The overarching objective of this event is to launch the Urban Water Catalyst Initiative – a global initiative initiated by the German government sparking a paradigm shift in water sector financing by moving away from traditional project-based funding towards integrated, long-term support for water utilities to narrow the finance gap for SDG 6 (water and sanitation). To this end, the EU supported initiative promotes climate-resilient, socially inclusive and sustainable urban WASH services by significantly increasing the operational and financial performance of water utilities and their access to infrastructure financing. The key vehicle for implementing the initiative is a grant facility which has been recently established in form of a foundation which is called ‘UWCI Turnaround Facility’.