Page 17 - Clean India Journal Magazine June 2019 Issue

NEWS TRACK

Microfinance demand rises for water, sanitation

lobally, some 663 million Water and sanitation loans have risk union territory (Puducherry) in India
Gpeople do not have access to profiles comparable to other loans. through 670 branches.
improved drinking water sources, It was estimated that approximately In a recent Water.org survey, 39
and approximately 2.4 billion people 80 per cent of borrowers earn less percent of sanitation loan recipients
lack access to improved sanitation. than $2 per day, but delinquencies reported increased safety since they no
While many households in the and repayment rates for these clients
developing world have the ability and are statistically indistinguishable longer needed to travel long distances
desire to pay for water and sanitation from wealthier water and sanitation in search of a place to defecate.
services, the high up-front costs of borrowers. CAGL’s women clients have stated
connecting to piped water supply or CreditAccess Grameen Limited that they were able to increase their
building a latrine are a deterrent to (CAGL) is a leading Indian micro- incomes due to greater productivity,
many households. Emerging evidence finance institution headquartered in since they had more convenient
from the World Bank Water Global Bangalore, focused on providing access to water and sanitation and
Practice’s Water and Sanitation micro-loans to women customers spent less time caring for sick family
Program (WSP) and Water.org is predominantly in rural areas in India. members. This allowed them to
finding that water and sanitation It follows a strategy of contiguous devote more time to their businesses.
micro-finance can be one solution to district-based expansion across CAGL recently achieved an important
increase access and reach hundreds of regions and covers 157 districts in milestone by becoming the only lender
millions at the bottom of the economic eight states (Karnataka, Maharashtra, to cross 10 lakh water and sanitation
pyramid, by spreading these costs over Tamil Nadu, Chhattisgarh, Madhya loan, in which the average ticket size
time. Pradesh, Odisha, Kerala, Goa) and one was Rs 15,000.

Clean India Journal
www.cleanindiajournal.com 17
June 2019