Two challenges - one opportunity
Clean Water & the Funding Gap
Water: A New Asset Class for One of the Most Important Issues of Our Time
Private capital is lacking - despite massive global challenges
@ Suresh, pic to be integrated, as pop up piv
​​Water is one of the most fundamental foundations of life - and one of the greatest global challenges of the 21st century.
Climate change, population growth, urbanization, and dilapidated infrastructure are exacerbating the water crisis worldwide. Nevertheless, the water sector remains one of the most underfunded future industries - particularly from the perspective of private capital providers.
While public funds and international development banks have borne the majority of water infrastructure investments for decades, private capital has so far remained almost entirely on the sidelines. Less than 2% of global investments in the water sector come from private sources, while over 90% are provided by public institutions. The World Bank estimates the outstanding financing required to achieve the water-related SDGs by 2030 to be up to USD 7 trillion.
This immense “funding gap” was a central topic of a panel discussion at World Water Week 2024 in Stockholm, organized by the World Bank under the title “Unlocking the Financing Ecosystem for Water.” One key insight: without targeted mobilization of private capital, the global water goals will not be achievable - neither environmentally nor socially.
Since its founding in 2009, Grasshopper Investments has set out to address precisely this issue. The company develops investment models that channel private capital to where the impact is particularly great - into improving the drinking water supply through scalable solutions with clear impact and manageable risk.
Barriers and solutions for mobilizing private capital
A central obstacle to more private capital in the water sector lies in the lack of investable models. Even when the issue is recognized, there is often a lack of suitable opportunities to channel capital into water projects in an impact-oriented and structured way. In addition, many investors lack the necessary expertise for the diverse framework conditions in the water sector.
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Another essential aspect is de-risking. The water sector has traditionally been characterized by large projects with long planning and construction phases, considerable construction risks, and extremely long payback periods - especially in the area of pipeline networks and structural infrastructure. Such project structures make it significantly more difficult to involve private capital.
Grasshopper Investments has responded by developing two solution models for centralized and decentralized drinking water supply in order to overcome precisely these hurdles. Both models aim to limit risks, enable scalability, and open new avenues for private engagement in the water sector.
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Clean Water -
the whole world depends on you.
Water will become the the biggest global investment theme over the next decade.
Global finance is waking up to water as core, not niche, infrastructure. SEB calls water a coming “megatrend,” driven by hydrological volatility, urban growth and the need to modernise aging systems—conditions that create durable, regulated demand for high-quality assets and data-rich, technology upgrades. environmental-finance.com
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Yet the sector remains undercapitalised relative to need: the World Bank estimates a multi-trillion-dollar funding gap to meet water-related goals by 2030, with public sources still providing the overwhelming share of spend. This mismatch between essential demand and available capital is precisely where private investors can add value—through scalable, technology-only projects with shorter delivery cycles, measurable performance, and transparent risk controls. World Bank Blogs+1
The investment case is reinforced by the water–energy nexus. Pumping, treatment and desalination are significant power users; in regions like the Middle East, desalination’s share of final energy demand is set to rise sharply—further elevating the premium on efficient, right-sized solutions. Investors who back efficiency, digital monitoring, and microbiological safety can capture both reliability (adaptation) and avoided energy use (mitigation) in a single thesis. IEA+1
In short: water is indispensable, investable, and increasingly measurable—the kind of long-term theme institutions seek for resilient, performance-linked returns.
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Our two main business models
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Model A — Turnkey Project Finance (short tenors):
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Technology-only EPC + O&M light, rapid deployment
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Short construction & ramp-up, defined acceptance tests
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Revenue based on availability/performance SLAs
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Use cases: plant-level disinfection upgrades, pump-station efficiency packages, building-scale safe-water systems
Model B — PPP in Water (ASSET BASED INFRA - without privatization):
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Public operator retains ownership and control
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Private partner provides technology, financing, and performance delivery
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Payment from utility off-taker via service fees or availability payments
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De-risking: proven tech, redundancy, remote monitoring, escrowed O&M, performance bonds, step-in rights
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Use cases: municipal treatment/disinfection programs, non-revenue-water & pressure management, citywide building-water upgrades
Why technology-only? Faster cycles, lower construction risk, scalable replication, auditable KPIs (energy per m³, non-revenue water, microbiological compliance), and clear climate co-benefits (reduced boiling, efficient pumping, less packaged water logistics).
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We have the projects, know how & concepts
You can contribute & participate with financing
Grown Project Pipeline Since 2009
"Good Water Projects are not falling from the sky".. especially projects in public water infrastructure need extensive project development over longer periods of time, market access, competitive solutions re technologies and pricing, longterm proof of technologies, professional technical project planning, communications with utilities and involved consultants, country know how, tender proceedings etc.. TBD
(TBD, Water Master Plans, Single Projects, Tenders, Technology Contracts (turnkey or with financed PPP versions) Schaubild ? (new to build + rehabilitation)
On the basis of this modular technology concept, a project pipeline with a current volume of around 50 million euros has developed and continues to grow. To implement this pipeline, Grasshopper is currently structuring a water-climate bonds series.
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50 Mio - to .. growing 100 Mio EUR
referring to MLD sizes.. like described above
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TBD
There are 16 years of hard work and experience - behind our project pipeline !! We started with smaller projects for clean water in different private and public sectors and grew step by step into large scale water infra projects, growing our proof of concepts.
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BILD INFRA GCC mit TECHNOLOGY PROJECTS - Bild erklären..
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​From Projects to Products: Blue Bonds
Grasshopper Blue Bonds - AND PRIVATE PLACEMENTS ... TBD
Financing Essential Water At Scale
​​​To open the market for institutional and professional investors, we are launching a Blue Bonds series.
Use-of-proceeds is dedicated to technology-only water projects across three pipelines:
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(1) centralized utility upgrades,
(2) decentralized safe-water programs (Gold Standard-certified), and
(3) private-sector solutions for hospitals, mobility, housing, hotels and agriculture.
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Structures emphasize diversified portfolios, robust covenants, external verification, and regular impact reporting (e.g., people reached with safe water, energy saved per m³, avoided emissions from boiling, plastic reduction from displaced packaged water). The goal: convert essential water projects into a transparent, repeatable, investment-grade-oriented product universe.
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Clean Drinking Water