The main sponsor and majority shareholder of the Project is AK Khan Group who will own approximately 62% equity stake.

Established in 1945, AK Khan Group is a privately controlled family business with interests across various industries like. textiles, telecoms, IT etc. AKK has significant local presence in Bangladesh and is considered a key sponsor for a Project such as this which will require deep understanding of local issues at rural sites as well as support by way of permitting, clearances, logistics etc.

WaterHealth International (“WHI”), a private company with international presence, is the other key shareholder in the Project, also playing the role of a technology partner. It has, thus far, successfully raised more than US$35 million in equity financing from various investors including IFC. Dow Venture Capital is the largest investor in WHI. WHI is a health-centered company with the primary purpose of developing and marketing, decentralized water purification and disinfection systems and services that provide affordable potable water to underserved communities. The company has over 320 operational units spanning India, Ghana and Philippines.

The total project cost is estimated at about $2.2 million for installation of 50 sites in approximately 12 to 15 months as a pilot, of which IFC expects to contribute up to about $0.41 million in equity for its own account. The entire Project is expected to be equity funded for the pilot stage and AK Khan will be the major capital contributor and majority Sponsor.

100.0 million (USD)

Product Line	IFC Investment (million USD)
Risk Management
Guarantee
Loan	100.0
Equity	0.0

* These investment figures are indicative

The Project will be spread across rural areas in Bangladesh, including initial sites in the districts of Comilla, Dhaka, Chittagong, Gopalganj etc. These will be greenfield sites set up in rural areas with good access to transport infrastructure.

There will be direct beneficial impact on quality of life and health.

Employment generation by engaging people from villages for operating community water systems and revenue collections

Environmental benefits - the adoption of WHI''s systems will help minimize the use of chemicals with toxic by-products used in alternative water purification methods like chlorination.

The distributed water model also assists in minimizing water losses by supplying water at the retail level thereby avoiding supply leakage losses.

Establish viability of the distributed water service model and help expand the business to new geographies: – This model of providing distributed water services is new. Private investors and lenders are not familiar with the viability of the WHI business model and are cautious about providing financial support. IFC, through its participation, is playing an important role in ensuring that the underlying financing structure is robust and that the various risks in the business model are appropriately allocated. IFC’s participation will provide comfort to lenders/ investors by demonstrating that this business model is appropriate to take advantage of opportunity available in large rural distributed water services market in emerging economies.

IFC’s project development support: AK Khan, the majority owner, is taking significant comfort from IFC’s presence as a multilateral, to do a transaction in this high-impact but difficult and relatively untested industry. In this role IFC would be closely involved in reviewing and structuring the shareholders agreement between WHI, AK Khan and IFC for the Project.

The proposed investment in the Company to part finance the Pilot is a Category B project because a limited number of specific environmental and social impacts may result, which can be avoided or mitigated by adhering to generally recognized performance standards, guidelines or design criteria. Further, it is possible to readily design and implement engineering and management measures to mitigate the relatively limited impacts during both construction and operations. The Company will manage its environmental and social performance in accordance with applicable local laws and regulations and international standards, including IFC’s Performance Standards on Social and Environmental Sustainability. Further, the Sponsor will implement an Environmental and Social Action Plan to ensure that the Pilot is implemented in a manner consistent with IFC Performance Standards. Additional details on the potential environmental and social impacts, corresponding mitigation measures, and guidance on how and where information about the project can be obtained are provided in the IFC Environmental and Social Review Summary (ESRS) and the Environmental and Social Action Plan (ESAP).