Cambodia Investment Review
Nexus for Development, through its Pioneer Facility debt fund, has made a second investment of USD 300,000 in TapEffect, a specialist rural utility developer and manager. The new financing will support TapEffect in expanding its fourth piped water station, serving an additional 6,000 households, nine schools, and three healthcare centers in underserved rural communities.
The investment builds on a 2020 Pioneer Facility loan of USD 220,000 to TapEffect for a piped water station and distribution network in Banteay Meanchey province—an amount which has since been fully repaid. That initial financing helped demonstrate TapEffect’s operational and financial viability in Cambodia’s rural water sector.
A representative of Nexus for Development told Cambodia Investment Review that the investment underscores continued confidence in TapEffect’s ability to deliver market-based, scalable solutions for clean water. The organization emphasised that its approach enables enterprises to retain control while financing impact-driven infrastructure.
Financing Model and Enterprise Profile
TapEffect operates a revenue-generating utility model in Cambodia, collecting monthly household water bills and initial connection fees to cover the operating costs of piped water systems. In addition, the enterprise earns income from results‑based contracts and service agreements, where it supports existing rural utilities in improving delivery of safely managed water services.
By combining cost recovery through affordable user fees with contract-driven service revenues, TapEffect has shown how a social enterprise can deliver clean water sustainably and at scale—while addressing climate vulnerability and infrastructure gaps in rural communities.
Nexus’s Pioneer Facility: A Flexible Impact Financing Tool
Nexus for Development is an international non‑profit, headquartered in Cambodia and incorporated in Singapore, with a mission to mobilise carbon and impact finance to support low‑carbon, climate‑resilient enterprises across Southeast Asia. Since 2009, it has unlocked over USD 21 million in climate finance, supporting more than 40 projects across six countries, delivering clean energy, water, and other essential services.
The Pioneer Facility, managed by Nexus, provides short‑ to medium‑term debt finance—typically USD 50,000 to USD 500,000 per enterprise—with no collateral required. Terms are generally unsecured loans at interest rates of around 10–12%, with tenors of up to three years.
This blended‑finance approach often combines concessional public or philanthropic capital with private finance, aimed at de‑risking impact investments in sectors such as clean water, sanitation, renewable energy, sustainable agriculture, and waste management.
Pioneer Facility typically targets growth‑stage social enterprises with at least two years of operation, strong impact metrics, and models that benefit underserved or marginalized communities. Around 40% of its funding is allocated to women‑led or women‑benefitting initiatives.
To date, the Facility has disbursed over USD 3.5 million across climate and social enterprises in Southeast Asia.
Strategic and Development Impact
This second financing reaffirms Nexus’s belief in TapEffect’s underpinning model: a market-based, scalable utility focused on delivering essential public services sustainably. Nearly 75% of Cambodia’s rural population still lacks reliable access to piped water, and TapEffect’s expansion aims to help close that critical infrastructure deficit through cost‑recovering operations.
The collaboration aligns with broader development and sustainability goals. By enabling rural communities to access clean, affordable water, the project contributes to health, climate resilience, and inclusive economic growth. As a debt investment—not equity—it allows TapEffect to maintain governance while scaling its infrastructure and technology platform.
