… to launch multi-million sanitation financing initiative
By Onwa Ekor
A leading finance institution with headquarters in Calabar, Ekondo Microfinance Bank, has expressed interest for a groundbreaking partnership with Toilet pride Initiative aimed at tackling sanitation crisis in Cross River.
The partnership, “Sanitation financing for low-income families in Cross River,” outlines a strategic collaboration to provide affordable loans for household toilets and to support small sanitation businesses.
It would be recalled that Cross River 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 on 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.
Managing Director of Ekondo Microfinance Bank, Charles Abiola Efedoama, said the bank is glad and happy to be part of this project, maintaining that, “currently, we have a WASH project we’re running internally as a bank, so we would like to partner with Toilet Pride and the state to see how we can create a massive impact in Cross River communities.”
Of the targeted beneficiaries, Efedoama encouraged communities to embrace the 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 implore 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,” he said.
Executive Director Toilet Pride, Chukwuma Nnanna, said “we are excited about the interest of the bank. We’ve been able to make a strong case for sanitation.
“Sanitation is business, from our little assessment, the sanitation economy in Cross River is over N150 billion, that’s so much money that small businesses can improve livelihoods, create jobs, while promoting 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.
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.
The pilot will focus on Yala, Obubra, and Odukpani local government areas, 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.
The initiative underscores growing momentum in public-private partnerships to address Nigeria’s sanitation challenges through sustainable, market-driven solutions.
