Greenmoney: Investing in the Future of Water and Sanitation

Matt Damon and Gary White are putting their money where their mouth is.

The two are co-founder and CEO of WaterEquity, a nonprofit that aims to improve access to safe water and sanitation around the world, USA Today reports.

"Access to safe water and sanitation is a fundamental human right under binding international law," White says in a press release.

"Yet today, a global water crisis still persists."

According to the UN, more than 3.5 billion people worldwide lack access to safely managed sanitation and more than 2.2 billion people lack access to safe water.

WaterEquity estimates that if 600 million low-income people could get financing for water and sanitation services over the next decade, the market would be worth $35 billion.

WaterEquity has made more than $360 million in investments in four private investment funds that have reached more than 5 million people with increased access to safe water and sanitation.

And 93% of the people taking out the micro loans are women.

"Ensuring equitable access to safe water and sanitation cannot be accomplished without giving women the power and the capital to solve for their futures," White says in the press release.

WaterEquity's investment funds lend money to financial institutions in developing countries to expand water and sanitation lending.

The loans are repaid at an average rate of 97%

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