Source - Funding Opportunities



Grants: Goldman Fund supports water micro-credit facility in India

23 Jan 08

The Richard and Rhoda Goldman Fund has awarded a US$ 500,000 grant to WaterPartners International projects in Africa and India. The project financing programme in India is called GUARDIAN, which provides micro-credit to the poor for water and sanitation as part of The WaterCredit Initiative™.

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Drought insurance: WFP programme to cover 6.7 million people in Ethiopia

22 Jan 08

Donors are looking at index-based risk financing as a new way, in addition to public works programmes, to help the poor cope with disasters. The World Food Programme (WFP) is expanding its drought insurance programme in Ethiopia to cover 6.7 million people.

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USA: Congress approves US$ 300 million for Water for Poor Act

22 Jan 08

The omnibus spending bill passed by the US House and Senate and signed by President Georges Bush on 26 December 2007 includes US$ 300 million for safe drinking water and sanitation projects in developing countries under the Senator Paul Simon Water for the Poor Act of 2005.

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Development goals: new cost estimates for attaining MDGs for water and sanitation

22 Jan 08

A new WHO study provides “more updated and comprehensive figures than have been previously available of the costs of attaining the MDG target for water and sanitation”. From 2005 to 2014 an estimated US$ 70 billion needs to be spent annually on water and sanitation of which US$ 18 billion to increase coverage to the unserved and US$ 52 billion (EUR 35.8 billion) to maintain existing coverage.

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Urban poor: Slum/Shack Dwellers International gets US$ 10 million from Gates Foundation

07 Dec 07

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation will provide US$ 10 million to the International Urban Poor Fund of Slum/Shack Dwellers International (SDI) to help the urban poor in Africa, Asia and Latin America improve their housing, water and sanitation. Funds from the grant will be used to support the activities of federations of informal savings groups formed by slum or shack dwellers.

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Latin America: Spain launches US$ 1.5 billion Water Fund

07 Dec 07

Spain will provide US$ 1.5 billion to fund drinking water services for 4.5 million people in Latin America. The country's prime minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero announced the Water Fund at the 17th Iberoamerican summit in Santiago, Chile.

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Global Sanitation Fund: WSSCC plans launch in March 2008

07 Dec 07

The Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council (WSSCC) is setting up a new financing mechanism to help large numbers of poor people to attain safe and sustainable sanitation services and adopt good hygiene practices.

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Microfinance: eBay launches MicroPlace, money transfer by mobile phone

06 Nov 07

On 24 October 2007, online auction giant eBay launched its new MicroPlace web site where investors from the USA can lend as little as US$ 50 to small business owners around the globe. Western Union and GSM Association have announced a service deal that will allow customers to send and receive low-denomination, high-frequency cross-border money transfers via mobile phones.

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Charity: Cirque du Soleil founder launches ONE DROP Foundation

06 Nov 07

On 29 October 2007, Guy Laliberté, the founder of Cirque du Soleil, officially launched the ONE DROP Foundation that aims to give everyone access to clean water. Laliberté will provide US$ 100 million over 25 years to cover the operating costs. The Foundation makes use of the circus arts, folklore, popular theatre, music, dance and the visual arts to promote education, community involvement and public awareness of water issues.

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Peru: government creates new sanitation fund Inversan

06 Nov 07

The Peruvian government has approved a bill to create an investment fund called Inversan for water and wastewater-related projects. The fund will manage all foreign grants and loans.

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