ZAMADZI consists in the merge of the fragment ZAM from Zambezi, and the word MADZI which means water, with a few variations, in Banthu languages: manzi in Zulu; maji in Swahili; and mati in Shangaan. Just like this family of languages, the waters of the Zambezi are shared among millions of people and enable daily life. However, sharing the Zambezi is complex and the river must be exploited in a sustainable way, with national and international agreements being fully respected. We argue that can only be achieved if local populations, governments and the private sector have capacity to adequately manage their water – which is what our project aims at doing.