Water systems are under increasing strain in every corner of the globe. Within Africa, rapid population growth, severe droughts and floods, and uneven water distribution are placing new demands on fragile infrastructure. Fragmented institutional policies and responsibilities further complicate efforts to manage water reliably and equitably.
These challenges are compounded by a persistent lack of reliable and up-to-date water and climate data due to limited monitoring frameworks and tools. This makes it difficult for governments to plan investments, respond to unpredictable climate extremes or resolve competing water demands. In this context, digital innovation offers creative avenues towards sustainable water management.
A changing landscape for water management
From October 21-23, 2025, experts from across Africa convened alongside international partners at ‘Digital solutions for water management: a pan-African symposium’ in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, with a shared sense of urgency and possibility. A central message emerged: digital data and technology are key pathways to build a water-secure Africa.
Building on decades of technical expertise, the International Water Management Institute (IWMI) and Digital Earth Africa (DE Africa), the symposium’s co-conveners, presented a suite of tools and products that blend earth observation data, hydrological models, AI and advanced analytics. Through the Digital Innovations for Water Secure Africa (DIWASA) initiative, IWMI and DE Africa are equipping national institutions with the digital assets to better understand, manage and safeguard their water resources.
“Digital Earth Africa has become the cornerstone for Africa’s digital transformation, turning decades of earth observation data into accessible, regionally calibrated information that supports governments, researchers and businesses to manage water and land resources,” said Rachael McDonnell, IWMI’s deputy director general.
Supported by the Helmsley Charitable Trust, DIWASA demonstrates how digital innovation, paired with strong partnerships, is reshaping Africa’s water landscape and tackling some of its most pressing challenges.
Digital tools for river basins
A wave of new technologies — from the Internet of Things and satellite imagery to drones, cloud platforms and AI-driven analytics — is fundamentally transforming how water is monitored and managed. While sharing insights at the symposium, Nagaraja Harshadeep, the global lead for disruptive technology at the World Bank, said, “modern innovations are disrupting the data value chain and generating high-quality information at a scale and frequency once unimaginable.”
This advancing technological capability allows experts to simulate scenarios, enhance monitoring and even build digital twins of river basins — virtual replicas that mirror real-world systems. Planners and policymakers use these models to explore solutions, optimize operations and assess risks in both real and near-real time.
IWMI is applying AI to reimagine how water is understood, governed and shared. For example, the Limpopo Digital Twin developed by IWMI and the Limpopo Watercourse Commission using DE Africa data, provides a near-real-time view of one of Africa’s major shared rivers. The Digital Twin supports enhanced cooperation and sustainable management across Botswana, Mozambique, South Africa and Zimbabwe. It also integrates citizen science, ensuring local perspectives shape management outcomes.
Turning data into smart decisions
Building on decades of technical expertise, at the pan-African symposium, IWMI researchers presented a suite of DIWASA digital products that blend earth observation data, hydrological models, AI and advanced analytics. Together, these tools address critical data gaps and help strengthen water and food security across the continent.
One of the flagship products is an agricultural water-use dataset that offers consumption estimates for irrigated and rainfed crops across Africa. Another is water account datasets on supply, demand, use and accessibility that are tailor-made to end-user needs and cover the entire sub-Saharan Africa from 2001 to 2021. They have been used in Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya and Zambia to support specific irrigation water management decisions.
Beyond regional datasets, IWMI and DE Africa have collaborated closely with governments to tailor digital platforms to local water challenges. A compelling example is a dashboard co-developed with Burkina Faso’s Ministry of Environment, Water and Sanitation to help resolve water-use conflicts in the Nakanbé Moyen Sub-Basin. In Ethiopia and Ghana, digital tools have been customized to support aging irrigation schemes, while in Zambia they are helping mediate disagreements between water users and a government authority over water allocations.
Another highlight of the symposium was the launch of IWMI Africa Geoportal — developed in partnership with DE Africa, the Environmental Systems Research Institute (ESRI) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations – that serves as the primary platform for DIWASA’s water data products.
Designed as an intuitive, open-access gateway to Africa’s most advanced water data, this geoportal transforms complex datasets into interactive dashboards, maps, storyboards and applications — “decades of data are now accessible with just a few clicks,” according to Kenneth Mubea, capacity development lead at DE Africa. The geoportal serves as a comprehensive decision-support system for policymakers, researchers and development partners.
IWMI is scaling impact across national, regional and global levels while also advocating for responsible, ethical AI use to shape policies that ensure equity, local capacity building, privacy safeguards and cybersecurity as Africa accelerates its digital transformation.
Shaping a water-secure future for Africa
As decisions on water grow more complex and urgent across Africa, the rapidly expanding ecosystem of digital tools and cross-sectoral partnerships are shifting water management from reactive to proactive, allowing long-term planning.
IWMI, DE Africa and partners are demonstrating that technology can bridge the gap between data and decision-making for innovative water solutions to reach the people who need them most.
“Together with partners, we are enabling African decision-makers to use digital data tools not just for analysis, but for action,” McDonnell explained. “This will ensure thousands more can access the data they want, when they want it.”
