Democratic patient finance: The Banco Popular and community-based water operators in Costa Rica

The Popular and Community Development Bank (BPDC) is widely considered to be one of the most democratic banks in the world with a strong social mission. The chapter describes the BPDC works concretely in fulfilling its social mission in the water supply and sanitation sector by providing various forms of credit to community-based water operators in rural areas of Costa Rica. The chapter recommends that if Costa Rica is to meet the sustainable development goals for water and sanitation, as well as address issues related to climate change, BPDC’s existing loan programmes would need to be expanded, the loan approval processes would need to be streamlined and new lines of credit for water operators would need to be created, such as a syndicated loan programme amongst public banks dedicated to water and sanitation.