Portfolio Partner Profile
Azure Source Capital
Azure is an initiative that mobilizes capital and technical expertise to upgrade and expand water services for under-served urban and peri-urban communities of El Salvador. Azure Source Capital (ASC) provides capital to local financial institutions (rural banks and credit cooperatives) to on-lend to water service providers at competitive interest rates. Its technical services partner, Azure Technical Services, provides engineering services and training to water service providers and facilitates loans between local financial institutions and water service providers, including small urban water utilities and community water boards in rural communities.
Azure is focused on filling a critical financing gap in the water sector in El Salvador, with potential for replication in other countries in the region. In El Salvador more than 20% of the population does not have access to piped water into their homes and 40% of the population has unreliable access to water (meaning fewer than 12 hours/day or 7 days/week). 2/3 of rural and small urban water systems require major capital infusions to improve and expand water services. As a result, Azure aims to work with 200 water service providers during the next five years to improve services for 325,000 people.
To date, Azure has provided technical assistance to 83 water services providers, benefiting more than 63,000 families and has mobilized $1.6 million for direct upgrades to water and sanitation systems, including nearly $500,000 in loans through Azure Source Capital.
Learn more about Azure's impact in the videos below:
Featured Impact Story
Impact Story
Water is life
Azure asserts that “water is life,” which is the foundation of their mission to ensure that all communities, especially those living in poverty, have access to clean water.
“From the very first day I received water access, I have been much happier. I bathe often; I water my plants; I keep my house clean; I couldn’t do this before,” says Salvador Ayala, a resident of one of the communities that Azure works with.
“Girls and boys do not waste time fetching water now. They even have more time to study,” concludes one of the board members of the community that contacted Azure, mentioning one of the many benefits of water access.
Environmental Sustainability
Health
Gender Equity
