governance.
• GWP-Med (Global Water Partnership - Mediterranean): Co-coordinator with IME of the Mediterranean Regional Process for the World Water Forum. GWP-Med operates the same stakeholder ecosystem (water utilities, ministries, donors) across the same Mediterranean geography, making it the most directly comparable peer.

Peers

• Plan Bleu: Mediterranean environmental think tank focused on sustainable development, also a UfM-linked entity. Plan Bleu collaborates with IME on Mediterranean water-environment studies (e.g., EU Co-Evolve) and competes for similar donor funding pools.
• UN-Water: UN coordination mechanism on freshwater and sanitation that influences global water policy. Broader and better-resourced than IME, but operating in the same international water governance and policy-advisory space.
• MedCities: Network of Mediterranean cities working on sustainable urban development including water-related topics. Operates the same Mediterranean multi-country convening model aimed at sub-national water-and-climate practitioners.
• CIHEAM (International Centre for Advanced Mediterranean Agronomic Studies): Intergovernmental Mediterranean organization with overlapping stakeholder geography and a water–agriculture nexus focus. CIHEAM and IME both serve North–South Mediterranean cooperation with overlapping member-state institutions.
• AFED (Arab Forum for Environment and Development): Regional environmental network publishing flagship reports and convening stakeholders in the Arab region — IME's southern Mediterranean member base. Both operate as research-and-convening NGOs with regional rather than global mandates.
• Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) Secretariat: Intergovernmental organization convening Euro-Mediterranean cooperation including on water. UfM is both a partner (co-organizer of Rome 2026) and a benchmark for intergovernmental convening capacity that IME's work contributes to.
• EMWIS (Euro-Mediterranean Water Information System): Mediterranean knowledge and information network on water resources operated under the UfM framework. EMWIS provides data and information services to the same stakeholder base IME convenes, making it a directly comparable regional knowledge-network peer.
• International Water Association (IWA): Global membership-based network of water professionals publishing research, organizing conferences, and convening practitioner communities. IWA's membership-network model and water-expert convening role are closely analogous to IME's regional scope.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCE3g3AFhNseJAR9UvXA_-fg
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/institut-m%C3%A9diterran%C3%A9en-de-l'eau-ime-

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Institut Méditerranéen de l'Eau (IME)