Case Studies

From 2006-2009, The PepsiCo Foundation committed $4.1 million to support Water.org’s MicroCredit Initiative in India. Through this program, PepsiCo Foundation seeks a market-based approach to the global water crisis by expanding the micro-loan market to individuals and families in India’s poorest urban slums.

Through a three-year $3.5 million partnership with Safe Water Network (SWN), The PepsiCo Foundation provides market-based approaches and technical support for safe and affordable water access to communities in Ghana, India, and Bangladesh. As part of the initiative, SWN and PepsiCo Foundation are exploring the cost-effectiveness and sustainability of Safe Water Kiosks which are community-led water purification operating systems. The “Safe Water Station” Initiative launched in 40 villages in India in 2010 is profiled here.

Since 2006, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has supported the Sustaining and Scaling School Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene Plus Community Impact program (SWASH+) in Kenya, contributing $9.5 million to CARE for the 5-year project. The initiative is an action-research and advocacy project focusing on increasing the scale, impact, and sustainability of WASH interventions in Kenya. It is being implemented by a consortium of the NGOs, including CARE, the Center for Global Safe Water at Emory University, the Great Lakes University of Kisumu, the Government of Kenya and previously Water.org.

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has contributed $17.4 million to support the Total Sanitation and Sanitation Marketing project (TSSM) in Tanzania, India and Indonesia. In Indonesia, the initiative is a collaboration between the Government of Indonesia, the World Bank’s Water and Sanitation Program, and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

In 2004, the Michael and Susan Dell Foundation awarded more than $1 million to finance WaterPartners International (Water.org) in its efforts to provide safe water and sanitation to the poor in developing countries. WaterPartners International launched a pilot WaterCredit Initiative which incorporated microfinance approach into water and sanitation projects. It is expected that participation in the project will also empower women and increase their involvement in community based projects. Currently WaterCredit is offered in India, Bangladesh, Uganda and Kenya and the average loan size is $120. The project targets the poorest populations because they tend to pay the highest price for vended water and lack access to safe drinking water. WaterCredit provides loans to finance household water and sewerage connections, toilets, sinks tube wells and water harvesting equipment.

The Conrad N. Hilton Foundation has been at the forefront of the West African Water Initiative (WAWI), contributing close to $24 million to support the project from 2002-2008. The initiative was a public-private partnership involving 14 strategic partners, and it generated more than $56 million in funds for three countries in West Africa: Ghana, Mali, and Niger.