With over 600 million people in India lacking access to safe drinking water, investors have an opportunity to deliver significant social impact through water investments, which is what Vital Capital Environment, Vital Capital's water infrastructure platform, have been doing.

The winner of the 'impact project investment of the year' for the water category, originally launched in 2020 to meet demand for safe drinking water and build a more efficient and sustainable water management system through irrigation, provision and sanitation investments.

Over the past 12 months, the programme has invested around $23.6 million in green infrastructure and installed almost 100km of irrigation infrastructure. So far, this has led to a 377% increase in recycled water and substantial improvement to local employment figures, particularly amongst women, according to the investor.

In the past year, Vital Capital Environment has also launched a rural water distribution project in Jamakhandi, which will deliver potable water infrastructure and a 12,000-hectare irrigation project. It hopes this will particularly reduce the high levels of seasonal climate-induced migration in the region, as farmers move elsewhere to find work.

Nimrod Gerber, managing partner at Vital Capital, told Environmental Finance that Vital Capital Environment is "building essential water infrastructure for millions of people for underserved communities in growth markets". Its projects in drought prone regions of India alone are set to provide 2.3 million people with access to clean potable water and over 60,000 smallholder farmers with first-time access to irrigation infrastructure, he said.

Gerber added Vital Capital Environment's "mission aligns perfectly with our focus on high-return opportunities that deliver impact at scale".