Acumen Fund announces pilot water projects in Kenya

Microfinance Focus, Dec. 2, 2009: Acumen Fund, a nonprofit venture firm in South Asia and East Africa, has selected four organizations in Kenya to conduct pilot programs to address issues of safe water transportation and storage.

The pilot programs are part of a broader project called Ripple Effect, funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, which brings together Acumen Fund and IDEO, a leading design firm, to apply design thinking and entrepreneurial, market-based solutions to the challenges of safe water storage and delivery.
The Ripple Effect project is helping fuel real innovation among the Kenyan organizations in the water sector.
The goal is for these water companies to adapt the best of the pilot projects and expand their implementation to more effectively serve low-income consumers across Kenya and the region.

* Kentainers, a manufacturer of water and sanitation containers, will develop a model for water kiosks that include water storage, treatment, and container washing stations.

* Maji Na Ufanisi, an NGO that builds community toilets and water kiosks in informal settlements, will host a design competition to develop water carts and storage vessels appropriate for community-based business models to distribute water.

* PureFlow, which distributes household water purification solutions, will develop a scalable business model for delivery of safe drinking water through a business-in-a-box safe water kiosk system.

* Umande Trust, an NGO which works on sanitation, will create “water choice points,” that allow customers to have options around purchasing and transporting water.

“We’re very excited to see the work that has already begun,” said Sangeeta Chowdhry, Ripple Effect Project Manager, Acumen Fund. “The ideas these organizations are piloting represent creative, out-of-the-box approaches to improving water treatment, delivery and storage in rural areas and informal settlements of Kenya.”

Having successfully completed its first phase in India with five organizations, Ripple Effect recently launched its East Africa phase: first by conducting an assessment of issues faced by low-income communities on the ground, followed by a workshop with local water organizations to brainstorm and create innovations that will improve water delivery and storage across Kenya and the region.

A team from Acumen Fund and IDEO spent two weeks with the four organizations in Kenya to provide business and design mentoring to support the development of these ideas. The pilot programs will conclude at the end of January 2010 with an Award Ceremony and presentation of the results.

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