Blogs are written by Oliver Jones,
Bluechain Consulting's Director and Lead Consultant

When and How the Private Sector Can Co-Invest in Water Sector System Strengthening The prevailing model and its limits Development finance in the water sector has largely followed a familiar sequence: governments and development partners invest in system strengthening (regulatory reform, utility governance, technical assistance, and policy development) and private capital is expected to follow once risks have been reduced. Where private finance does appear, it is often confin

The recent report Global Water Bankruptcy: Living Beyond Our Hydrological Means in the Post-Crisis Era , authored by the United Nations University Institute for Water, Environment and Health (UNU-INWEH), offers a reframing with direct relevance for sovereign risk analysts, multilateral development banks, and institutional investors. Moving beyond the familiar language of “water stress” or episodic “water crises,” the report defines water bankruptcy as a distinct post-crisis c

What the UK’s White Paper Reveals About Sustainable Finance The recent UK Government’s Water White Paper sets out a wide-ranging programme of reform, spanning governance, planning, environmental protection, customer outcomes, and regulatory structure. It is explicitly framed as a “once-in-a-generation” reset of the water system, with much of the operational detail still to follow through the forthcoming Transition Plan. This blog deliberately looks at the White Paper through

The financing of Angola’s Lobito Atlantic Railway is widely expected to deliver tangible economic and development benefits for the region. By rehabilitating a major transport corridor linking the Atlantic coast to the mineral-rich interior of Central Africa, the project has the potential to reduce logistics costs, improve market access, and support regional trade integration. For Angola, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Zambia, the corridor offers an opportunity to stren

Debates on development finance have shifted from short-term aid disruptions to more fundamental questions about the future of assistance itself. What initially appeared as isolated shocks, such as the suspension of USAID funding, are increasingly understood as symptoms of a broader structural transition. While we may not yet be fully in a post-aid world, the underlying dynamics of such a shift are already becoming evident. Aid Has Peaked, What This Means for Water There is gr

Over the past few years, Bluechain has worked in a range of countries to support governments and utilities exploring and developing public–private partnerships (PPPs) in the water sector. These engagements have spanned very different institutional, economic, and social contexts, but the conversations have been strikingly similar. Again and again, the same opportunities, tensions, and learning points have emerged. What follows is a reflection on the most important lessons from

As developing economies move into 2026, development finance is entering a quieter but more consequential phase. The most significant shifts are unlikely to come from crises or large new funding pledges, but from financial trends already underway and a set of ongoing developments that are reshaping how essential public goods, particularly water infrastructure, are financed and governed. Water systems offer a revealing lens on these changes. They sit at the intersection of fisc

In many water sector contexts, financing structures continue to create long-term fiscal stress rather than resilient service delivery....

The global investment landscape is undergoing a subtle but important realignment. At the heart of this shift lies a growing divergence...

The Independent Water Commission’s final report marks a long-overdue and welcome intervention into the state of the UK’s water sector....

In a world facing compounding economic, environmental, and geopolitical pressures, the call to scale development finance in emerging...

In the financing of water infrastructure, sustained and predictable revenue is essential to ensure debt obligations are met and...

In the global push toward a low-carbon economy, Net Zero Investing has emerged as both a moral imperative and a financial opportunity....

The UK's reservoir infrastructure has seen minimal investment in recent decades. The last significant construction being the Banbury...

In an era of global uncertainty, one might expect that the British public would rally behind efforts to support developing nations. After...

Public Development Banks (PDBs) can play a critical role in financing water infrastructure in developing and emerging economies where...

The decentralisation of fiscal responsibilities in the water sector can play a transformative role in improving service delivery,...

The recent suspension of USAID funding serves as a stark reminder of the volatility inherent in development assistance, especially within...

Access to clean water and effective sanitation remains a pressing challenge in many developing countries, where inadequate infrastructure...

Happy World Toilet Day! Yes, it’s a real thing, and it’s more important than you might think. Today isn’t just about porcelain thrones or...