Dear Mturi,

I sent your question to Titia Wouters from Aqua4all and she replied as follows:

+++++++++
Hi Elisabeth,

Tanzania is not a first priority country for us, but we can still do not-to-be-missed opportunities there. So excellent innovations could still apply, both for VIA Water and for SCALE. But it has to be of an exceptional quality,

It is written in the brochure;
aquaforall.org/we-are-ready-for-applications/

Titia Wouters
Regional Manager West Africa

++++++++++

Please don't hesitate to ask further question about this program in this thread.

Regards,
Elisabeth

Hi,Is Tanzania not eligible for this innovative funding opportunity?

Mturi

I received an answer to my question about ViaWater by e-mail from Titia (FYI: Aqua for All has been a SuSanA partner since 2011: www.susana.org/en/community/partners/list/details/221):

++++++++++

Dear Elisabeth,

Thanks for contacting us and thanks for posting about our new programme. Maybe good to mention that VIA Water is now fully integrated in the Aqua for All organisation. So also, all of our news and updates will be posted on the aqua for all website, no longer on the VIA Water website. That one will serve as an important reference data base.
As for building a Community, in future we will most probably create a closed community (through Basecamp) for our project partners.

Kind regards,

Titia

Titia Wouters
Regional Manager West Africa

Spaarneplein 2
2515 VK The Hague, The Netherlands

www.aquaforall.org

++++++++++++

I'd like to give you an update on this existing thread on ViaWater (a fund that was/is funded by the Dutch government).

Their first phase lasted from 2014 to 2019 and they have summarised the results of 5 years of funding WASH projects here:
www.viawater.nl/news/capturing-5-years-of-via-water

You can filter their project database for "sanitation" and find these 19 completed projects (with quite a good level of detail):
www.viawater.nl/projects?prim_pressing_n...tries=All&topics=All

GARV Smart Public Toilets in Accra, Ghana
Eco-friendly and Self-Sustainable

VIRTUAL LATRINES, Mozambique
Leveraging Virtual Reality to Raise Demand for Improved Sanitation in Mozambique

Ecosan business Rwanda
Urban Ecosan for Kigali and Musanze

Benin, Social sanitation marketing in Mono...
“A Toilet For Everyone, A Relief For All”

Egya-Pa: Scaling up liquid waste...
Ghana

eSOS Smart Toilet, Kenya
Prototype Development and Testing in Kenya

Kenya, Local financing for sustainable...
Stimulating auto-funding mechanisms in the WASH sector

Ghana, Settled Sewer Network Sakasaka in...
Piloting decentral sewerage and treatment

Ethiopia, Mobile Desludging Device
Piloting and Business Development of MDU

Menstrual Hygiene Management in Western Kenya
Intro business on locally made and biodegradable sanitary pads

Mozambique, Biological Urban Sanitation ...
Black Soldier Fly and straight flush, low water consumption toilets in urban areas

Mali, Innovative sanitation services for...
Efficient pit emptying using an App, call center and new exhausters

Ghana, Closing the water loop for...
Pre stage on Car wash wastewater recycling in Ghana

Kenya, Explore sales channels for organic...
Making the sanitation value chain sustainable

Roof tiles from recycled plastics and...
start-up at Gilgil in Kenya

Kenya, Inhome sanitation for tenants and...
Testing service delivery of in home sanitation in Naivasha

From pit to product, Kenya
Biofertilizer and biofuel product lines in Nakuru, Kenya

Vegetable nursery using recycled sludge,...
Sanitation by‐products in agriculture near Accra, Ghana

Demo Eco toilets in women training centre,...
Boost to sanitation in Bandiagara, Mali

They have launched a new phase of funding last month, which I read here: www.viawater.nl/news/launch-of-new-aqua-for-all-programme

Aqua for All (of which VIA Water is part) is excited to announce the continued collaboration with the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs on a new 5-year programme: ‘Making Water Count’. This programme will facilitate and finance access to clean water, good sanitation & hygiene for all.

Themes
The new programme concentrates on 3 themes:
• Drinking Water: safe water enterprises, safe water at point of use, operation and maintenance
• Sanitation Economy: service and value chain development, circular economy
• Water Resources Management: 3R (Recharge, Retention, Re-use), water efficiency

Regions
‘Making Water Count’ targets both urban and rural areas in West Africa, East Africa, the Horn of Africa and South Asia (with a focus on Bangladesh). We aim to improve access to safe water and sanitation services for at least 4 million people across these 4 focus regions.

Starting soon
Do you want to be involved? From October 2019 onwards, we will intensify our search for innovative and scalable WASH solutions.

In their first phase they had used a "Community" forum which however didn't work well (thank you for their honest account of what didn't work well: www.viawater.nl/community/a-final-message-on-this-community-hub). My experience is that you need a critical mass for online communities to function well. I had already asked in my post from February 2016 (please scroll up or down in this thread) about interlinking their forum with this SuSanA Discussion Forum. I would like to propose that again for their new program phase.

Kind regards,
Elisabeth

Last chance to join!

The VIA Water fund on innovative water solutions for African cities is closing - this is our final call for proposals.
Full proposals can be submitted until April 10th.

Make sure you send us your brilliant ideas as soon as possible! It is not obligatory to submit a teaser (concept note) first. However: if you want feedback before starting your full proposal, we strongly advise you to do so. The latest you can send us your teaser is February 6th. After that, only full proposals will be handled.

More information can be found  on our website .

Please note: this truly is your last chance of piloting your innovative idea with the VIA Water fund. Apply now, and spread the word!

++++++++
Note by moderators: This post was made by a former user with the login name Viawater who is no longer a member of this discussion forum.

VIA Water is looking for brilliant inventers, great minds and risk taking entrepreneurs. Submit your innovative ideas and take part in an intensive four month virtual programme that will accelerate your urban African water project into the next stage. Apply now!

What: a virtual programme to take your brilliant water idea to a pilot proposal stage.
For: 10 innovative thinkers with ideas to solve a water problem in cities
Where: online, but ideas need to be for Benin, Ghana, Kenya, Mali, Mozambique, Rwanda or South Sudan
When: 6 workshops and individual coaching sessions between December 2016 and March 2017. First workshops to be scheduled on December 9th and 16th 2016
Leading to: a fundable proposal and the opportunity to develop and test your innovation with VIA Water support. Including coaching by experts, support from our network and access to grant funding up to €200.000,-.
Deadline: apply before November 7th 2016

Programme
The programme consists of a 4 month virtual track, in which you will participate in workshops, and will receive individual coaching sessions. The track will lead to a sound proposal for the VIA Water fund. Subjects (to be adjusted according to the needs of the participants) will consist of proposal writing, business models, market & need, organisation, finances, risk mitigation and gap analysis.

For more information please find the invitation and the list of experts involved in the Challenge attached. You can apply through this online form.




++++++++
Note by moderators: This post was made by a former user with the login name Viawater who is no longer a member of this discussion forum.

Dear Via Water team,

Thanks for posting here. Very interesting. I browsed through your website but didn't find answers to the following questions:

1. So I assume the VIA Water Fund is funded by the Dutch government? How big is the fund and for how many years?
2. Do you have a listing of the projects funded so far and their size and duration (I found projects mentioned on your website but didn't find a good overview page yet?)
3. I see you've set up a "community" and "knowledge hub" - have you thought about how to integrate or interlink it with the SuSanA community (forum) and knowledge hub (library), at least for your sanitation focus area (I see you have themes in other areas, too; but for sanitation I see a lot of overlap and potential for synergies).
4. What is the plan to make this into a longer-term initiative, not one that comes and goes after 3 years...?
5. Could you encourage those grantees who received funding for sanitation or WASH projects to also include them on this forum and perhaps add them to the SuSanA project database? See: www.susana.org/en/resources/projects
6. I couldn't figure out how exactly your funding cycle works, i.e. are you accepting proposals all through the year or are there certain deadlines to consider? Is the first round of projects currently underway and therefore no more applications are accepted, or how does it work? I am just thinking from the perspective of prospective applicants.

Thanks,
Elisabeth

We support innovative projects that solve water problems in African cities

VIA Water is a Dutch programme designed to track down and support innovative solutions for water problems in African cities. Do you have a brilliant solution to one of the issues we work on? Check whether you meet the requirements and send us your idea!

To be considered for support your idea needs to focus on one of the seven VIA Water countries and on one of the twelve ‘pressing needs’ VIA Water works on in the urban context. It should be a real innovation for your country or sector, and it should be an integrated - not purely technological - approach. You can obtain support by sending a 2-page concept note (teaser) to teasers[at]viawater.nl.

For more information, including on what your teaser should entail, check out our website: www.viawater.nl , or the document attached. On our website you will also find our Community. The Community is there to help and support you, you can acquire and exchange knowledge and find possible partners or experts.

Requirements
1. We are looking for entrepreneurial spirits from whichever sector
2. Your idea needs to be a real innovation, and you need to be able to prove this
3. A strong contribution to the VIA Water Community and the willingness to share and learn are expected of you
4. The focus of your project should be on urban areas
5. Any sort of organisation or company can apply, individuals are excluded
6. Funding for your project cannot exceed 200.000 Euro
7. We require co-funding
8. Ideas from other sectors and collaborations between the Netherlands and our focus countries are a bonus

Focus countries
• Benin
• Ghana
• Kenya
• Mali
• Mozambique
• Rwanda
• South Sudan

Pressing needs
1. water harvesting
2. groundwater
3. water quality
4. data
5. drinking water
6. sanitation
7. water in urban agriculture
8. institutional strengthening
9. water allocation
10. financial arrangements
11. urban planning
12. floods and droughts

Please feel free to ask us questions, on the forum or through our email address info[at]viawater.nl. In the attachment you will find our 'Roadmap to VIA Water Support', a document which explains in depth how to apply to our fund.

++++++++
Note by moderators: This post was made by a former user with the login name Viawater who is no longer a member of this discussion forum.

No plans yet for the summer? All the time in the world to apply for the VIA Water Innovation Challenge then! Deadline is August 19th.

'VIA Water is looking for brilliant inventers, great minds and risk taking entrepreneurs to take part in an intense six week virtual programme, that will accelerate your promising water idea into the next stage. Apply now!'

What: a virtual programme to take your brilliant water idea to a pilot proposal stage
Who: 8 innovative thinkers with ideas to solve a water problem in cities
Where: online, but ideas need to be for Benin, Ghana, Kenya, Mali, Mozambique, Rwanda or South Sudan
When: 21st September – 30th October 2015
Deadline: apply before August 19th
Look at the attachment for more information!

++++++++
Note by moderators: This post was made by a former user with the login name WillemijnNagel who is no longer a member of this discussion forum.