Matt Damon's Water.org reaches 1 million people in Latin America through Ripple partnership

Matt Damon Photo credit: REUTERS/Caitlin Ochs In 2009, Matt Damon co-founded Water.org with Gary White to tackle the global water crisis through practical, market-driven solutions. By October 2026, the organisation’s partnership with Ripple had helped reach more than 1 million people with access to safe water or sanitation financing across Latin America, while cutting transaction fees by up to 66 percent, according to a Ripple press release.The collaboration, which began more than a year ago, now uses Ripple’s payments, stablecoin and digital asset custody infrastructure to move funding faster and more cheaply across emerging markets. Ripple has committed $6 million over three years to support Water.org’s WaterCredit model, which helps families access affordable loans for taps, toilets and piped water connections.What Water.org doesWater.org is a global nonprofit that has positively transformed more than 95 million lives through access to safe water and sanitation. It was founded by Gary White and Matt Damon, who have spent more than 30 years developing market-driven solutions to the water crisis.The organisation’s core product is WaterCredit, a microloan model that partners with l...