Strengthening WASH Business in Ethiopia: Financing for Small Enterprises

  • Impact Area Water, Sanitation & Hygiene
Credit Crunch: Affordable financing options for WASH businesses are badly needed

In a series of posts, we will present the main challenges that businesses face when expanding the range of WASH products and services available to households in Ethiopia. After describing these challenges, we will recommend specific regulatory and/or policy actions to address those issues, and which also are intended to improve the overall business climate in the country – so that enterprises can more easily start up, grow, and serve their communities sustainably.

This seventh of eight planned articles addresses some of the challenges experienced by enterprises when seeking credit (loans) to finance their water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) product and service lines.

Why does this matter?

Currently, only nine percent of Ethiopians have access to basic sanitation services – a serious situation that affects public health, education, and many other aspects of the country’s economic and social well-being (JMP, 2021). Achieving universal access to basic WASH facilities cannot be done by government or NGOs alone; it will require a strong contribution from the country’s private sector. The Government of Ethiopia recognizes this and is working to strengthen private sector businesses that offer WASH products and services (including household sanitation) as a key element of its greater focus on hygiene and environmental health (FMoH, 2016). These measures are necessary because the current market only meets a small fraction of the country’s enormous needs.

To gain insight into how these challenges can be addressed, and to do so in a manner that ensures the solutions are affordable to all, the USAID Transform WASH team spoke with a wide range of experts – including business owners, government officials, and technical specialists in Ethiopia and other East African countries – to get their advice and recommendations on how to develop and expand Ethiopia’s WASH market. The post that follows is largely based on these experts’ reflections.
To explore this topic in more depth, follow this link to the full Learning Note.

The credit challenge

Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Ethiopia often cite the lack of access to affordable financing as one of their top challenges (others include taxes and tariffs, access to foreign exchange, start-up capital requirements, intellectual property rights, importing equipment and raw materials, and others discussed in the Learning Note referenced above). For enterprises offering sanitation and other WASH products and services, accessing loans is even more difficult than in other sectors of the economy. This is because financial service providers, including commercial banks, microfinance institutions (MFIs), and savings and credit cooperatives (SACCOs) typically have little or no experience working with such businesses (agricultural businesses are more frequently the recipients of financing). Additionally, finance institutions have seen the WASH sector as highly subsidized by the government and other agencies and, therefore, not profitable with high risk for lending. Potential investors and entrepreneurs may also be unsure about the magnitude of consumer demand for WASH products and services, so they question the ability of WASH-related businesses to start up and remain profitable.

However, observations from Transform WASH experience indicate that WASH businesses generally have acceptable rates of loan repayment, though these enterprises sometimes have problems with late payments due to the seasonality of their customers’ agriculture-based income (Aboma, 2020). From a business’s perspective, even when loans are available, the high interest rates are a key disincentive to borrowing money needed for importing supplies and equipment, business expansion, or for other major expenses.

It’s important to keep in mind that the term “WASH business” refers to a broad range of enterprises, including small-scale masons, who make and/or install latrines; retail shops that sell latrine pans and related supplies; importers and wholesale distributors; and commercial manufacturing operations. Many such businesses not only offer WASH products and services, but also manufacture or sell other items. For smaller enterprises, borrowing from SACCOs or MFIs may be suitable options, but as mentioned above, these financing institutions may be unfamiliar with WASH business. For larger-scale WASH product manufacturing, financing will likely need to be secured through commercial banks (or brought in by foreign joint-venture partners).

How to address the financing challenge?

Part of the financing solution will require building a greater understanding within the financial sector of the scope and scale of business opportunities offered by the WASH sector. The government-led, multi-partner One WASH National Programme (OWNP) recognizes the importance of strengthening the private sector for WASH and has highlighted the importance of introducing innovative financing models through commercial banks and MFIs (OWNP, 2019).

The Ministry of Finance and Economic Cooperation, a key OWNP player, is particularly well-positioned to increase the availability of loans to WASH businesses. There is a growing body of evidence from interventions carried out with OWNP (such as the USAID Transform WASH project and others) that demonstrate the positive influence of MFI and SACCO loans made to WASH enterprises (Aboma, 2020).

Some potential WASH sector investors and entrepreneurs have expressed a desire for “demand guarantees” by the government or development agencies to ensure, for example, a minimum sales quantity or pricing level. Again, this may result from a lack of familiarity with the WASH sector, from perceptions that consumer demand and willingness to pay are not strong enough, or a concern that the WASH marketplace is still new and untested in the country. More effective communication and dissemination of WASH market information, sharing of the experiences of existing WASH enterprises, and giving a voice to satisfied household WASH customers who desire improved products and services could all contribute to strengthening financing opportunities for the growing WASH private sector.

Recommendations
  • Collaborate with the Federal Cooperative Agency and the National Bank of Ethiopia to help commercial banks, SACCOs, and MFIs develop loan products suitable for businesses manufacturing or selling WASH products and services.
  • Establish systems to track WASH market demand, sales, pricing, and other relevant data to help regulatory and finance institutions to support and manage more effectively the expansion of the WASH economy.
  • Encourage national and development banks in Ethiopia to set a target percentage of their funding to provide low-interest loans to qualified WASH sector enterprises. In addition, establish a “loan guarantee” facility to help encourage financial institutions to engage with the private WASH marketplace.
  • Address the perceived risk of making loans to WASH businesses through improved communication with the financial sector and by presenting evidence of consumer demand and loan repayment records.
  •  Encourage OWNP partners to provide demand guarantees for WASH product orders and service contracts. Ensuring stability and profitability, especially in this early phase of the WASH market’s evolution, will help reduce start-up risks both for local manufacturers and importers.

The next (and final) post in this series will address the critical issue of consumer financing to purchase WASH products and services.

Photo Credit: Monte Achenbach, Masons constructing toilet slabs

About Transform WASH

USAID Transform WASH aims to improve water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) outcomes in Ethiopia by increasing market access to and sustained use of a broader spectrum of affordable WASH products and services, with a substantial focus on sanitation.
Transform WASH achieves this by transforming the market for low-cost quality WASH products and services: stimulating demand at the community level, strengthening supply chains, and improving the enabling environment for a vibrant private market.

USAID Transform WASH is a USAID-funded activity implemented by PSI in collaboration with SNV, Plan International, and IRC WASH. The consortium is working closely with government agencies, including the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Water, Irrigation and Electricity, the One WASH National Program, and regional and sub-regional governments.

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Safiya Ahmed, from Oromia region of Ethiopia, is seen immersed in transformative technical training on floor solutions and SATO pan installation

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By: Dr. Zayar Kyaw, Head of Health Security & Innovation, PSI Myanmar

Under a three-year investment from the Indo-Pacific Center for Health Security under Australia’s Department for Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), PSI is enhancing disease outbreak surveillance and public health emergency preparedness and response capacities in Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam. When PSI conducted a review of existing disease surveillance systems in Myanmar, it identified several gaps: although the Ministry of Health had systems in place for HIV, tuberculosis, malaria and other communicable diseases, they were fragmented, with different reporting formats and reliance on paper-based reporting. In addition, private sector case surveillance data were not routinely captured, yet private clinics and pharmacies are the dominant health service delivery channel in the country. This hindered effective disease prevention and control efforts.

Building on our extensive private sector malaria surveillance work under the BMGF-funded GEMS project in the Greater Mekong Subregion, PSI implemented a case-based disease notification system using social media channels to overcome the limitations of paper-based and custom-built mobile reporting tools. These chatbots, accessible through popular social media platforms like Facebook Messenger and Viber, proved to be user-friendly and required minimal training, maintenance, and troubleshooting. The system was implemented in more than 550 clinics of the Sun Quality Health social franchise network as well as nearly 470 pharmacies. The captured information flows to a DHIS2 database used for real-time monitoring and analysis, enabling rapid detection of potential outbreaks. Local health authorities receive instant automated SMS notifications, enabling them to promptly perform case investigation and outbreak response.

In 2022, private clinics reported 1,440 malaria cases through the social media chatbots, while community mobilizers working with 475 private providers and community-based malaria volunteers reported more than 5,500 cases, leading to the detection of two local malaria outbreaks. Local health authorities were instantly notified, allowing them to take action to contain these surges in malaria transmission. During the same time, pharmacies referred 1,630 presumptive tuberculosis cases for confirmatory testing – a third of which were diagnosed as tuberculosis and enrolled into treatment programs.

Training health workers in Angola

By: Anya Fedorova, Country Representative, PSI Angola  

The shortage of skilled health workers is widely acknowledged as a significant barrier to achieving Universal Health Coverage. To address this challenge, PSI supported ministries of health to develop a digital ecosystem that brings together stewardship, learning, and performance management (SLPM). The ecosystem enhances training, data-driven decision-making, and the efficiency of healthcare delivery.

Here’s what it looks like in practice.

In July 2020, PSI Angola, alongside the Angolan digital innovation company Appy People, launched Kassai, an eLearning platform that targets public sector health workers in Angola. Through funding from USAID and the President’s Malaria Initiatve (PMI), Kassai features 16 courses in malaria, family planning, and maternal and child health – with plans to expand learning topic areas through funding from ExxonMobil Foundation and private sector companies. A partnership with UNITEL, the largest telecommunication provider in Angola, provides all public health providers in Angola free internet access to use Kassai.

Kassai’s analytics system to follow learners’ success rate and to adjust the course content to learners’ performance and needs. Kassai analytics are integrated with DHIS2 – the Health Management Information System (HMIS) of Angolan MOH, to be able to link learners’ knowledge and performance with the health outcomes in the health facilities.  The analytics track learners’ performance by course and gives visibility by health provider, health facility, municipality, and province. Each course has pre-and post-evaluation tests to track progress of learning, too.

By the end of 2022, there were 6,600 unique users on the Kassai platform and 31,000 course enrollments. PSI Angola’s partnership with UNITEL, the largest telecommunication provider in Angola, allows for free internet access to learn on the Kassai for all public health providers in Angola. Building on its success for malaria training, Kassai now also provides courses in family planning, COVID-19, and maternal and child health. This reduces training silos and provides cross-cutting benefits beyond a single disease.

Implementing the SLPM digital ecosystem brings numerous benefits to health systems. It allows for more strategic and efficient workforce training and performance management, enabling ministries of health to track changes in health workers’ knowledge, quality of care, service utilization, and health outcomes in real time. The ecosystem also supports better stewardship of mixed health systems by facilitating engagement with the private sector, aligning training programs and standards of care, and integrating private sector data into national HMIS. Furthermore, it enables the integration of community health workers into the broader health system, maximizing their impact and contribution to improving health outcomes and strengthening primary healthcare.

OUR COMMITMENTS

WHISTLEBLOWER AND ANTI-RETALIATION

PSI does not tolerate retaliation or adverse employment action of any kind against anyone who in good faith reports a suspected violation or misconduct under this policy, provides information to an external investigator, a law enforcement official or agency, or assists in the investigation of a suspected violation, even if a subsequent investigation determines that no violation occurred, provided the employee report is made in good faith and with reasonable belief in its accuracy.

OUR COMMITMENTS

Global Code of Business Conduct And Ethics

PSI’s code sets out our basic expectations for conduct that is legal, honest, fair, transparent, ethical, honorable, and respectful. It is designed to guide the conduct of all PSI employees—regardless of location, function, or position—on ethical issues they face during the normal course of business. We also expect that our vendors, suppliers, and contractors will work ethically and honestly.

OUR COMMITMENTS

The Future of Work

With overarching commitments to flexibility in our work, and greater wellbeing for our employees, we want to ensure PSI is positioned for success with a global and holistic view of talent. Under our new “work from (almost) anywhere,” or “WFAA” philosophy, we are making the necessary investments to be an employer of record in more than half of U.S. states, and consider the U.S. as one single labor market for salary purposes. Globally, we recognize the need to compete for talent everywhere; we maintain a talent center in Nairobi and a mini-hub in Abidjan. PSI also already works with our Dutch-based European partner, PSI Europe, and we’re creating a virtual talent center in the UK.

OUR COMMITMENTS

Meaningful Youth Engagement

PSI is firmly committed to the meaningful engagement of young people in our work. As signatories of the Global Consensus Statement on Meaningful Adolescent & Youth Engagement, PSI affirms that young people have a fundamental right to actively and meaningfully engage in all matters that affect their lives. PSI’s commitments aim to serve and partner with diverse young people from 10-24 years, and we have prioritized ethics and integrity in our approach. Read more about our commitments to the three core principles of respect, justice and Do No Harm in the Commitment to Ethics in Youth-Powered Design. And read more about how we are bringing our words to action in our ICPD+25 commitment, Elevating Youth Voices, Building Youth Skills for Health Design.

OUR COMMITMENTS

Zero Tolerance for Modern-Day Slavery and Human Trafficking

PSI works to ensure that its operations and supply chains are free from slavery and human trafficking. Read more about this commitment in our policy statement, endorsed by the PSI Board of Directors.

OUR COMMITMENTS

UNITED NATIONS GLOBAL COMPACT

Since 2017, PSI has been a signatory to the United Nations Global Compact, a commitment to align strategies and operations with universal principles of human rights, labor, environment and anti-corruption. Read about PSI’s commitment to the UN Global Compact here.

OUR COMMITMENTS

Environmental Sustainability

The health of PSI’s consumers is inextricably linked to the health of our planet. That’s why we’ve joined the Climate Accountability in Development as part of our commitment to reducing our greenhouse gas emissions by 30 percent by 2030. Read about our commitment to environmental sustainability.

OUR COMMITMENTS

Affirmative Action and Equal Employment Opportunity

PSI does not discriminate against any employee or applicant for employment because of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, marital status, genetic information, disability, protected veteran status or any other classification protected by applicable federal, state or local law. Read our full affirmative action and equal employment opportunity policy here.

OUR COMMITMENTS

Zero Tolerance for Discrimination and Harassment

PSI is committed to establishing and maintaining a work environment that fosters harmonious, productive working relationships and encourages mutual respect among team members. Read our policy against discrimination and harassment here.

PSI is committed to serving all health consumers with respect, and strives for the highest standards of ethical behavior. PSI is dedicated to complying with the letter and spirit of all laws, regulations and contractual obligations to which it is subject, and to ensuring that all funds with which it is entrusted are used to achieve maximum impact on its programs. PSI provides exceptionally strong financial, operational and program management systems to ensure rigorous internal controls are in place to prevent and detect fraud, waste and abuse and ensure compliance with the highest standards. Essential to this commitment is protecting the safety and well-being of our program consumers, including the most vulnerable, such as women and children. PSI maintains zero tolerance for child abuse, sexual abuse, or exploitative acts or threats by our employees, consultants, volunteers or anyone associated with the delivery of our programs and services, and takes seriously all complaints of misconduct brought to our attention.

OUR FOCUS

Diversity and Inclusion

PSI affirms its commitment to diversity and believes that when people feel respected and included they can be more honest, collaborative and successful. We believe that everyone deserves respect and equal treatment regardless of gender, race, ethnicity, age, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, cultural background or religious beliefs. Read our commitment to diversity and inclusion here. Plus, we’ve signed the CREED Pledge for Racial and Ethnic Equity. Learn more.

OUR COMMITMENTS

Gender Equality

PSI affirms gender equality is a universal human right and the achievement of it is essential to PSI’s mission. Read about our commitment to gender equality here.

OUR FOCUS

People & Communities

We prioritize the voices of people and communities in designing programs, deliver direct-to-consumer products and information, and accelerate social and behavioral change for health impact.

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OUR FOCUS

Scaling Digital Health Innovations

Across 40+ countries, we scale digital solutions that make it easier for people to take ownership of their own health, and health systems to use resources efficiently and increase health impact.

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Our Focus

Supporting People to be Active Agents in their Healthcare

We support health systems in shaping the policy and regulatory environment for self-care interventions and ensuring self-care is included as an essential part of healthcare services.

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Cover

01 #PeoplePowered

02 Breaking Taboos

03 Moving Care Closer to Consumers

04 Innovating on Investments

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