SANTA CLARA, Calif., 6 April 2026 — Miller Center Capital, the impact investing arm of the Miller Center for Global Impact at Santa Clara University, partnered with Beneficial Returns to invest in Jibu, an impact business that expands access to safe, affordable drinking water through locally owned franchises across Africa. Beneficial Returns served as both fund manager and co-investor in the transaction.
Building Access to Safe Water Through Local Entrepreneurship
Father-and-son team Randy and Galen Welsch founded Jibu in 2012 with a singular goal: to improve access to clean water through local entrepreneurship. Access to clean water remains one of the most effective ways to fortify health and economic stability. In many of the communities Jibu serves, households have customarily had to rely on boiling water or purchasing inconsistent alternatives. Jibu’s approach offers a more reliable option, while also reducing time, cost, and health risks.
In 2014, Jibu participated in the Miller Center Accelerator program, which proved pivotal. After its first three franchises failed — requiring Jibu to buy back operations directly — the team used that period to fix unit economics and refine the model. That hands-on learning positioned them to attract a catalytic USAID Partnering to Accelerate Entrepreneurship (“PACE”) grant, without which, in co-founder & CEO Galen Welsch’s words, “we wouldn’t have gotten anywhere.” The PACE grant catalyzed private-sector co-investment, enabling the scaling journey that has continued since 2015.
“Miller Center has been part of Jibu’s journey since the beginning,” said Jeff Miller, Chair of Miller Center’s Advisory Board. “Jibu came to us with a broken model and the self-awareness to know it. Ten years later, they’re scaling across Africa.”
Scaling a Locally Led Model Across Africa
Jibu has achieved something rare in the impact sector: sustained scale. Its network of nearly 200 locally-owned franchises across eight countries — Rwanda, Uganda, Kenya, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ghana, Zambia, Burundi, and Tanzania — is built on the premise that the most durable solutions to a community’s challenges come from leaders within that community. By capitalizing and equipping local business owners with the financing, technology, and training to run their own water franchises, Jibu has launched nearly 200 businesses that distribute safe drinking water and other essential products, reaching more than 600,000 people each day.
Catalytic Capital to Fuel the Next Phase
This investment, made in partnership with Beneficial Returns, will help Jibu add 22 new franchises to its network and strengthen internal operations. The loan provides near-term working capital after Jibu walked away from an equity investment that would have misaligned shareholder incentives and impaired Jibu’s ability to meet its long-term objectives.
“Investment terms can make or break a business,” said Galen Welsch, CEO and co-founder of Jibu. “We’ve experienced how certain structures can leave companies operating hand-to-mouth, or create pressure at the moments they’re most vulnerable. That’s the difference the right catalytic capital makes: it gives you the chance to keep moving, keep growing, and stay focused on your mission. It gives you the chance to build a great company, not just a one-off return for one investor.”
Beneficial Returns’ leadership in the deal structuring enabled Miller Center Capital’s investment to achieve 7X leverage. For Miller Center and Beneficial Returns, the investment reflects a shared focus: essential service delivery that creates durable, locally-rooted economic opportunity.
About Jibu
Jibu is a social enterprise that enables local entrepreneurs to launch and grow franchises providing safe drinking water and other essential products across Africa. Through its decentralized franchise model, Jibu combines proprietary technology, training, and ongoing support to build sustainable businesses that improve access to clean water and create economic opportunity.
About Miller Center Capital
Miller Center Capital is the impact investing arm of Miller Center for Global Impact at Santa Clara University. Through catalytic loans, the fund supports enterprises that reduce poverty by advancing women’s economic power and building climate resilience. Founded in 1997, Miller Center has supported 1,600 social enterprises in more than 100 countries.
About Beneficial Returns
Beneficial Returns is an impact investment manager that finances social enterprises working to alleviate poverty and protect the natural environment in Latin America and Southeast Asia. In addition, the firm serves as fund manager for Miller Center Capital where it provides investments to Miller Center graduates throughout the developing world.
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Media Contact:
Karen Carter
Director of Marketing Communications
Miller Center for Global Impact
kcarter1@scu.edu
Investment Contact:
Paul Belknap
Director of Impact Investing
Miller Center for Global Impact
pbelknap@scu.edu
