The government-backed US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) recently agreed to loan USD 100 million to the WaterEquity Global Access Fund and disbursed the first tranche of USD 25 million. US-based investment manager WaterEquity launched the Global Access Fund with the goal of raising USD 150 million to “empower at least 5 million people to access improved water and sanitation across Asia, Latin America and Africa.” The terms of the loan from DFC have not been disclosed.
WaterEquity was founded by Water.org, a US-based NGO launched in 2009 “to bring water and sanitation to the world.” The investors in WaterEquity include the following US-based organizations: Bank of America, the Conrad N Hilton Foundation and Niagara Bottling. Its Global Access Fund has raised USD 125 million as of 2021.
DFC was launched in 2020 to “help businesses expand into emerging markets, foster growth and improve lives in the developing world while reinforcing US foreign policy and national security interests.” The organization has an investment cap of USD 60 billion to deploy in forms such as equity placements, insurance, technical assistance and research. DFC focuses its efforts on low-income and lower-middle-income countries in areas such as “energy, healthcare, critical infrastructure and technology.” Upon its founding, DFC took over the work of the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) as well as the Development Credit Authority of the US Agency for International Development.
By Tejas Gumudavelly, Research Associate
Sources and Additional Resources
DFC press release
https://www.dfc.gov/media/press-releases/dfc-achieves-first-close-100-million-loan-waterequitys-global-access-fund
WaterEquity homepage
https://waterequity.org/
Water.org homepage
https://water.org/
Previous MicroCapital story on Water.org
https://www.microcapital.org/special-report-danone-incofin-water-org-wash-sector-is-already-investible/
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