The Co-operative Bank of Kenya received the Leadership in Water Infrastructure and Finance Award at the Africa WaterCredits Forum 2026 in Nairobi on October 16, after disbursing KSh4.39 billion in water and sanitation loans between March 2023 and August 2026, exceeding its original KSh3 billion target.
The lending was channelled through the Co-op-A-Maji product, launched in 2023 under a three-year partnership with Water.org, with the aim of financing water, sanitation and hygiene projects for individuals, micro, small and medium-sized enterprises, institutions and water service providers, and to improve access for more than 110,000 people.
Loans under the scheme covered equipment such as water storage tanks, solar-powered pumps, boreholes, smart meters, water connections, exhausters, water bowsers and related infrastructure, offering up to 100 per cent financing for many items and up to 80 per cent for exhausters and bowsers, with repayment periods of up to 72 months and faster processing for customers who bank fully with Co-op Bank.
Applicants are required to submit a completed application form, a pro forma invoice for the equipment, and, depending on the product, business permits or licences, a registration certificate, identification documents, audited accounts for larger facilities and, where relevant, licences from regulators such as the National Environment Management Authority, Water Resources Authority, county governments or public health authorities.
Group Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Gideon Muriuki said access to financing is critical for expanding reliable water and sanitation services, stating “Access to reliable water and sanitation remains one of Kenya’s most pressing development priorities, and innovative financing is essential to turn infrastructure ambitions into delivered services.”
The award underscores the bank’s position as a leading lender to water service providers in Kenya, a sector that loses about 44 per cent of treated water, incurs losses of over KSh10 billion a year and faces a financing shortfall of roughly KSh466 billion against an estimated investment need of KSh995 billion.
A Netherlands embassy water report estimates that the sector may mobilise only KSh529 billion, leaving the gap, while government data show basic drinking water access at 68 per cent and urban sewerage coverage at 32 per cent in 2022/23, with each Kenyan having about 405 cubic metres of freshwater annually, well below water-secure levels.
