Fortifying Water+ Investment Thesis
Water Unite Impact, a strategic partnership between the FCA-regulated impact investment manager Wellers Impact and the global non-profit Water Unite, proudly announces its successful transition from the pilot phase to the scale-up phase at the 28th Conference of the Parties (COP28) in Dubai. This milestone reflects significant advancement in the organisation's mission to expand impactful initiatives on a broader scale.
Water Unite Impact has strengthened its investment thesis known as Water+, focusing on five core pillars crucial to effectively tackling water-related challenges:
Access to clean water
Access to toilets and sanitation services
Wastewater circularity
Plastic/solid waste circularity
Water security
This strategic partnership combines the expertise and resources of both entities to strategically deploy funds into impactful investments across Africa and Asia, including Mr. Green Africa, Jibu, Sanivation, and GREE energy. These investments have already begun generating positive impacts, illustrating the effectiveness of the Water+ approach in addressing pressing water-related issues.
Simultaneously, Usha Rao-Monari, who until July 2023 served as the Under-Secretary General of the United Nations and Associate Administrator of United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), has joined Wellers Impact as a Partner. Rao-Monari's esteemed reputation and extensive expertise in advancing sustainable and impact investment strategies will further the organisations commitment to driving impactful change to address the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
COP28 marked the latest in a series of impactful events, inclduing a webinar held on the 22nd of November. During this webinar, Cyrille Antignac, Portfolio Manager of Water Unite Impact, Galen Welsch, CEO of Jibu, Martijn Proos, a member of the investment committee, and newly appointed Partner Usha Rao-Monari shared their findings and lessons learned from the pilot phase of the fund. The webinar recording can be accessed here.
Building on the success of its pilot phase, backed by corporates Co-op, EliorPLC, Britvic PLZ, and Nisa, Water Unite Impact is now actively inviting new Limited Partners (LPs) to join forces. This expansion will accelerate the organisations ability to amplify its investments and broaden its impact by making a further 10 investments over the next two years.
For more information about Water Unite and Partnership opportunities, please visit: https://www.wellersimpact.com/water-unite-impact
Regarding Usha’s appointment, Neil Sandy (Wellers Impact CEO) commented “Few people have the experience, network and real-life investment management track-record in impact investing that Usha has. Usha’s career is one of being an innovator whilst having the investment management credentials and real-life experience to make change happen at scale. The team at Wellers is delighted to have Usha join us as Partner to tackle some of the world’s most pressing climate and financial challenges.”
For media inquiries or further information, please contact:
Louis Goring-Morris, Partnerships Director at Water Unite.
ABOUT WELLERS IMPACT
Wellers Impact is an FCA regulated impact investment manager founded in 2016 by a group of experienced investment professionals based in London and Kenya. The Wellers Impact team have been involved globally in investment management, private equity, real estate development, impact investing and the charity sector for over 15 years. The team’s first-hand experience has provided them with an invaluable understanding of the progress that is made possible through providing organisations in developing economies with sustainable financial solutions. For more information please visit https://www.wellersimpact.com/.
ABOUT USHA
Ms. Rao-Monari has over 30 years of investment experience and has held notable senior positions, particularly in the infrastructure area. She previously served as Senior Adviser to Blackstone’s Infrastructure Group, as Chief Executive Officer of Global Water Development Partners, a Blackstone portfolio company, and held several senior positions, includeing as Director of the Sustainable Business Advisory Group at the International Finance Corporation, part of the World Bank Group. She has until recently served on the Boards of a number of organisations in the field of sustainable development and has held a number of Board and advisory positions in the areas of water, natural capital, biodiversity and environment. Ms. Rao-Monari holds a Master’s degree in International Affairs and Finance, School of International and Public Affairs/School of Business, Columbia University, New York, a Master’s degree in Management Studies, Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management, Mumbai, India and a B.A. Honors Economics, Delhi University, New Delhi.