The International Water Management Institute (IWMI) and the Ethiopian Solar Energy Development Association (ESEDA) signed a three-year Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), on November 21, 2025, to advance solar-powered irrigation systems in Ethiopia. The partnership brings together IWMI’s research-for-development expertise and ESEDA, an independent non-profit association linking private-sector and policy networks. It aims to strengthen the enabling environment for solar energy applications in agriculture, particularly solar-powered irrigation.
The agreement is part of the Solar Energy for Agricultural Resilience (SoLAR) project. Led by IWMI and supported by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), the SoLAR project aims to unlock investments to scale solar energy solutions for agriculture. Now in its second phase, SoLAR operates across India and Bangladesh, in South Asia, and Ethiopia and Kenya in East Africa.
Agriculture is a major driver of Ethiopia’s economy, and solar irrigation is increasingly seen as a viable option to support rural livelihoods. Ethiopia’s entry into SoLAR comes as the country accelerates efforts to expand clean irrigation.
Through this new partnership, IWMI and ESEDA are working to integrate solar energy into national programs. They will test gender-inclusive financing models and generate on-field evidence through pilot demonstrations. IWMI researchers will also introduce knowledge-sharing platforms to improve food security and advance climate adaptation.
“By aligning with the SoLAR project’s approach to enabling environments, market development and investment support, we aim to expand farmers’ access to efficient solar irrigation technologies while contributing to long-term water and energy security,” said Abdulkarim Seid, IWMI country representative for Ethiopia and regional representative for East Africa, highlighting the partnership’s role in strengthening ties between research institutions and the private sector.
IWMI and ESEDA are also collaborating research on integrating solar technologies into water resource management. The focus is on innovations in climate-resilient agriculture and efficient irrigation systems. The partnership will also facilitate knowledge exchange through training and capacity-building for farmers, technicians and policymakers, strengthening awareness and adoption of best practices in solar-powered irrigation.
The Country Project Management Committee (CPMC), of which ESEDA is a member, is a national-level coordination body established under IWMI’s SoLAR project. The CPMC guides implementation, ensures alignment with government priorities and facilitates coordination among key stakeholders, including public institutions, research organizations and private sector actors in Ethiopia. A key component of this collaboration is private sector engagement. IWMI and ESEDA are working together to forge partnerships with private sector actors and pilot Public–Private Partnership (PPP) business models.
These pilots aim to demonstrate the economic viability of solar-powered irrigation solutions and help unlock investment for scaling access to climate-resilient and solar-powered irrigation solutions.
