Family Bank Partners With Water.Org To Increase Access to Clean Water

Family Bank on May 28 partnered with Water.org, a global player in the water sector, to provide tailor-made financial solutions that will help increase consumer access to safe water and adequate sanitation.

Through a dedicated loan product dubbed ‘MajiPlus’, Family Bank will provide flexible financial solutions to individuals, micro-businesses, SMES, county water companies and other Water Service Providers (WSPs).

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The loan product will fund all the Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) solutions ranging from rainwater harvesting, water storage, water distribution, and borehole construction and dressing. It will also finance the construction of domestic and commercial biogas plants, improvement of sewerage and reticulation systems.

“Water is life and touches the very core of the existent of humanity. We believe that through this partnership with Water.org, Family Bank will not only be providing access to affordable finance in WASH sector, but we will also be positively contributing solutions towards solving the global water crisis,” said Family Bank Chief Executive Designate Rebecca Mbithi.

Ms. Mbithi also added that water access is a major problem in Kenya and through MajiPlus, Family Bank can contribute to improved health of families, allow children to focus on their academics and reduce school dropout, expand the business focus of the industry, and encourage new partnerships in the water sector.

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Water.org is an international Non-Governmental Organization whose key focus area is to promote water and sanitation standards globally.

To date, Water.org has empowered 21 million people with access to safe water and sanitation through affordable financing.

According to Water.org, 844 million people – 1 in 9 – lack access to safe water and 2.3 billion people – 1 in 3 – lack access to a toilet.

Over 4000 children die every day due to the global water crisis that we are facing. In Kenya, it is estimated that with a population of 46 million, 41 percent of Kenyans still rely on unimproved water sources, such as ponds, shallow wells, and rivers, while 59 percent of Kenyans use unimproved sanitation solutions.

Only 9 out of 55 public water service providers in Kenya provide continuous water supply, leaving people to find their own ways of searching for appropriate solutions to these basic needs.

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“We pride ourselves in providing smart solutions such as WaterCredit, through a partnership with financial institutions as we have done today with Family Bank, in order to mobilize access to finance within the water sector which is a key challenge towards achieving universal access to water and sanitation,” said Acting Country Director water.org Anthony Githinji.

“We are very proud of this partnership with Family Bank which is strategic in scaling sustainable and profitable water and sanitation portfolio and also increasing access to safe water and sanitation,” he added

Speaking at the launch event Chief Executive Officer of Water Services Providers Association(WASPA) Antony Ambugo lauded Family Bank for its innovative solution in bridging the huge financing gap within the water sector.