This weblog, initially printed by MSC, builds on a number of years of labor by the e-MFP WASH Motion Group to strengthen impression measurement in WASH finance. Led by e-MFP and Aqua for All, the Motion Group has labored with MSC since 2024 to check, refine and operationalise a harmonised WASH Impression Indicator Framework, together with by way of pilots with monetary service suppliers in Asia and Africa.
Within the weblog, MSC’s Rasika Chopra, Mansi Sharma and Sanika Sayali Talekar think about this work by way of the lens of a wider problem for the sector: tips on how to unlock non-public capital for WASH at scale. They argue that fragmented reporting, inconsistent indicators and restricted proof on funding efficiency and outcomes proceed to constrain investor confidence.
Drawing on the Motion Group’s work, they set out how a typical, sensible method to impression measurement can cut back reporting burdens, enhance comparability and supply traders with higher proof on the place capital goes, the way it performs and the outcomes it delivers. We’re happy to have the ability to re-publish this glorious piece, and for the necessary partnership we proceed to have with MSC.
Entry to secure water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) stays one of many world’s most persistent improvement challenges. In keeping with the WHO–UNICEF Joint Monitoring Program (2025), 2.1 billion individuals nonetheless lack entry to secure ingesting water, 3.4 billion lack fundamental sanitation, and 1.7 billion lack fundamental hygiene. Closing these gaps by 2030 would require almost tripling present funding, a further USD 100 billion yearly that public budgets can not present.
The shortfall is structural. Creating international locations spend almost USD 165 billion yearly on water infrastructure. Of this, public finance accounts for 91%, non-public funding for lower than 2%, and the rest comes from tariffs, taxes, and transfers, together with Official Growth Help. Scaling up public expenditure is constrained by fiscal priorities, excessive debt, and the lengthy payback cycles of WASH. Even inside local weather finance, WASH lags behind. Of the USD 1.9 trillion tracked in 2023, solely USD 49 billion went to water and wastewater administration. Mobilising non-public capital is due to this fact a necessity, not a comfort.
The sector stands at an inflection level. Impression funding in WASH grew 33% between 2015 and 2019, the fastest-growing sector tracked by the International Impression Investing Community, and Growth Finance Establishments similar to Worldwide Finance Company (IFC), FMO, and DEGÂ are co-investing with non-public companions throughout Asia and Africa. But capital flows stay modest. The constraint is just not in urge for food however within the proof generated.
The Proof Hole: How Fragmented Reporting is Holding WASH Investments Again
Credible impression measurement is crucial for personal capital to scale in WASH. Traders and improvement finance establishments depend on standardised metrics to evaluate portfolio efficiency, evaluate investments, and show outcomes to their stakeholders.
The absence of a harmonised measurement framework means monetary service suppliers (FSPs) face fragmented reporting necessities, resulting in duplicated effort, reporting fatigue, and restricted comparability throughout portfolios and geographies. Whereas WASH advantages from well-established frameworks for service entry and public expenditure, these weren’t designed to fulfill investor wants or assess funding efficiency. A evaluate of current monitoring instruments recognized 4 important gaps that proceed to constrain non-public capital mobilisation within the WASH sector:
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Observe service-level and coverage indicators, however seize restricted knowledge on non-public finance flows and mortgage efficiency to be helpful for capital allocation selections
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Require FSPs to trace and report on indicators that sit outdoors their current MIS programs, making a reporting burden
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Measure outputs on the institutional or portfolio stage however lack the granularity to attribute well being, earnings, or service outcomes to particular person purchasers or loans
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Go away every investor or framework to outline their very own indicators and methodology, leaving no frequent measurement language for evaluating investments throughout portfolios and sectors.
Different sectors present what turns into attainable when that is resolved. The Inexperienced Bond Rules helped develop the inexperienced finance market from underneath USD 1 billion in 2012 to over USD 500 billion yearly inside a decade, and harmonised reporting did the identical for microfinance. WASH wants the identical basis – a typical measurement language that provides traders confidence to commit capital on the scale the sector requires.
Closing the Proof Hole: The e-MFP WASH Motion Group impression Indicator Framework
The e-MFP WASH Motion Group impression indicator framework was developed to handle the gaps recognized above. It’s sensible, grounded in world requirements, and constructed for establishments in resource-constrained environments, with three objectives:
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Decreasing reporting burdens on FSPs
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Enhancing knowledge comparability throughout portfolios
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Strengthening the hyperlink between finance deployed and outcomes generated
The framework contains eleven core indicators throughout 4 dimensions: monetary, social, local weather, and repair ranges. Monetary metrics present how capital carried out, whereas the remaining three reveal what that capital has modified on the bottom. Collectively, they construct the holistic proof base that accountable traders want.
Every indicator is supported by sub-indicators, enabling disaggregation by borrower section, enterprise dimension, gender, geography, WASH subsector, mortgage traits, local weather contribution, and repair ranges. This stage of granularity permits monetary establishments to grasp not solely how a lot capital has been deployed, but additionally who it reaches, the way it performs, and the outcomes it generates.
From Design to Actuality: Pilot Testing and Operationalisation
The framework was developed in three phases. In Section 1 (2022–2023), e-MFP and Aqua for All commissioned the monetary advisory agency Insurgent to develop the WASH Handbook and a draft indicator framework, establishing the conceptual basis for standardised WASH impression measurement. In Section 2 (2024), MSC evaluated the draft framework with asset managers, monetary establishments, and WASH SMEs to evaluate its practicality and alignment with current measurement practices.
Section 3 targeted on refining and operationalising the framework primarily based on these findings. The framework was piloted with monetary service suppliers (FSPs) throughout Asia and Africa and with knowledge platforms to evaluate whether or not it may very well be embedded inside current institutional programs with out creating an unsustainable reporting burden. The method concerned mapping current institutional knowledge, reviewing MIS programs, and assessing knowledge granularity to establish reporting capability and gaps in WASH-related info.
Fairly than creating parallel reporting constructions, the pilot built-in lacking knowledge fields into current MIS wherever possible. The place FSPs lacked WASH or local weather classifications, it explored tagging mechanisms and focused system modifications that may very well be included into routine reporting.
Determine 1: Classification of indicators by reporting effort and knowledge assortment methodology
The pilot additionally refined the unique 16-indicator framework to 11 core indicators by retaining, redefining, merging, and dropping indicators primarily based on operational feasibility and analytical relevance. To facilitate implementation, the framework is translated into a collection of sensible instruments, together with an operational guide with standardised indicator definitions and reporting steering, standardised MIS reporting templates for capturing portfolio and monetary indicators constantly throughout establishments, and structured survey devices with digital knowledge assortment instruments for end result indicators that aren’t captured by way of MIS. Indicators are categorised as MIS-based or survey-based and additional categorised by reporting effort as low (MIS-derived), average (survey-based), and excessive (requiring retrospective classification), enabling phased adoption primarily based on institutional readiness. Collectively, these instruments help integrating the framework into current reporting programs whereas selling constant, comparable, and sensible reporting of WASH outcomes throughout establishments.
Determine 2: Phases within the improvement of the WASH AG framework
The Street Forward: From Framework to Ecosystem Adoption
The e-MFP WASH Motion Group has constructed knowledge structure, instruments, and steering to make WASH impression measurement credible, comparable, and decision-useful. The pilot bolstered the important lesson that impression measurement delivers worth solely when constructed into funding decision-making, not handled as a compliance afterthought.
Determine 3: Scaling adoption of the framework
The following step is ecosystem-wide adoption, with traders, monetary service suppliers (FSPs), asset managers, and knowledge platforms converging on a typical reporting method. Implementation ought to observe a phased pathway, integrating indicators into current MIS whereas progressively increasing to survey-based end result measurement. Establishing baseline values for social, local weather, and service-level indicators will allow significant impression evaluation over time. Periodic evaluations and framework opinions can additional strengthen comparability, enhance funding selections, and mobilise better non-public capital for the WASH sector.
With the framework now prepared, what lies forward is ecosystem-wide adoption, bringing traders, FSPs, and different stakeholders collectively round a typical method, and refining it constantly as subject expertise accumulates. The funding neighborhood holds probably the most leverage right here, and with it, the accountability to guide. Converging on shared impression metrics is a collective motion that may cut back fragmentation, strengthen the sector’s proof base, and unlock non-public capital on the scale required by the worldwide water and sanitation disaster. The framework is prepared, and so is the chance for the sector to maneuver collectively and put it to work.Â
