Water.org provides a variety of catalytic capacity-building grants – smart subsidies – to its WaterCredit partners for different purposes. This financing is “smart” because, unlike traditional grants, smart subsidies are provided in a targeted manner to correct market distortions and create new markets. A smart subsidy is provided with the objective of attracting (and leveraging) additional philanthropic, social, commercial and civic capital to the table and leading the creation of sustainable financial solutions that will not require additional grants over time.
In addition to smart subsidies for WaterCredit program activities, grant funding is necessary to build the learning platform that characterizes the initiative and fosters “ripple effects” and innovation extending far beyond Water.org and its partner network. This includes WaterCredit Forums, the WaterCredit.org website and WASH training modules for MFIs. Ultimately, the goal of this platform is to enable MFIs and other stakeholders to take-up WaterCredit programs with publicly-available information. This enhances overall impact, maximizes a donor’s contribution, and increases the efficiency of other financial and human resources at hand.
Uses for smart subsidies
The types of WaterCredit activities for which smart subsidies are provided to partner MFIs include:
- Organizational-level market assessments
- Client-level demand surveys
- Loan and savings product development and roll-out costs
- Hygiene education and related community-based outreach
- Loan tracking technology for WASH products
In addition, we provide smart subsidies for WASH partner organizations for a variety of capacity-building activities, including financial management training and community mobilization initiatives.
