"The Sub-Saharan region, which covers 24.3 million square kilometers and includes 49 countries, is home to around 1.2 billion people. The area's geography — especially when it comes to water — is super diverse. But what most of the region has in common is limited access to clean drinking water and poor sanitation. That means there's a huge need for infrastructure development, which also creates serious opportunities for the Hungarian water sector companies.
With that in mind, the HWP is paying more and more attention to Sub-Saharan Africa in recent years. The first steps in the region came thanks to several successful projects by some member companies, and also by making good use of the international professional network of the organization’s president, Dr. Károly Kovács.
In its work HWP relies heavily on the partnership with the African Water and Sanitation Association (AfWASA), a pan-African professional organization. AfWASA's main job is to coordinate water production and supply, and sanitation-related know-how across Africa — from technical, legal, administrative, and economic angles. It also focuses on finding and promoting the latest innovations, encouraging information exchange, and organizing professional training programs. Its members include both African and non-African utility companies, asset managers, public health organizations, regulatory bodies, private service providers, NGOs, researchers, educators, and even policymakers.
HWP’s professional relationship with AfWASA has been growing fast. Some key milestones:
- In February 2023, HWP President Dr. Károly Kovács gave a presentation at AfWASA’s annual conference in Abidjan.
- In March, AfWASA’s president joined HWP’s panel discussion in New York, held alongside the UN Water Conference.
- As former president of the European Water Association (EWA), Károly also helped prepare a cooperation agreement between AfWASA and EWA — which was signed during the same New York event.
- Since April 2024, HWP has officially been a member of AfWASA.
- In December 2023, AfWASA’s president attended HWP’s workshop at the International Water Association (IWA) conference in Kigali, Rwanda.
- In a major recognition of cross-continental collaboration, AfWASA appointed HWP’s president to its Strategic Committee in April 2024. With a two-year mandate, Dr. Kovács is contributing his wide-ranging expertise and experience, as well as showcasing water and wastewater treatment solutions developed by HWP, to help address the challenges facing Africa’s water sector. He’s already taken part in the committee’s meetings in Lomé (July) and Kampala (November).
- At the HWP’s business forum in May 2024 — held at the IFAT expo in Munich, complete with wine tasting thanks to support from HEPA — AfWASA was represented at the leadership level.
- In February 2025, at AfWASA’s international congress there was strong interest in the the event organized by the HWP in Uganda’s capital, Kampala. The delegation of the HWP, led by Dr. Kovács, represented Hungary’s export-ready water industry expertise. The HWP-led panel at the congress focused on "future-proof" and "bankable" water development opportunities, as well as on successes achieved both at home and abroad. High-level attendees included Uganda’s Deputy Minister for Water and Environment, the President of the Uganda Chamber of Commerce, the head of the International Water Association (IWA), and the Director of AfWASA. The event was financially supported by HEPA, the Hungarian Export Promotion Agency."
Another key direction in developing our Sub-Saharan network has been the HWP’s cooperation with Hungarian diplomatic missions in the region. There are six embassies and two embassy offices operating across Sub-Saharan Africa. At the 2022 summer meeting for heads of mission organized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, the HWP president gave a presentation to them about the cluster’s activities in the region. Since then, there’s been a noticeable increase in the flow of information about water sector business opportunities in Sub-Saharan Africa.
