Solar thermal projects, however, are bigger than solar PV installations and they require more complicated engineering and design, the kind of projects Avena excels at.

FORBES: Solar Thermal or Solar Photovoltaic? Areva Says 'Both!'

While primarily a novelty among the tech-obsessed, 3-D printing been used successfully for a variety of tasks, from making jewelry or medical supplies to larger projects in industrial design and engineering.

CNN: Obama's speech highlights rise of 3-D printing

And unlike its rivals, Hyflux is one of the few companies in the world that provide a full suite of water solutions, from basic engineering and design to managing "build-own-operate" projects.

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Such investments provide opportunities for African countries to work with international partners to build the engineering and managerial capabilities needed to design, build, and maintain infrastructure projects.

FORBES: Poor Infrastructure Is Africa's Soft Underbelly

Furthermore, this is also an opportunity for the private sector to work closely with government to design new engineering courses, programs, and colleges that are aligned with needs of the projects.

FORBES: Poor Infrastructure Is Africa's Soft Underbelly

In this new partnership, UNESCO and ASME will develop projects that improve engineering education standards, including best practices in engineering education, curriculum design, and teacher training.

UNESCO: Building the Wealth of Nations