Riva Uganda - our story

Who we are 

Riva Uganda is a member of Riva – an international network of local systems leaders driving change that transforms lives through resilient national systems and public services.  We have worked in Uganda since 2006, in a sector considered one of the most advanced in Sub-Saharan Africa – helping turn that expertise into the district master plans and monitoring systems other countries now study. 

We are trusted advisors to nation builders in Uganda – the political leaders, decision makers, wealth generators and citizens who are remaking the systems that shape people's lives. Locally led and globally connected, our network draws on more than twenty years' experience in international development and on the knowledge, relationships and trust we have built. 

Where we came from 

We began as IRC Uganda, part of an international development agency which had been working here for many years. Many of our current team were working for and with IRC to tackle the root causes of systems failures. In 2010 we set up one of our 'country offices' here so we could work more directly with local governments, communities and partners to achieve universal access to water and sanitation. We are now Riva Uganda, [insert if appropriate: an independent legal entity and] a member of the Riva network. 

The work that shapes us 

For more than a decade, we’ve worked alongside district leaders, regulators and development partners across Uganda, helping ask better questions about what makes services last. One partner reflected that the real breakthrough came from a different question altogether: whether the systems would still be working ten years after the facilities were built. That shift in thinking, tested and proven across districts, shaped the organisation Riva Uganda is today. 

We believe that water is the quiet force behind everything a nation hopes to become: a gateway to resilient public services, social justice and sustainable development. And while our background is in water, our work now flows through every essential system that shapes people's lives. Find out more about Riva's origin story.