Expanding the Frontiers of Microfinance in the Service of the Poor: Experiment with Water and Sanitation

Abstract

Microfinance application in water and sanitation is a burgeoning concept. For some Microfinance Institutions (MFIs), the concept and its viability appear nebulous since there is inadequate information to enable them create effective portfolios for that. This paper provides a clear case of extending microfinance to water and sanitation businesses. It adopted diverse approaches to collect data from 60 landlords and tenants as well as a number of potential and existing indigenous entrepreneurs in the water and sanitation in Nima, a low income slum area in Accra, Ghana. The study found that not only does microfinance investment in water and sanitation enhance access to, and demand for water and improved sanitation, but also create business opportunities for both MFIs and individual entrepreneurs