KWSH | Water Stations in rural Cambodia

KWSH is working toward the consolidation of the fragmented piped water sector of Cambodia by acquiring, standardizing, and expanding small-scale piped water stations throughout the country. Nexus’s decision to invest is driven by KWSH’s track record in delivering piped water to rural Cambodia, where only 8.5% of households are connected to piped water. The company has already connected over 13,000 households to piped water and has a long-term plan to provide clean water to over 60,000 households and 300,000 individuals.

The Pioneer Facility is working with KWSH to directly finance the acquisition of two additional piped water stations with a combined connectivity potential of approximately 12,500 households. In combination with the acquisition, the funds will be used to construct water treatment plants, hire staff, purchase new water sources, and purchase and install equipment such as pipelines to the households.

The investment was able to help support the capital requirements necessary to expand KWSH piped network activities and in turn increase access to affordable and clean tap water for rural Cambodians.

KWSH generated strong interest from local and international lenders, including but not limited to UNICEF, 3i, Insitor Impact Asia Fund, OBOR Capital, showing a clear path to scale.

During 2019, KWSH added 1,617 new connections to its portfolio and saw average household water consumption rise from 6.89m3 to 11.18 m3. Additionally, KWSH plays another relevant role within the communities it is serving, namely by generating awareness on the benefits of clean piped water and by facilitating more accommodating billing and payment collections through partnering with local MFIs and mobile money companies to provide easy access to customers to easy payment channels.