Valuing Water
By Gary White, CEO of WaterEquity and Water.org
Water plays an essential role throughout all aspects of life from hydration to hygiene. Yet, around the world, one in nine people do not have access to safe water and one in three do not have access to proper sanitation. The COVID-19 pandemic has underscored the magnitude of this crisis, as developing countries without wide access to handwashing facilities continue to struggle with community spread.
The global water and sanitation crisis is simultaneously one of the most urgent issues and an enormous overlooked market opportunity. At WaterEquity, we know the greatest obstacle to safe water and sanitation is access to affordable financing. There is an $18 billion market demand from low-income families in emerging markets for microcredit loans to pay for improved water and sanitation services. Providing financing to meet this opportunity would reach as many as 600 million people globally and go a substantial way towards solving the crisis.
WaterEquity is dedicated to forging a global capital market that closes this financing gap through smart, profitable, and impactful investments. Our impact funds provide debt capital to high-performing financial institutions and water and sanitation enterprises in emerging markets, yielding attractive financial returns while enabling low-income families to install a piped water connection or toilet in their home.
Whereas other interventions — such as improved education or nutrition — can take years to reap direct, financial benefits for families living in poverty, the value that access to water and sanitation provides is instant. It can be measured and monetized at a household scale almost immediately, in that the value created drastically outweighs the cost to secure the connection. An example of this value creation can be seen in Leneriza’s story:
Leneriza lives in the Philippines. Until recently, she didn’t have access to safe water at home. She purchased water from a vendor for about $60 a month. This amount was more than 20% of her monthly income. A small, affordable loan changed Leneriza’s life. With the loan, she connected her home to the local water utility and installed a water tap. Now, Leneriza pays about $5 a month to repay her loan and about $5 a month towards her water utility bill. Leneriza’s monthly expenses have decreased by $50 a month now that she has safe water at home — money that can be reallocated to further supporting her family and help to lift them out of poverty.
Investments in water and sanitation also create value beyond the household level. The World Health Organization estimates that investments in water and sanitation services generate an incredible 4X return for society through decreased healthcare costs and increased productivity. In addition to the economic benefits, water and sanitation investments are a force-multiplier for social good — they improve health and epidemic preparedness, increase gender equality, and build resilience to the effects of climate change.
Since 2016, WaterEquity has deployed over $100 million of capital to financial institutions and enterprises across multiple regions, empowering more than 1.9 million people with access to safe water and sanitation — all while providing attractive returns to investors. We’re already hard at work on scaling our impact further, with the goal of reaching 5 million people directly across East Asia and the Pacific, Latin America and the Caribbean, Africa, and South Asia, over the next seven years.
With the help of partners like CapShift, we are reaching new sources of capital and investors through donor-advised funds (DAFs). DAFs provide an opportunity for individuals, families, and communities to harness the power of the capital markets to maximize the value of their charitable contributions and address some of the world’s greatest challenges.
If you are interested in learning more about the water and sanitation crisis, and how donor-advised funds can be used to solve this crisis, please join WaterEquity and CapShift at our upcoming virtual fireside chat:
The Value of Water
A fireside chat between Gary White of WaterEquity and Jacques Perold of CapShift
Thursday, June 17th at 2pm ET
RSVP: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/3016208513997/WN_6T-h3mDrTDa2gKiukyDtcA
Water plays an essential role throughout all aspects of life from hydration to hygiene. Yet, around the world, one in nine people don’t have access to safe water and one in three don’t have access to proper sanitation, contributing to nearly 1.6 million deaths each year. Join Gary White, CEO & Co-Founder of WaterEquity and Water.org, and Jacques Perold, the CEO & Chairman of CapShift, to discuss the value of access to safe water and sanitation for underserved communities around the globe.
Gary White is the Chief Executive Officer and co-founder, alongside Matt Damon, of Water.org and Water Equity.
CapShift originally published this article in their email circulation for users and their greater network. To read more articles on the intersection of impact investing and philanthropy, visit CapShift’s Medium page.
