Co-op Bank inks deal with water providers in latest Public-Private Partnership

Vincent Kihara Head Corporate Banking Co-operative Bank, Francis Musinguzi the Africa Regional Director at Water.Org and Aarno Keijzer, Lead Impact Finance at Aqua during the signing of the partnership agreement. [Courtesy]

Cooperative Bank has today signed a deal with water providers in its latest Public-Private Partnership.

The new collaboration between the bank, Aqua for All, Water.org, and the Water & Sanitation Services Provider Association (WASPA) aims to significantly improve access to clean water and sanitation across the country.

The bank’s Director for Corporate and Institutional Banking Lydia Rono said the partnership will unlock over Sh500 million in loan facilities for medium-sized water infrastructure projects.

Ms Rono said water service providers across the country will benefit from the program, which offers loan incentives enabling access to low-cost financing with loan rebates upon successful project completion and moratoriums on principal repayment during construction.

The deal also enables technology assistance allowing for training and support for project development, proposal writing, and monitoring, ensuring projects are financially viable and meet technical standards.

Regional Business Director, Africa at  Water.org and Joshua Kibet , the WASH Finance Lead East Africa and Ethiopia from ‘Aqua for All’ peruse the agreements that will seal the tripartite partnership between Co-operative Bank, Aqua for all and Water.org.  [Courtesy]

"This partnership brings together extensive experience in finance, technical assistance, and infrastructure development," said Ms Rono, adding, "We believe it will improve lives and livelihoods across Kenya by expanding access to clean water and sanitation."

Water.org Africa Regional Director Francis Musinguzi said Aqua for All will manage the Sh500 million loan fund, targeting at least 15 projects that will improve access to safe water and sanitation for 50,000 people in urban, peri-urban, and rural areas.

"We will support WSPs in developing bankable proposals and provide capacity building for both the water providers and the Co-operative Bank's project financing team," said Musinguzi.

According to him, this will ensure efficient project implementation and measurable impact.

His sentiments were echoed by Aarno Keijzer, Lead Impact Finance at Aqua for All who said the partnership also addresses Non-Revenue Water (NRW) reduction, a challenge faced by many water utilities.

"Our intervention supports projects that improve efficiency and expand service reach," said Keijzer

The collaboration paves the way for a more sustainable water and sanitation sector in Kenya, ultimately benefiting communities across the country.