The Belgium-based investment firm Incofin recently launched the Water Access Acceleration Fund (W2AF), a private equity fund with the objective of reaching 30 million people with access to safe drinking water, primarily in Africa and Asia. In particular, the fund will support companies providing services such as pipe infrastructure, water kiosks and clean-water technology.
W2AF is the first private equity initiative in a sector that is traditionally financed by governments, donors and foundations. The fund aimsto demonstrate the financial viability of the safe drinking water market worldwide. It has a blended finance structure – an approach to use part of the public and private donor funds to attract capital from private investors. W2AF hit EUR 36 million in commitments at this first closing and aims to achieve total capital commitments of EUR 70 million in subsequent closings.
