One Safe Drop: Africaqua Harnesses Innovation for Accessible Clean Water in Kenya
Nairobi, June 30, 2016 /3BL Media/ – AfricAqua, a social enterprise focused on innovative solutions for delivering clean water to low-income communities, joined the Business Call to Action (BCtA) with a commitment to provide 20,000 Kenyans with access to safe drinking water through 100 Watershop water outlets. These ‘water malls’ are expected to employ 200 young adults as distributors and offer entrepreneurship opportunities to community members offering related products and services.
The BCtA is a global initiative that aims to support private sector efforts to fight poverty through its core business. It is supported by several international organizations and hosted by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
AfricAqua’s inclusive One Safe Drop initiative is introducing a novel concept of clean-water delivery to areas of Kenya without access to safe drinking water. Throughout the country, demand for clean water is so high that existing water-delivery mechanisms cannot keep up. AfricAqua’s innovative distribution model involves establishing community water hubs, which not only provide safe, treated water (with water-quality results available to consumers), but incorporate space for pharmacists, solar, health and hygiene products as well as water-related merchandise.
According to David Kuria, founder and Chief Executive Officer of AfricAqua, “In the Post-2015 era, access to clean drinking water, sanitation and hygiene for households, schools and health facilities is of critical importance. But this can only happen by bringing clean water the last mile to poor communities. AfricAqua’s One Safe Drop initiative aims to tackle this challenge while providing local employment and entrepreneurship opportunities. We are pleased that our efforts have been recognized by the Business Call to Action.”
In Kenya, clean water is scarce and most people cannot afford home-treatment systems. Epidemics of diarrhea, cholera and parasitic worms have severely impacted poor communities as a result of contaminated water sources and unsanitary water collection and consumption equipment. Supplies of treated water are constrained by challenges with distribution – especially to the low-income communities who face the direst need. With continued population growth, it is estimated that by 2025, Kenya’s per capita water availability will be approximately two thirds less than it is now. Unless the distribution gap is addressed, this will have serious consequences on public health and the nation’s economy.
AfricAqua aims to bridge this gap by adapting services to the specific needs of each community and developing public-private partnerships that facilitate efficiency, innovation and delivery. In addition to bringing 20,000 people safe water and other critical services by 2020, AfricAqua’s One Safe Drop initiative will provide clean water to health centers and schools.
The company’s inclusive business model was informed by Ikotoilet, a social enterprise that incorporated snack shops, showers and money-transfer services along with sanitation services. AfricAqua’s One Safe Drop initiative has adopted a flexible approach, offering clean water both at Watershops (where reverse-osmosis treatment takes place) and kiosks throughout densely populated areas. This flexibility not only makes AfricAqua’s business model sustainable and scalable, but provides much-needed employment opportunities for local youth as water distributors and affiliated shopkeepers.
“Beyond affordable access to safe water, this simple but innovative model has the potential to transform the health, economies and education outcomes of the communities it serves,” said Paula Pelaez, Programme Manager of the BCtA. “We welcome AfricAqua’s membership to the Business Call to Action.”
AfricAqua’s first Water shops in Kajiado, Machakos and Narok are now being piloted along with community water kiosks; these communities were chosen because of their acute demand. AfricAqua has provided communities members in these locations with 1 litre, 10 Litre, 20 litre and 25 litre reusable cans for easy water collection, and disinfects the cans each time they are refilled. With Kenya’s significant demand, the company has committed to scale up to 100 Watershops by the end of 2020 and expects to break even within five years of operation. This dramatic expansion is being made possible by partnerships with Government of Kenya, Water.org and Coca Cola among others, which are providing financing as well as technical assistance and expertise in business innovation and growth.
For further information:
Business Call to Action: Tatiana Bessarabova at tatiana.bessarabova@undp.org
AfricAqua: David Kuria at kuria@AfricAqua.org
Membership in the Business Call to Action does not constitute a partnership with its funding and programme partners, UNDP or any UN agency.
About Business Call to Action (BCtA): Launched at the United Nations in 2008, the Business Call to Action (BCtA) aims to accelerate progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by challenging companies to develop inclusive business models that offer the potential for both commercial success and development impact. BCtA is a unique multilateral alliance between key donor governments including the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida), UK Department for International Development, US Agency for International Development, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Government of Finland, and the United Nations Development Programme — which hosts the secretariat. For more information, please visit www.businesscalltoaction.org or on Twitter at @BCtAInitiative.
About AfricAqua: Founded in 2014, AfricAqua is a social enterprise dedicated to developing sustainable, safe water innovations and using cutting-edge technologies for social change and inclusion. The company’s philosophy is to create social transformation by delivering clean water to low-income families, health centres and schools. Its safe-water value chain involves affordable and sustainable access to high-quality drinking water through a flexible distribution network that also creates employment and micro-entrepreneurship opportunities for local people. Through the One Safe Drop initiative, the company is seeking to initiate a dialogue on safe drinking water in Kenya involving communities, county and national governments. For more information, please visit http://AfricAqua.org or on Twitter at @_AfricAqua.
