The Family Bank in Kenya and water.org, a global player in the water sector, have launched ‘MajiPlus’ to provide a Sustainable Water Solution.
The tailor-made financial solution will see increased consumer access to safe water and adequate sanitation as Kenya strives to attain Millennium Development Goal (MDG) 6 on Clean Water and Sanitation.
‘MajiPlus’, is a loan facility that will provide flexible financial solutions to individuals, micro-businesses, SMEs and Water Service Providers (WSPs) such as county water companies and Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) service providers.
This solution will cater for all WASH needs ranging from rain water harvesting, water storage, water distribution, improvement of sewerage and reticulation systems, borehole construction and equipping, solid waste and sludge management as well as the construction of domestic and commercial biogas plants.
“Water is life and touches the very core of the existence of humanity. We believe that through this partnership with water.org, Family Bank will not only be supporting the greater water sector, but we will also be positively contributing solutions towards solving the global water crisis,” said Family Bank Chief Executive Officer – Designate Rebecca Mbithi.
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“Water access is a major challenge in Kenya. We are certain that through MajiPlus, we shall not only contribute to the improvement of the health of families, but also the nation at large. We are keen to provide value chain solutions across various economic sectors and we are excited to partner with water.org to see this dream come to life for the water sector.” she added.
water.org is an international Non-Governmental Organization, whose key focus is to promote water and sanitation standards globally and has empowered over 21 million people with access to safe water and sanitation through affordable financing.
According to water.org, 844 million people – 1 in 9 people globally – lack access to safe water and 2.3 billion people – 1 in 3 – lack access to a toilet. In Kenya, it is estimated that 41 percent of the population still rely on unimproved water sources, such as ponds, shallow wells, and rivers, while 59 percent of Kenyans use unimproved sanitation solutions, with most people left to their own devices for this basic need.
“We pride ourselves in providing smart solutions such as WaterCredit, through partnership with financial institutions as we have done today with Family Bank, in order to mobilise 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.
