UNIUYO Microfinance Bank Takes on Water Crisis With New WashLoan Product for Campus and Community

The University of Uyo Microfinance Bank has taken a step that goes well beyond the traditional role of a campus financial institution, launching a dedicated loan product aimed at solving a problem that affects the daily lives of students, staff and residents in and around the university.

The WashLoan facility, unveiled at the University of Uyo, Akwa Ibom, is designed to offer members of the UNIUYO Community and surrounding neighbourhoods, affordable access to financing for safe water, sanitation and hygiene improvements. For students living in off campus accommodation where access to clean water is unreliable, the product offers a direct financial pathway to address conditions that affect both health and academic performance.

The initiative was developed in partnership with Water.org, a globally recognised civil advocacy organisation dedicated to expanding water access, and with the backing of the National Association of Microfinance Banks, the umbrella body for microfinance institutions across Nigeria.

Managing Director Millicent Idiong said the launch reflected the bank's broader mission. She stated that through WashLoan, the bank was affirming that "no family should struggle for safe water, no child should learn in an unsafe environment, and no community should be left behind because of a lack of sanitation." She thanked Water.org and NAMB for supporting the bank's effort to expand access to safe water and sanitation within the institution and beyond.

National President of NAMB, Abubakar Ahmad, described the product as evidence of what purposeful collaboration between institutions could deliver. He said NAMB was "seeking more partnerships to deliver more sustainable, life impacting practices to its customers and communities."

For UNIUYO students in particular, the significance of the initiative is practical. Poor sanitation and unreliable water supply are known to affect concentration, attendance and overall wellbeing. A loan facility that helps address those conditions at the community level is a worthy investment.