London – Zara owner Inditex is donating 3.7 million euros (4 million dollars) to Water.org to help
improve access to safe water and sanitation in developing areas with scarce
resources.
The donation will see Inditex providing 3 million euros (3.2 million dollars) for more than
33,000 microloans to help empower people with low incomes in developing
countries to gain access to small loans for water and sanitation,
increasing the population’s access to these basic necessities.
The activity will focus on Bangladesh, where the activities are
underway, and help develop the initiative in Cambodia. The donated funds
are expected to benefit more than 160,000 people in both countries.
While the rest of the donated money will be sent to the New Ventures
Fund, a funds reservation for research and development, which the
non-government organisation will use to discover new ways to combat the
water crisis. Inditex will serve on the Council of the research and
development fund, in order to analyse the annual developments.
Water.org was founded more than twenty years ago by Gary White and actor
Matt Damon to develop and deliver solutions to the water crisis. The
charity has helped transform more than three million people living around
the world and this four-year partnership with Inditex will assist the
organisation in continuing its mission to ensure all people have access to
safe water and sanitation.