WaterEquity

What WaterEquity does

WaterEquity is a privately held impact investment asset manager founded in 2016 by Gary White and Matt Damon of Water.org and headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri. The firm manages a portfolio of investment vehicles — four closed-end Global Access Funds, the Water & Climate Resilience Fund, and the open-ended Everspring Fund — that direct private capital into water and sanitation solutions across emerging markets in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. As of 03/31/2026, WaterEquity's funds have deployed over $540 million across 128 investments in 24 low- and middle-income countries, reaching 9.7 million people with safe water or sanitation and enabling 1.7 million microloans, 95% of which were made to women end-clients at a reported 97-99% repayment rate.

The firm deploys capital through two primary channels: debt capital to financial institutions (commercial banks, microfinance institutions, and microfinance NGOs such as KCB Bank Tanzania, ACLEDA Bank, Sidian Bank, Golomt Bank, Varthana Finance, First Finance, CreditAccess Grameen, and BML Africa) to scale water and sanitation microloan portfolios, and direct equity and debt investments in water and sanitation enterprises and infrastructure projects (e.g., SunCulture, Organica Water). WaterEquity does not develop proprietary technology products; its core capability is sourcing, structuring, underwriting, and monitoring impact investments in a highly specialized, under-financed sector, supported by technical assistance from its sister organization Water.org.

WaterEquity earns revenue through asset management fees on committed and deployed capital across its fund complex. Its investor base is institutional and impact-oriented, including development finance institutions (DFC), large banks (Bank of America), major foundations (Conrad N. Hilton Foundation, Skoll Foundation), corporate strategic investors (Niagara Bottling, Reckitt), and family offices (Ceniarth). Distribution is executed exclusively through direct sales engagement with accredited and qualified investors, supported by an eFront-based investor portal, donor-advised fund partnerships, and a thought-leadership presence across earned media, podcasts, and impact investing conferences.

Name

WaterEquity

Legal name

WaterEquity LLC

Website

https://waterequity.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2016

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

WaterEquity is a privately held impact investment asset manager founded by Gary White and Matt Damon that deploys private capital into water and sanitation solutions across emerging markets via debt to financial institutions, enterprise investments, and infrastructure projects in 24 countries.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Impact Investment Management

NAICS

Other Investment Pools and Funds (5259), Funds, Trusts, and Other Financial Vehicles (525), Credit Intermediation and Related Activities (522)

SIC

Investment Advice (6282), Miscellaneous Business Credit Institution (6159)

akta.pro primary industry

Water & Waste / Circular Economy Funds (FSANAJAF)

akta.pro secondary industries

Sustainable Private Markets (Impact PE/VC, Private Credit, Infrastructure) (FSAAALAG), Environmental & Resource Efficiency Funds (Water, Waste, Recycling, Efficiency) (FSANAEAE), Infrastructure Debt Funds (FSANAEAL)

Keywords

• Impact investment management
• Water and sanitation financing
• Emerging market lending
• Microfinance investment funds
• Infrastructure equity investing

Headquarters

HQ city

Kansas City

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Asset Management Fees: WaterEquity earns asset management fees by raising capital from investors and deploying it into water and sanitation investments across emerging markets. The firm manages closed-end and open-ended (Everspring Fund) investment vehicles.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

WaterEquity is an impact investment asset manager that raises capital from accredited and institutional investors and deploys it into the water and sanitation sector across emerging markets. Capital is invested through closed-end and open-ended investment funds (Global Access Fund series, Everspring Fund, Water & Climate Resilience Fund) primarily via debt to financial institutions for water and sanitation microloan portfolios, and through direct equity into water and sanitation enterprises and infrastructure projects.

Product overview

WaterEquity is an impact investment asset manager offering a portfolio of specialized investment funds targeting water and sanitation access in emerging markets. The product suite includes closed-end funds (Global Access Fund IV), an open-ended evergreen fund (Everspring Fund), and a private equity/infrastructure fund (Water & Climate Resilience Fund). These funds deploy capital through two primary channels: financial institution lending (enabling microloans for households) and direct infrastructure/enterprise investments. WaterEquity also provides an investor portal for fund investors. The funds are structured to deliver both social impact (safe water and sanitation access) and modest financial returns, with women representing 93-95% of microloan end-clients.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• WaterEquity Everspring Fund: First open-ended strategy from WaterEquity designed to drive measurable impact in water and sanitation access across emerging markets. Perpetual source of funding for financial institution borrowers.
• Water & Climate Resilience Fund
• Global Access Fund

Products and services

• WaterEquity Everspring Fund WaterEquity's first open-ended (evergreen) investment fund focused exclusively on universal access to water and sanitation (SDG 6) in emerging markets. Open for subscription by Qualified Purchasers and serves as a perpetual source of debt funding for financial institution borrowers that on-lend as water and sanitation microloans.
• Water & Climate Resilience Fund Private equity and infrastructure fund that takes a macro view of expanding water access and tackling water access challenges at a systemic level. Invests in climate-resilient water supply and sanitation infrastructure and direct enterprise equity in emerging markets.
• Global Access Fund IV Closed-end impact investment fund (fourth in the Global Access Fund series) with a $150 million final close that deploys debt capital to financial institutions and enterprises in the water and sanitation sector across emerging markets.
• Financial Institution Lending Program Debt capital program that lends to banks and microfinance institutions in emerging markets (e.g., KCB Bank Tanzania, ACLEDA Bank, Golomt Bank, Sidian Bank, Family Bank Kenya, CreditAccess Grameen, First Finance, Varthana Finance, BML) so they can on-lend as water and sanitation microloans to households, SMEs, and water enterprises.
• Infrastructure and Enterprise Investments Direct equity and infrastructure investments in water and sanitation enterprises and infrastructure projects in emerging markets, including investments in SunCulture (solar-powered water pumps in Africa) and Organica Water (decentralized wastewater treatment in South/Southeast Asia).

Quantifiable outcome

• 9.7 million people reached with water and sanitation
• +7 more outcomes

Named customers13 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Water.orgcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWater.org is WaterEquity's sister organization, co-founded by Gary White and Matt Damon. Water.org pioneered the model of microfinance for water and sanitation and provides technical assistance to WaterEquity's financial institution partners. The organizations collaborate on developing the water and sanitation market through strategic local partnerships.

Scale indicators12 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• BlueOrchard Finance: Leading impact investment manager focused on debt capital to financial institutions in emerging markets. Highly comparable business model: WaterEquity's Africa and East Asia Pacific team members came directly from BlueOrchard, and both firms deploy private credit to FIs for inclusive growth.
• responsAbility Investments AG: Swiss impact asset manager investing across emerging market financial inclusion, climate, and food. Directly comparable: WaterEquity's Africa team previously worked at responsAbility, and both operate impact debt funds channeled through local FIs.
• Triodos Investment Management: European sustainable asset manager with funds in financial inclusion, renewable energy, and sustainable food/agriculture. WaterEquity's East Asia Pacific hire came from Triodos, and both deploy institutional capital into high-impact thematic strategies.
• Acumen: Pioneer impact investor using philanthropic capital to invest in early-stage enterprises serving low-income communities in Africa and South Asia. Comparable as a fellow water/sanitation-adjacent impact investor, though Acumen uses more equity/grant-like instruments versus WaterEquity's debt-led model.
• Calvert Impact Capital: US-based impact asset manager raising capital from retail and institutional investors for community development, climate, and financial inclusion. Comparable as a similarly sized thematic impact manager with multi-fund strategy and investor portal infrastructure.
• LeapFrog Investments: Emerging-markets-focused impact PE firm investing in financial services and healthcare. Comparable as a fellow thematic impact manager pursuing both financial returns and social outcomes in Asia, Africa, and Latin America.
• Climate Fund Managers (CFM): Dutch fund manager focused on climate-resilient infrastructure in emerging markets via blended finance. Highly comparable to WaterEquity's Water & Climate Resilience Fund, both deploying institutional capital into climate-adaptive water and infrastructure assets.

Others

• Water.org: Sister nonprofit co-founded by the same individuals (Gary White, Matt Damon). Not a direct competitor but the originating platform and technical assistance provider; WaterEquity's FI lending model is built on Water.org's household-level water credit methodology.
• Ceniarth LLC: Single-family-office impact investor deploying capital across emerging markets. Functions as a direct investor in WaterEquity's funds and as a fellow impact capital allocator in financial inclusion and climate themes.

Broad incumbents

• U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC): US government development finance institution investing in emerging market private sector across sectors. Comparable as a major LP/investor in WaterEquity's funds and a co-investor in many of the same WASH and infrastructure deals.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks2 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/waterequityorg
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/water-equity

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments3 records

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about WaterEquity