Fund management excellence. Proven capability in emerging markets.
WaterEquity identifies private lending opportunities in water and sanitation that offer attractive returns, low to moderate credit risk, verifiable social impact, and true ESG investments. We provide opportunities for investors to make responsible and sustainable investment choices that will reduce the impacts of climate change and gender inequality.
How We Invest and Build
Target Growth: Investing in financial institutions and enterprises that can significantly expand access to safe water and sanitation among low-income families. Targeting investments in financial institutions and enterprises that have significant capacity for scale, a strong financial track record, and a deep reach into underserved communities.
Evaluate Risk and Returns: Mitigating risk by spreading assets over multiple geographies, business models, and market segments. Considering and evaluating social, as well as financial, risk and returns in our investment decision making.
Set Standards: We invest in financial institutions and enterprises that support the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6 and are committed to sustainable and equitable environmental, social, and governance (“ESG”) practices.
Measure Success: We manage our portfolio’s impact with the same rigor as our financial performance and establish impact targets for each investment. We monitor our investments using both IRIS-aligned metrics as well as surveys of the families who benefit from access to safe water and sanitation.
Market Demand
1 in 10 people don’t have access to safe water, and 1 in 4 don’t have access to sanitation, making this simultaneously the most urgent issue and largest market opportunity of our time.1 Economists estimate the market opportunity to provide water and sanitation services to all by 2030 at $1 trillion.2
market demand from individuals for affordable financing to meet their water and sanitation needs.
people could be reached with improved water and sanitation services if microloans were made available to their families
%
of small and medium enterprises in emerging markets are either unserved or underserved by financial institutions.
From Investment to Opportunity:
a representation of how impact is achieved
WaterEquity lends to a financial institution in an emerging market—such as Annapurna Finance Ltd. In India—for the exclusive purpose of scaling water and sanitation microlending for low-income families.
The financial institution provides water or sanitation microloan to an end-client such as Nandini—a mother and micro-entrepreneur. Nandini uses the microloan to purchase and install a household water or sanitation solution.
Nandini pays back the microloan in monthly or weekly installments. With household access, Nandini is healthier and able to spend more time working at her shop and providing for her family.
Global repayment rate: 99%