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Can entrepreneurs in the water sector bring solutions to leave no one behind? 

Great entrepreneurs have the ability to change society, shaping the way we live and work. What can entrepreneurs do for water development that will help to achieve the United Nation's Sustainable Development Goal 6 and deliver universal access to safe water and sanitation? “In the history of human development, it’s always been innovations that have paved the way to overcome societal challenges,” says Dr Christian Vousvouras, a WASH specialist at Nestle.  “If we look at the WASH sector, the challenges are different. There are many technological solutions to provide WASH in a cost-efficient manner. What we need today are innovative and effective delivery models. The most successful WASH entrepreneurs will be the ones that find the right business model or that create the right ecosystem around their solution.” Vousvouras says that entrepreneurs can make use of existing multi-stakeholder platforms, such as the Alliance for Water Stewardship,to find a place in an ecosystem with other stakeholders. “The collaboration among different actors will be key. WASH investments have enormous productivity gains from a societal point of view.”

21/08/19

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• Author
  Elle Hardy

Features

What Israel can teach us about water 

Israel not only has a water surplus, it also exports water and has now become a global leader in many water technologies. This is surprising, given that Israel is 60 per cent desert and experiences rain only in winter. Since its independence in 1948, Israel’s yearly rainfall has fallen by more than 50 per cent while its population has grown tenfold, increasing the pressure on its water resources. Annual rainfall varies across the country and extreme variations in precipitation between years are normal. So, what has made Israel a “water superpower”?

13/08/19

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• Author
  Zilla Efrat

Features

Craft breweries demonstrate that industrial water usage can be ethical and sustainable 

It’s no secret that brewers require a lot of water to craft the beers we love to drink. After all, water is the main ingredient. What might surprise beer enthusiasts is the huge amount of water that’s required to create even a drop of the delicious liquid, as well as the wastewater that is left over from the manufacturing and bottling process. To produce one litre of beer, breweries can require between six to eight litres of water. At less efficient breweries, this ratio can rise even higher.

12/08/19

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• Author
  Tomas Zagoda

Features

How to grow an ecosystem for water entrepreneurs 

In the natural world, a diverse ecosystem is a healthy and strong one—and business ecosystems are no different. There’s no one-size-fits-all model when it comes to creating and maintaining these ecosystems to deliver clean water in some of the poorest and most isolated parts of the world. “It’s really important to focus on what is the target population for improving access to water from a business standpoint,” says Mike Barbee from market-based safe water charity Water4, which works with local communities in 12 African nations and Peru.  “When developing models to help business partners, we need to determine what markets are untapped in terms of potential, and who does not have access from a rights perspective.” Barbee says that focusing on growth potential for local businesses in the sector will provide safe water for more people.  “High quality water costs less than five percent of household income, so it’s very affordable to [the] majority of people. We believe people can and do pay for water even in the most rural areas—whether through potable water at community managed water points, or offsetting household use through paying for sachet or bottled water.  “If they don’t have access to safe water, they’re paying indirectly, through lost opportunity costs such as healthcare. We are seeing that as an optional aspect of revenue that our partners can tap into, and also help them understand what they’re spending themselves.” Barbee says that the two greatest barriers to entry for water entrepreneurs are financing, such as obtaining seed capital to start up a business, and having the business savvy to deliver a one-off service from time-to-time and to deliver long-term viability and be able to expand.  A 2018 Waterpreneurs white paper, Impact Investing for Water, says that the sector is seeing the emergence of hybrid models for water, sanitation, and hygiene financing, because they are considered the most effective, by combining complementary and sometimes unconventional approaches.  “Enterprises also see the potential for the franchise model in markets that require intensive demand generation and where it is difficult to provide direct maintenance support,” the report states.  “The franchisee makes an initial investment (down payment), with direct or indirect financial support from the CWP enterprise, and operates the unit under a revenue sharing agreement with the enterprise.” An example project is Jibu, operating in East Africa, which is a social franchise business model. Its structure ensure that entrepreneurs operate within the constraints of a revocable franchise license—meaning they are required to adhere to Jibu’s brand standards and charitable goals. One of the project’s innovations is the integration custom banking services for aspiring entrepreneurs, offering entrepreneurs access to both the upfront asset financing needed to launch a business, as well as infrastructure support to keep profits aligned with impact.  “The most important thing when looking at the financing, whether a franchise or build-own-operate models, it to contextualise, and ask what will work in this scenario given the market and the demand and the human capacity and capital there,” says Mike Barbee. “In urban and peri-urban areas, those with experience with franchise models or in commerce, generally might be willing to take on a water business. However, in areas with no expertise, it is difficult to replicate franchises in our experience.” Barbee says that when it comes to growing local businesses to maximise their impact, the sector can be guilty of focusing on front-end support. “There needs to be a greater awareness that the process of supply and support is a medium-to-long term project.” This is the second article in a four-part series that explores ideas to improve water and sanitation funding around the world. Read the series:

• Part one: Is impact finance the solution for improving access to safe water and sanitation?
• Part three: Can entrepreneurs in the water sector bring solutions to leave no one behind?
• Part four: Combining water with empowerment for better development outcomes in Asia

10/08/19

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  Elle Hardy