IMPACT
REPORT 2024
Solving the Global
Water and Sanitation Crisis
Dear Supporter,
Since 2016, WaterEquity has been at the forefront of impact investing in water and sanitation. Our first four funds have deployed $440 million of committed capital across 22 countries to reach underserved communities with affordable financing, products, and services.
In 2024, we expanded our investment remit with the launch of the Water & Climate Resilience Fund, which provides equity capital to water and sanitation projects and to growth equity companies. This strategy allows us to look beyond serving just the “last mile” with our investments, and to augment water and sanitation capacity at a system or regional level.
Our investment decisions are informed by both need and opportunity, and we work closely with investees to understand their barriers to scale, their role within the local system, and the populations they serve. In parallel, we incorporate the perspectives of our investors—how their capital, along with technical assistance and field building, helps unlock outcomes that might not otherwise occur.
Looking ahead, our goal is to scale what works at the same time as we unlock new pathways for impact. With the WaterEquity Everspring Fund, designed as an open-ended fund with no fixed end date, we aim to deepen our relationships with financial institutions across emerging markets and deliver more timely capital to investees.
Thank you for your trust and continued support.
Paul O’Connell,
President and Chief Executive Officer
Genevieve Edens,
Principal, Impact
Scaling Water and Sanitation Through Catalytic Capital
Compounding Capital, Maximizing Impact:
WaterEquity’s financial institution investees typically recycle capital multiple times, enabling additional scale of impact. Our Invest and Donate model extends this impact further by channeling potential investor returns into additional water and sanitation solutions—advancing our shared vision with Water.org of safe water and sanitation for all.
Scaled People Reached – 2016 to 2024
people reached with water and sanitation
It took over 3 years for WaterEquity’s first funds to reach 1 million people— now we reach 1+ million people each year.
investments expanding access through financial institutions and direct enterprise lending
Microloans to low-income consumers
of microloan end-clients are women
CUMULATIVE MICROLOAN USE BY HOUSEHOLD
CUMULATIVE MICROLOAN BORROWER TYPE
Over 90% of WaterEquity’s financial institution portfolio receives technical assistance from Water.org, helping them expand access to water and sanitation in underserved communities and improve loan performance — driving both impact and market growth.
Investing Where It Matters Most
Latin America & Caribbean
$46M DEPLOYED
- The portfolio includes mostly microfinance institutions with strong social missions but limited experience in water and sanitation lending. WaterEquity works with Water.org to develop new water and sanitation loans or to strengthen that focus within existing products.
- Latin America ranks highest across regions in practices that prioritize client well-being, transparent lending, and gender inclusion. Many institutions are also certified through the Client Protection Pathway, reflecting strong standards in responsible finance.
Africa
$67M DEPLOYED
- WaterEquity’s Africa portfolio spans diverse financial institutions, loan types, and clients—from microfinance for water and sanitation in Uganda to payroll loans in Mozambique and SME financing in Kenya and Tanzania.
- In Kenya, SMEs are delivering and maintaining water and sanitation services where utilities fall short. Many operate at the last mile, while others work across the value chain. Women are a significant segment of SME owners: two surveys showed 64% and 50% had at least partial female ownership, though many face challenges like limited collateral and gender-based barriers in a male-dominated sector.
South & Central Asia
$214M DEPLOYED
- India’s demand for water and sanitation, paired with a mature microfinance sector, offers strong potential for scaled impact.
- Extreme weather events, elections, and economic slowdown have weighed on activity in 2024, though we expect the market to stabilize and remain an important contributor to impact.
East Asia & Pacific
$112M DEPLOYED
- WaterEquity focuses not just on how many people are reached, but on improvements in quality of life. In East Asia Pacific, most loans support construction of sanitation facilities.
- Our surveys show clients across Cambodia, Indonesia, and the Philippines are moving up the sanitation “ladder” —especially in Cambodia, where over half gained a toilet at home for the first time and open defecation dropped by 28%.
Social Impact Goals
Our investment impact objectives center on three main challenges prevalent in the water and sanitation sector: access, quality, and scarcity. WaterEquity invests in financial institutions and water and sanitation infrastructure to improve access to services, improve water quality, and mitigate water scarcity. These improvements not only increase the number of people reached with safe water and sanitation but also bolster resilience at the watershed and community levels.
Water and Sanitation
7M+ people reached with safe water or sanitation since 2016
Capital from WaterEquity’s investors enables financial institutions to expand access to microloans for water and sanitation in underserved markets. This funding typically supports financial institutions that serve a segment outside of the traditional banking system.
Since 2016, WaterEquity has deployed ~ $440 million through financial institutions to expand access to safe water and sanitation in emerging and frontier markets. Most of this capital has supported microloans for low-income households, helping finance solutions such as toilets, piped water connections, and water storage.
To date, more than 1.4 million household loans have been disbursed, with an average loan size of $426. 20% of these loans addressed water needs, 76% sanitation, and 4% multipurpose use.
In parallel, WaterEquity has financed enterprises that form the backbone of water and sanitation delivery.
Through 19 enterprise-focused loans — including 4 direct loans and 15 to financial institutions for enterprise on-lending — over $88 million has been deployed to support business growth in the sector. These loans have enabled more than $118 million in on-lending to 2,515 enterprises, including utilities, treatment providers, and technology firms.
Impact of Water and Sanitation Loans
Households with at least one member practicing open defecation
%
before the loan
%
after the loan
Households with a toilet in their own home or yard
%
before the loan
%
after the loan
Source: Data from end client surveys conducted by Water.org and WaterEquity
IIFL Samasta is one of India’s fastest-growing microfinance institutions. As a Water.org partner since 2021, Samasta supports strong water and sanitation microloan disbursement.
In 2024, WaterEquity provided a total of $20 million in debt financing to Samasta to expand its water and sanitation lending initiatives, supporting low-income women with essential improvements. To date, WaterEquity’s loans to Samasta have supported ~ 15,000 WASH micro-loans and reached over 70,000 people.
Poonam: Improving Life with Access to Water and Sanitation
To improve conditions, Poonam took a loan of ~$420 from IIFL Samasta. She built a toilet and bathroom, installed three taps, and purchased a motor pump. With a manageable repayment of ~$10 per month over two years, the family now saves about three hours a day and ~$36 per month. Poonam also plans to support her brother-in-law in starting a shop through another loan and has encouraged others in her village to follow.
Poonam’s story reflects the transformative power of pairing Water.org’s market expertise with WaterEquity’s investment capital. Together we are unlocking solutions that empower millions of families like hers while strengthening the financial institutions like IIFL Samasta that deliver safe water and sanitation for generations to come.
Women and Girls
96% of household microloan borrowers were women
The burden of inadequate water and sanitation is disproportionately felt by women and girls, who are typically responsible for providing water and caring for sick family members. They also face more personal risks and burdens when they don’t have a private bathroom or adequate hygiene facilities. By accessing these microloans, women were able to finance household-level WASH solutions in low-income communities
Impact of Water and Sanitation Loans
%
of women said their new water & sanitation facility improved their quality of life - most often citing better health and time saved.
%
of women who took out a water loan reported less stress managing household water — with fewer lines, fewer worries, and more time in their day.
Source: Data from end client surveys conducted by Water.org and WaterEquity
Transcapital is a microfinance institution serving low- to middle-income borrowers across urban and rural areas of Mongolia.
In 2024, WaterEquity provided $2 million in debt financing to help expand access to water and sanitation solutions through Transcapital’s home loan offerings targeting to reach over 7500 people.
After hearing about Transcapital’s water and sanitation loan, Sarangoo applied and received ~$1,400 USD to install an eco-toilet and septic tank. The 24-month loan was affordable and included support in finding a contractor. The eco-toilet has also improved the value and livability of their home, opening the possibility of renting it out in the future. Encouraged by this experience, Sarangoo and her husband plan to pursue a home improvement loan for further renovations.
Sarangoo’s story is one example of how WaterEquity’s investment capital can enable financial institutions like Transcapital to deliver safe sanitation solutions for families in underserved communities.
Resilience
Water systems are under increasing strain. More frequent floods and droughts are reshaping how communities’ access and use water. Shifting weather patterns are making safe, reliable water more uncertain and more costly.
According to UN Water, three-quarters of all recent disasters have been water-related.
Water pollution and scarcity issues are also on the rise, and communities without reliable infrastructure face the greatest risks. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) finds that vulnerability will remain highest where governments and the private sector fail to deliver basic services and infrastructure. Investing in resilient water and sanitation solutions offers a powerful way to change this trajectory.
Financial institutions: Populations vulnerable to these impacts often lack savings and financial access, suffering disproportionately during disasters and environmental shocks.
People living in poverty lose 2-3x more wealth than more affluent communities. Disaster-affected households are 25% more likely to fall into poverty. Formal credit relationships help disaster recovery.
Infrastructure: When communities at greatest risk have water infrastructure that can anticipate, respond to, and recover from extreme weather, they cope better. Drought-stopped water flow or months of untreated sewage from flood damage disproportionately harm those already facing systemic challenges.
Recognizing the urgent need to expand and rehabilitate water and sanitation infrastructure for the billions of people affected extreme weather events, WaterEquity launched the Water & Climate Resilience Fund (WCR Fund) in 2024. This fund aims to improve water quality, increase access to water and sanitation services, and reduce the impacts of water scarcity through investments in climate-resilient infrastructure. These investments not only strengthen water access today but lay the foundation for more resilient financial systems and communities for the future.
Banka Bio is a sustainable sanitation solutions provider in India, focused on decentralised wastewater treatment and faecal sludge management.
WaterEquity provided a second loan of $525K to support the company’s expansion of its Urban SaaS model (Sanitation as a Service), which aims to rehabilitate non-functional sewage treatment plants (STPs) and improve water reuse in urban residential and commercial complexes. This follows an initial $1 million loan supporting the company’s faecal sludge treatment operations.
As of 2024, the Urban SaaS model had been rolled out across several projects in Hyderabad, with expansion efforts underway in other cities such as Bangalore. Early implementation suggests promising operational and environmental improvements. The approach— retrofitting and maintaining decentralised STPs through performance-linked service agreements—has supported more reliable wastewater treatment and enabled the reuse of treated water for non-potable purposes like gardening and toilet flushing. An external impact assessment conducted by the Administrative Staff College of India (ASCI) on initial sites observed several positive trends: greater volumes of wastewater being treated and reused; more consistent energy performance; and reduced dependence on freshwater sources. These developments point to the potential of the Urban SaaS model to ease the burden on centralised water systems and contribute to resource efficiency in cities facing increasing water stress.
WaterEquity’s investment in Banka Bio reflects our commitment to expanding access to safely managed sanitation and water reuse in underserved urban areas across emerging markets—supporting solutions that strengthen water security for communities most at risk.