Faulu Bank has set aside a Ksh.250Mn for water, supply, and sanitation financing solution to enable Kenyans to access sustainable water flow in their business and personal environment.
The newly launched product is powered by Faulu Bank in partnership with Water.org through the Association of Micro Finance Institutions Kenya (AMF-KI) aimed at enabling Kenyan’s gain access to clean water and sanitation in various capacities.
Giving his remarks on the new financing solution, Faulu Bank Managing Director Apollo Njoroge said, “Water is one of our key thematic areas in our partnership agenda and we deliberately have aligned ourselves with water-related institutions to actualize this agenda. As a bank, we are committed to supporting and ensuring that Kenya as a country achieves its agenda to have access to water for all”.
Findings show that currently, at least 16 million Kenyans lack access to safe water while 24 million people lack access to improved sanitation across the country.
On sanitation, the findings show that the level of sewerage coverage in the country is still very low with only less than 4 million people served, which translates to about 20%-30% of the urban population.
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Through this new product, Faulu bank seeks to offer financing to households to improve water harvesting and drainage thus acquiring water tanks, constructing gutters, and water pans connected to sewer lines for eventual drainage.
“Besides, the inclusion of the right to water and sanitation in the Constitution of Kenya puts demands on all actors to deliver on their obligations. This provision opens space for Faulu Bank to play its rightful role by aggressively taking a proactive role in both highlighting the problem and offering financial solutions”, said Njoroge. “With the water, supply, and sanitation financing solution we see ourselves as complementing the government’s role in ensuring access to safe water to all. We believe that water resources contribute enormously to the economic productivity and social wellbeing of the human populace as both social and economic activities rely heavily on the quantity and quality of water”.
The lending will also be done for two segments; Micro products and SME products.
Micro Products will include water tanks, water connection, water harvesting package, sanitation access, and drainage. The bank will also finance those in water-related transport ventures with asset finance and working capital, SME Products include water assets financing these are equipment financing for drilling and borehole construction, dams and water pans (construction and rehabilitation), and water value addition products, in addition to trade finance lines and products.
With the current population growing by 2.5% annually, the bank sees the need to keep pace with the growing demand this presents regarding the lending opportunities since a large percentage of Kenyans lack improved water access.
