Mohamed bin Zayed Water Initiative partners with World Economic Forum to accelerate innovation across global water ecosystem

The Mohamed bin Zayed Water Initiative and the World Economic Forum have signed a partnership agreement to advance water innovation and strengthen the enabling conditions needed for practical water solutions to move more rapidly toward adoption and deployment.

The partnership brings together The Mohamed bin Zayed Water Initiative’s focus on accelerating innovation, supporting real-world deployment, and elevating water as a global priority with the World Economic Forum’s reach and ability to bring together leaders across government, industry, finance, and civil society.

At the centre of the collaboration is a shared ambition to help close a persistent gap in the global water ecosystem: the pathways between solutions and the policies, financing, market demand and partnerships required for them to scale.

Through the partnership, the organisations will work together to accelerate and scale water innovation and articulate pathways for the effective adoption of solutions, helping them reach the people and markets that need them.

They will develop resources to share knowledge and expertise, support investments, and bring together leaders and stakeholders who can help turn ideas into action. The partnership will also use major international water conferences and forums to strengthen collaboration and drive progress on innovation, investment, and implementation.

His Excellency Khaldoon Khalifa Al Mubarak, Vice-Chairman of The Mohamed bin Zayed Water Initiative, said: “Water is a key pillar of development, prosperity, and resilience. The UAE has established a long-term approach to addressing water scarcity challenges based on strategic planning, innovation, and partnership building.

As these challenges grow with their implications on economies, societies, and future generations expanding globally, uniting efforts and accelerating the development and adoption of practical solutions become essential.

The Mohamed bin Zayed Water Initiative’s partnership with the World Economic Forum reinforces this approach and contributes to accelerating the development and adoption of practical solutions to address global water scarcity challenges.

” Ayesha Al Ateeqi, Chief Executive Officer of The Mohamed bin Zayed Water Initiative, added: “Water scarcity is a shared global challenge that requires innovators, policymakers, industry, and investors to move together. Through our partnership with the World Economic Forum, The Mohamed bin Zayed Water Initiative aims to strengthen the pathways that connect promising solutions with the capital, policy environments, markets, and partners needed to achieve impact at scale.

By combining our respective strengths and networks, we can help accelerate practical action and support a more coordinated international response to water scarcity.

Larry Fink, Co-Chair, World Economic Forum, contributed: “Water scarcity is a global challenge that will require greater investment, innovation, and partnership. The Mohamed bin Zayed Water Initiative is doing important work to advance practical solutions, and this partnership can draw on the World Economic Forum’s convening power to bring together leaders across business, government, and finance around this critical issue.

” Sebastian Buckup, Managing Director, World Economic Forum, said: “Water underpins almost every challenge we discuss at the Forum — energy, food, industry and urban development, yet it remains one of the most under-resourced and under-invested areas of the global agenda.

This two-year partnership with the Mohamed bin Zayed Water Initiative reflects a shared recognition that water innovation encompasses not just technology but also depends on bolder leadership, widespread knowledge sharing, and new approaches to shaping an environment that integrates financing, policy, market development, and cross-sector collaboration.

” The partnership, which will run through September 2028, reflects a shared recognition that water innovation encompasses more than technology alone. Progress at scale also depends on new approaches to financing, policy, market development, and cross-sector collaboration, alongside the exchange of knowledge and expertise on policies and enabling environments that foster innovation.

Together, these efforts can help reduce barriers to adoption and create stronger conditions for solutions to achieve wider deployment and impact.