WaterEquity, a subsidiary of Matt Damon-founded Water.org, has made the first investment from its new Water & Climate Resilience Fund, committing $5 million in growth equity to Kenya-based SunCulture. The company manufactures and sells solar-powered water pumps that help smallholder farmers across Africa irrigate crops and access clean water – a sustainable and affordable alternative to diesel and manual pumping.
“Our impact objectives focus on expanding access, quality and resilience across the water value chain — from bulk water supply and distribution to wastewater treatment and reuse” WaterEquity’s Aleem Remtula told ImpactAlpha.
The Water & Climate Resilience Fund, which now stands at over $100 million in committed capital, is WaterEquity’s first private equity and infrastructure vehicle, following four previous debt-based impact funds focused on household water access.
The new resilience fund will make debt and equity investments in higher-risk water technology and service companies, alongside lower-risk infrastructure projects that generate steady, predictable cash flows.
The fund brings together Microsoft, Starbucks, Xylem, Ecolab, Reckitt, Gap Inc. and others as limited partners. “These are not just commercial investors, they’re strategic partners with vested interests in water sustainability,” said Remtula. “They understand water’s importance to their own operations and can add value to our portfolio companies”
The big-name LPs, he said, send a market signal. “Through the Water and Climate Resilience Fund, we’re demonstrating the concept — showing investors the pipeline of opportunities and helping them see that the perceived risk of water investments in emerging markets can often be much higher than the actual risk.”
Scaling water access for smallholder farmers
SunCulture targets one of the most underserved market segments: smallholder farmers who make up the majority of Africa’s agricultural producers. More than 90% of SunCulture’s customers use its pumps to access groundwater not only for farming but also for drinking, cooking and cleaning.
“They’ve driven innovation not just in product, but in financing and business model design, making their solutions more accessible to customers,” said Remtula.
The startup has already attracted its own heavyweight roster of investors, including Acumen Funds, Reed Hastings, the co-founder of Netflix, former Google CEO Eric Schmidt, and InfraCo Africa, a subsidiary of the Private Infrastructure Development Group. British International Investment has also backed the company to help it develop and sell carbon credits to reduce prices of its irrigation pumps.
WaterEquity and SunCulture say the new investment will enable the company to reach millions of farmers and rural households across Africa. Water.org will provide technical assistance and operational support, including a water quality education program and a greenhouse gas emissions audit.
