Ekondo Microfinance Bank Partners Toiletpride to Finance Sanitation Solutions for Low-Income Families in Cross River

 

By TheInvestigator 

Ekondo Microfinance Bank (Ekondo MFB), a leading microfinance institution headquartered in Calabar, has expressed strong enthusiasm for a groundbreaking partnership with Toiletpride Initiative aimed at tackling the sanitation crisis in Cross River State.

The partnership, "Sanitation Financing for Low-Income Families in Cross River State," outlines a strategic collaboration to provide affordable loans for household toilets and to support small sanitation businesses. 

Cross River State continues to grapple with significant sanitation challenges, with official data from the State Roadmap for Elimination of Open Defecation indicating that approximately 80% of the population, around 2.3 million out of about 2.9 million people, lack access to improved sanitation facilities.

Arising from a technical meeting, Ekondo Bank management is reportedly elated about the opportunity, viewing it as a perfect alignment with the bank's long-standing mission to deliver inclusive financial services that uplift vulnerable communities across the State.

Mr Charles Abiola Efedoama, Managing Director of Ekondo Microfinance Bank said the bank “is very glad and happy to be part of this project. Currently, we have a WASH project we're running internally as a bank. So we'd like to partner with Toilet Pride and Cross River State to see how we can create a massive impact in Cross River State communities”.

Of the targeted beneficiaries, Mr Charles encourages communities to embrace this initiative for improved health and enhanced productivity. His words, “There are communities currently who are very low in terms of hygiene and sanitation practices. 

“So we want to encourage and employ the Cross Riverians to embrace this initiative. It's an initiative that will save lives and help them to be more productive because where there are good sanitation practices, you can be sure there will be stable health conditions.

“So for us, the people of Cross River, both in urban and in rural areas, should embrace this initiative and see it as a life-saving system for them”.

On his part, Mr Chukwuma Nnanna, Executive Director of Toilet Pride said “We are excited about the interest of the bank. We've been able to make a strong case for sanitation”.

Furthermore, he stated that “Sanitation is business. From our little assessment, the sanitation economy in Cross River State is over N150 billion. 

“That's so much money that small businesses can improve livelihoods and create jobs. We will continue to promote Market-Based Sanitation (MBS)”.

Toilet Pride, an NGO with over seven years of experience promoting market-based sanitation (MBS) approaches, has already made a substantial impact across Nigeria. It has sold 12,000 toilets, positively affecting over 28,000 families in five states (including Cross River), strengthened 140 small sanitation businesses, and trained 250 sales agents.

The proposed initiative addresses a key barrier: limited access to financing for both consumers and sanitation entrepreneurs. Traditional financial products often carry high interest rates and lack sanitation-specific focus, hindering progress toward Nigeria's Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) targets for sanitation.

Under the partnership, Ekondo Bank would provide:

Enterprise expansion loans of N300,000–N500,000 to 50 small sanitation businesses (Toilet Business Owners or TBOs), totalling N25 million. And consumer loans of N70,000–N100,000 to 500 low-income families for purchasing quality, durable toilets, totalling N7 million (based on an initial target of N70,000 × 500 = N35 million overall package).

The pilot will focus on Yala, Obubra, and Odukpani Local Government Areas (LGAs), targeting existing TBO network members who have received prior enterprise support through Toiletpride and partners like Self Help Africa (SHA) through the WASH Systems for Health Programme.

This initiative underscores growing momentum in public-private partnerships to address Nigeria's sanitation challenges through sustainable, market-driven solutions.