NextBillion - An Initiative of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan

The Acumen Fund Blog today reports a new for-profit water services project launched in one of India’s poorest urban neighborhoods. The provider, Heritage, receives strategic management support and assistance raising capital from the Acumen Fund. I am excited to hear companies saying that “[poor] people are ready to pay, provided the service is good.” Want to achieve the MDG for water? Engage the private sector. An article in The Hindu goes into some detail about the project:

“The idea is to provide safe drinking water to the urban poor in areas where there is no network of piped supply,” HLSP executive trustee Nalini Gangadharan said. The program would be implemented in slums where laying of infrastructure is expensive, technically unfeasible or not on the immediate agenda…

“Apart from providing clean drinking water to the urban poor, it will also generate revenue to the water board, indicating that people are ready to pay provided the service is good.”

This strikes me as similar to WorldWater in the Philippines, although without the cool IT and solar energy components. Regardless, good stuff.

Via Acumen Fund Blog