
The Water Credit Initiative has been funded by social entrepreneur Gary White and Hollywood Actor Matt Damon through their organization Water.org which has invested US$ 2.2 million in Water Credit programs.. Water credit applies the principles of microfinance to the water and sanitation sector in developing countries. By making small loans to individuals and communities who do not have access to credit, Water-Credit empowers people to address their own water and sanitation needs instead of depending on government funds and charity.
Today it is estimated that nearly 1 billion people are in need of access to safe water and over 2.5 billion do not have access to even a simple latrine. The current grant drove financial models and government resources that are available are insufficient to meet these problems. Water Credit models use local resources and accelerate natural market processes, ultimately serving more people much quicker.
In the below video Water.org co-founders Gary White and Matt Damon visit a project site in Tiruchirapalli in Tamil Nadu, India and discuss the success of the local WaterCredit project. To know more about Water credit visit – http://watercredit.org
MFI partners of Water Credit
Bharat Integrated Social Welfare Agency (BISWA), Sambalapur, Orissa State
Evangelical Social Action Forum (ESAF), Trichur, Kerala
Gramalaya Urban And Rural Development Initiatives And Network (GUARDIAN), Tiruchirapalli, Tamilnadu
Hand in Hand, Kancheepuram, Tamil Nadu
BASIX – Hyderabad
NGO Partners of Water Credit
GRAMALAYA, Tiruchirapalli, Tamilnadu State
Mythri Sarva Seva Samithi (MSSS), Bangalore, Karnataka
Organization for the Development of People (ODP) – Mysore, Karnataka State
Organization for the Development of People (ODP) – Mysore, Karnataka State
Society for Integrated Development in Urban and Rural (SIDUR) – Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh.