Since 2018, WSUP Advisory has been supporting the transformation of Uganda’s regional water utilities, known as Umbrella Authorities, from technical support organisations into professional service providers capable of delivering sustainable water services to hundreds of thousands of people in small towns and rural growth centres. Our approach focuses on systems strengthening to help utilities become customer-focused, commercially minded organisations that:
- Recover their operating and maintenance costs
- Operate with some autonomy
- Use resources and run operations efficiently through standardised processes
- Plan strategically for future business development
- Have a motivated and committed workforce
We have supported the Mid-Western Umbrella of Water and Sanitation (MWUWS) in establishing a functioning board of directors, implementing a customer charter, setting up a delegated area management structure, and developing equitable service programs. This has improved non-revenue water and water quality monitoring, and we have invested in staff training and development at all levels.
The MWUWS has made impressive progress, tripling the number of customers from 8,000 to 28,000 and annual revenue from 124 million UGX to 425 million UGX, achieving financial sustainability while dramatically expanding service coverage. Customer satisfaction has also risen significantly, with residents reporting greater confidence in water quality and service reliability.
Journey to self-sufficiency
Achieving operational cost recovery is a significant milestone, but true self-sufficiency requires access to capital investment. With government funds stretched thin and development finance increasingly scarce, MWUWS aims to build capacity to attract additional finance and foster autonomy and self-sufficiency.
WSUP Advisory is supporting MWUWS to demonstrate its creditworthiness through a ‘dummy’ loan mechanism that enables the utility to experience the full cycle of securing and servicing a loan, from preparing bankable propositions to managing capital expenditure, maintaining regular repayments and reporting to financiers. Building on this pilot phase, WSUP Advisory is working to establish a guarantee facility to secure finance (commercial, concessionary or supplier credit) for investment in their systems. This phased approach aims to build MWUWS’s capacity whilst gradually reducing dependence on government and donor support. Our work in Uganda has provided valuable lessons that we are applying across other countries.
WSUP Advisory stakeholders during a benchmarking visit
WASH systems for health: A systems approach in Tanzania and Malawi
In 2025, building on our long-term experience in Uganda, WSUP Advisory extended its technical support to professionalise service providers, expand rural water supply services in Tanzania and Malawi as part of the WASH Systems for Health Programme funded by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO). Working alongside SNV (Tanzania) and Water for People (Malawi). Advisory’s systems approach is strengthening rural water supply services and addressing the bottlenecks that prevent service improvement.
Our work has developed new procedures for clustering community-based water supply organisations and supported the professionalisation of services through strengthening monitoring and reporting, utilising data to drive continuous service improvement, developing standard systems and procedures, building a stronger skills base, and achieving more cost-effective operations.
In Tanzania, the Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Agency is piloting these new ways of working and in Malawi, the Southern Water Board is piloting procedures for taking over Water User Associations and bringing them under the Water Board’s operational control. This represents a significant shift in service delivery models and has the potential to improve service standards for thousands of rural residents.
WSUP Advisory will continue to work with SNV and Water for People to reflect on pilot results, refine procedures, and generate final clustering and takeover guidelines that can be disseminated at the national level. This will support the institutionalisation of these approaches and enable replication in other districts and utilities.
Looking ahead
By focusing on professionalisation, developing bankable projects and enabling access to finance, WSUP Advisory is helping utilities make the transition from struggling service providers to confident, capable organisations that can sustainably serve their communities.