The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene Finance (WASH-FIN) project seeks to close financing gaps to achieve universal access to water and sanitation services through sustainable and creditworthy business models, increased public funding, and expanded market finance for infrastructure investment. A large financing gap exists in the Cambodian water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) sector; the private sector has been identified as a key player in bridging this gap.
WASH-FIN assessed the investor landscape to gain insight on the state of financing for private water operators (PWOs) in Cambodia, assist PWOs to tailor their capital financing efforts to the different investor types, and help PWOs prioritize investor types based on their respective requirements. To achieve this, WASH-FIN conducted extensive desk research and reviewed documentation of prior financing for 41 PWOs that expressed interest in WASH-FIN support. WASH-FIN complemented the desk research with consultations across different financial institutions and investor types to gauge the appetite for financing PWOs.