The Danish Red Cross, together with Water.org, Addis Ababa University, and private sector partners are developing an end-to-end Rainwater Harvesting Ecosystem that prolongs the rainy season and promotes resiliency for 1M farmers and refugees by 2025.

Rainwater Harvesting is an integrated system for water management on rainfed land in semiarid areas. Underpinning the Ecosystem is a US$25M blended Rainwater Harvesting Financing Facility. The proceeds from the Facility capitalize Micro Finance Institutes, who, in turn originate water loans to farmers.

The Rainwater Harvesting Ecosystem will increase water and food security and cultivate a sense of agency among farmers, agro-pastoralists and pastoralists. This will in turn catalyse household water financing while transferring risk to the private sector.