In the field: “Water for all” project in Côte d’Ivoire
In Côte d’Ivoire, access to clean water remains an unattainable luxury for many. The “Water for All” infrastructure project launched by the Ivorian government aims to change this by supplying 6,000 communities with drinking water. Swiss SMEs, insured by SERV, are playing an important role in this major project, which is improving the quality of life of millions of people.
Swiss innovation in action
AquaSwiss AG, based in Frauenfeld, is handling the engineering and material logistics for the general contractor Rimon CH AG as the primary supplier. This also allows smaller local companies to participate in this large-scale project. “For this project, we managed to involve not just major corporations but also SMEs, including a two-person workshop from eastern Switzerland. Without our involvement, these small businesses would not have had access to a project of this size,” explains Sanjeev Varma, CEO of AquaSwiss.
Better financing through strong partnerships
The financing package was arranged by Bluebird Finance & Projects Ltd., with Commerzbank, Investec Bank and SERV supporting and coordinating the process. Ram Shalita, CEO of Bluebird, emphasises SERV’s reliability: “This is the third time we have worked with SERV to finance a large project, so we know we can trust them. We particularly appreciate SERV’s reliability, flexibility and support when unexpected challenges arise.”
Better financing conditions with SERV
When working with SERV, exporters benefit from Switzerland’s strong credit rating. Financing insured by SERV gives exporters access to better financing terms, which can be useful in international tenders. Gil Etzion from Rimon Group sees great potential: “The opportunity to offer the Ivorian government attractive, long-term financing proved to be a tremendous advantage in winning the contract, and we definitely hope to do more large water deals in Africa with Swiss exporters and with SERV.”
