WHI's community water systems are proving that rural customers are willing to pay for access to safe, clean water.
Investment Stories
The Challenge
- In both urban and rural areas of India, low-income households generally lack access to affordable, safe water. Families, especially women and girls, spend long hours collecting water from local water sources, and end up with water that is not safe for consumption.
The Innovation
- WHI developed a model incorporating a cost-effective technology designed for the poor, and an effective approach to social marketing and distribution.
- The business model is unique, combining social marketing expertise, a deep knowledge of local markets, commercial financing skills, and world-class technology for purifying bacterial contamination in collected surface water.
The Impact
- WHI’s rural community water systems have already given over 500,000 people in India alone daily access to safe, affordable water. In 2007, WHI added 150 new water systems.
- Acumen Fund’s loan guarantee helped establish a $1 million debt facility from ICICI, India’s second-largest bank. In 2007, Dow Venture Capital anchored an $11 million Series C round of investments in WHI. This access to mainstream capital markets will enable WHI to scale exponentially and reflects the sophistication of its business plan.
- WHI now has the potential to be a game-changing leader in providing safe drinking water in rural areas in a financially sustainable manner.