Expanding access to commercial financing for the WASH sector in Rwanda

• Aug 8, 2025
• 1 min

Rwanda’s WASH financing ecosystem had critical gaps, which included the limited participation of financial institutions and low capacity of WASH entrepreneurs. The “Expanding access to commercial financing for the WASH sector,” implemented under the USAID-funded “Isoko y’Ubuzima” program, addresses these critical gaps. The initiative supports the Government of Rwanda’s ambition to achieve universal WASH coverage by 2024 and meet SDG 6 by 2030. 

The project addresses critical gaps in the WASH financing ecosystem, particularly the limited participation of financial institutions and low capacity of WASH entrepreneurs. 

MSC conducted a nationwide WASH financial landscape study to identify gaps, opportunities, and financial needs across the sector. We also cocreated two digitized loan products to meet the specific needs of households and WASH businesses and piloted these products with a partner financial institution. To ensure long-term adoption, MSC built the capacity of 30 staff from financial institutions and 40 from WASH businesses in financial modeling, marketing, and business planning. We facilitated stakeholder engagement for regulatory alignment and future scale-up of WASH lending. Our engagement included the Development Bank of Rwanda, WASAC, and MINIFRA, Central Bank of Rwanda. 

This initiative unlocked commercial capital for WASH, created a blueprint for sustainable financing models, and catalyzed scalable solutions for water, sanitation, and hygiene access in Rwanda. 

Water For People and UNICEF commissioned the project.