In India, almost 100 million people do not have access to clean drinking water. By signing its first investment the Water Access Acceleration Fund (W2AF) will assist Rite Water to further expand its impact by increasing the supply of clean drinking water in India beyond the two million people across 12 states that the company is already serving.
“As an investor in W2AF, we are very pleased to see the first investment being made in a company that has a proven track record and is delivering a positive impact by assisting millions of people in getting access to clean drinking water. This is a solid start for W2AF, and we are looking forward to future investments that will bring us closer to our common target of bringing 20 billion litres of safe drinking water to 30 million people by 2030.”
Søren Peter Andreasen, Deputy CEO at IFU.
Access to water is an impact priority for IFU
Lack of access to clean drinking water has a severe negative impact on people’s lives and livelihood. Therefore, tackling this challenge is one of IFU’s impact priorities.
In cooperation with other investors, IFU has committed a total of EUR 36 million in the W2AF, which is the first private equity fund in a sector that is traditionally financed by governments, donors and foundations. W2AF will invest in innovative water businesses that provide affordable and safe drinking water to underserved populations. Besides creating positive financial and social impacts, the fund also aims to demonstrate the financial viability of the safe drinking water market worldwide.
Rite Water has demonstrated good results
Rite Water, incorporated in 2006 in Nagpur, India, specializes in potable water and water quality improvement solutions by providing comprehensive, cost effective and sustainable solutions for safe drinking water to rural areas where water sources are contaminated. Rite Water has deployed over 2,500 purification units and treatment plants equipped with tailored technologies.
With the EUR 7.5 million investment from W2AF the ambition is to provide 50 million litres of clean drinking water every day by 2028.
Read more about Rite Water: Water solution – Ritewater