The Institute for Inclusive Finance and Development (InM), in collaboration with Water.org, organised the Kickoff and Orientation Meeting for the Year III of the WaterCredit Adoption (WCAD) Programme on October 6, 2024, at BIDA conference room, Agargaon. This meeting marks the start of the new journey towards sustainable water and sanitation solutions for the underserved. The meeting featured prominent attendees, including Dr. Md. Jashim Uddin, Additional Managing Director of PKSF, who attended as the Chief Guest and Mr. Sajid Amit, Executive Director (South Asia) and Country Director (Bangladesh) of Water.org as the Special Guest. The event was chaired by Dr. Mustafa K. Mujeri, Executive Director of InM driving the programme forward. The event brought together key stakeholders, including representatives from InM, Water.org, and eight partnering Microfinance Institutions (MFIs): BASA Foundation, DISA, IDF, PMUK, SDC, Shakti Foundation, SDS, and GUK.
Through this partnership programme InM, water.org and eight partner MFI’s are working together to empower low income households in Bangladesh by enabling them to access financial products to meet their water and sanitation needs. This innovative model integrates water and sanitation loans into the portfolios of microfinance institutions to achieve SDG-6 and national targets. After the pilot phase (July 2021 – November 2022) and the second phase (February 2023 – June 2024), the Year III of the programme started in September 2024 and will go on until August 2025. This meeting is the official launch of the new phase and an opportunity to review past achievements and set the direction for future activities.
The agenda included an orientation session, an award ceremony to recognise the best performing WCAD partners and discussions on new activities for Year III. The partners also shared their experiences and learning from previous phases and set expectations for the future.
The respective attendees from the partner organization includes; Ms. Rabeya Begum, Executive Director- SDS; Mr. A. K. M. Shirajul Islam, Executive Director – BASA Foundation; Mr. Md. Nizam Uddin, Deputy Executive Director – IDF; Mr. Khondaker Hamidul Islam, Director Operation – SDC; Mr. Md. Jahidul Islam, Director (MF) – SDC; Mr. Faisalur Rahman, Senior General Manager – Shakti Foundation; Ms. Sabrina Ahmed, Assistant General Manager – BASA Foundation; Mr. Md. Ziauddin Sarder, Assistant Director – GUK; Mr. Md. Golam Rabbani, MIS Officer – GUK; Mr. Khondaker Rakibuzzaman, Manager (RM & PI) – DISA; Mr. Md. Manikuzzaman Rifat, Sub Assistant Engineer – DISA; Md. Abul kalam Gazi – Coordinator (MF) – SDS and Ms. Mousumi Chakma, Programme Organiser – IDF.
From the Water.org, Mr. Abu Aslam, Portfolio Lead (South Asia) and Mr. Shazedul Islam, Senior Partnership Manager, were present. On the other side, from InM, Ms. Dr. Farhana Nargis, Research Fellow; Ms. Nahid Akter, Senior Research Associate; and Mr. Md. Sajjad Kabir, Programme Manager, were also present at the meeting.