Karibu Solar Power: New Solar Lamp Offers Villagers Alternative to Toxic Kerosene

On a continent where more than half the population lives off-the-grid, many African villagers can neither afford nor acquire simple solar lamps. Instead, they have to rely on dangerous kerosene products to light their homes. Five young men behind a new social enterprise hopetheir modular solar lamp can offer this remote clientele an affordable and healthy alternative. When I talk to people about solar, when I show people solar lamps, they get so excited that it's unreal," says 25-year-old Adam Camenzuli, an Ontarian and one of five behind KARIBU Solar Power. "I can really see the amount of impact that we can have by giving people the choice ... the opportunity to choose between kerosene and solar, because right now that choice doesn't exist in an affordable way." Is solar energy commercially viable in Canada? Cheap, spray-on solar cells developed by Canadian researchers About 590 million Africans live without an electrical connection, according to the International Energy Agency's most recent numbers. The problem with kerosene The majority of these people rely on kerosene lamps to light their homes or businesses.

A crowd gathers on the outskirts of Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania, to watch Sameer Gulamani demonstrate how a solar-powered lamp works. (Karibu Solar Power) Most Tanzanians, Kenyans and Ghanians own kerosene lamps, according to a 2011 study on off-grid lighting in sub-Saharan Africa by Lighting Africa, a program run by the World Bank and the International Finance Corporation to improve access to energy.

A Tanzanian villager will walk to a store and buy a small amount of kerosene to run their lamp that day, explains Sameer Gulamani, another Ontarian and a director of KARIBU. The next day, when their kerosene supply runs out, they will return and buy more. It's a simple model, but with major problems for consumers. Kerosene lamps hardly provide enough light to fill a space, and often this means that some activities, like children doing their homework, are limited after darkness sets in.

Health and safety are two additional major concerns. The use of kerosene, according to lighting Africa, can result in: Burns. Child poisoning, if accidentally consumed. Poor visual health, because lamps provide low lighting. Indoor air pollution. "It's bad quality of life. They can't charge their phone with it. It hurts their eyes. It causes fires, smoke inhalation — all these negative effects, including the environmental factors," says Camenzuli.

'Can't afford' $20 solar lamps
Recently, an upsurge in businesses peddling solar lamps in Africa has provided an alternative for buyers. But, it's an alternative many can't afford. "People just can't afford a $20 solar lamp," explains Camenzuli, who now lives in Tanzania and has tested the affordability of solar lamps for villagers there.

Off-grid living around the world
Around the world, 1.6 billion people live without access to electricity. Of these: 1.265 million live in developing countries. More than 95 per cent live in developing countries in Asia or sub-Saharan Africa. More than eight out of 10 live in rural areas.

He recalls walking to dinner one night and stopping at a stand where women were selling peanuts, gum, cigarettes and other knicknacks. The solar lantern he carried intrigued them, so he offered to sell it — first for $20, then $15 and finally $10. "There was no way they were going to spend the money for it," he remembers. Camenzuli's experience is supported by Lighting Africa's research, which found that most consumers are concerned with affordability. Their low incomes usually make it impossible to pay a high price up front.

Their study found that about 40 per cent of African households contain four or five people, which generally include between one and three children. From the five countries studied — Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Tanzania and Zambia — each household's average monthly income ranges from $90 US to $154 US.

"So people that really need these products aren't the ones using them," says Camenzuli. "That's a problem."

A modular lamp
But the recent university graduates behind KARIBU think they have found the solution to these problems with their company's new modular solar lamp. The lamp breaks down into three components:

Solar panel. Rechargeable battery and mobile phone charger.

Light. To make the lamp affordable, KARIBU plans to use a "franchised business model of rent-to-own solar solutions," says Gulamani, mimicking how villagers currently purchase kerosene but eliminating the need for the toxic substance.

Karibu Solar Power

The Karibu modular solar power lamp is divided into three components, allowing buyers to eventually purchase the lamp's solar panel in a rent-to-own scheme. (Karibu Solar/Youtube)

"If you could spend that dollar instead on a nice, clean LED light, you'd readily do that," Gulamani explains.

Small shop owners will purchase whole lamps. They will rent out the rechargeable batteries and lights to local villagers for a daily fee.

"They take it home. Their kids study at night. They can charge their mobile phone. They have a light in their house. It's great," Camenzuli says, adding the solar lamp is about five times brighter and lasts slightly longer than the kerosene alternative.

Renters will return to the shopkeepers once their battery is out of power to recharge using the store's solar panel.

Every time a villager purchases a recharged battery, they will be making an investment towards the solar panel. Once they have paid enough into the system, the shopkeeper will give them the panel, and the household will become "solar independent."

'My way of giving back'

It is a working business model because the men don't expect to profit from this business venture. As a social enterprise, any profits would be funnelled back into the business to purchase more stock, pay staff a living wage, and expand their market.

The five have already contributed a lot of their own money to the project, says Camenzuli. He quit a high-paying commercial banking job in Toronto to move to Tanzania and commit to KARIBU full-time.

"We want to see that the solution reaches millions of people in Africa," says Gulamani.

Gulamani, now a first-year law student at York University, has family roots in Tanzania, a country his parents left behind to come to Canada.

"They didn't have all of the privileges that I've been able, fortunate enough to have in my life," he recalls. "This project in particular [is] my way of giving back."

Crowdsourcing funding for pilot

KARIBU has already received a lot of recognition for its innovative prototype and socially responsible thinking. The United Nations Environment Programme recently lauded KARIBU with a 2013 SEED award, which celebrates "social and environmental start-up enterprises [tackling] key sustainable development challenges."

'There's great ambition to expand this way beyond the borders of Tanzania'

- Sameer Gulamani, KARIBU Solar Power director

With its prototype designed and business plan ready, KARIBU has managed to secure some funding from investors. A so-called angel investor that has been supportive of the team from the start gave KARIBU $25,000.

Next month, Camenzuli and Gulamani will launch an online funding campaign, hoping to raise an additional $50,000. The company will use the money to run a pilot project of the rent-to-own system in northern Tanzania.

If it is successful and they generate more investor interest, they hope to expand beyond Tanzania's north.

"Geographically, you have to start somewhere, and that place happens to be Tanzania for us," says Gulamani. "[But] there's great ambition to expand this way beyond the borders of Tanzania."

Article orignally published at http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/new-solar-lamp-offers-villagers-alternative-to-toxic-kerosene-1.2450157

Duma Works carves out niche staffing Kenyan SMEs

After a couple of false starts, Kenyan startup Duma Works has found itself a productive niche, connecting SMEs with jobseekers in a way that differs from traditional jobs boards.

Duma Works was founded by American entrepreneurs Arielle Sandor and Christine Blauvelt after their graduation from Princeton University. Having previously visited Kenya for a research project, they had noticed the large gap between employers and jobseekers.

The startup was born as an SMS-based social network for recommendations, which Sandor and Blauvelt struggled to monetise. It prompted a move to Nairobi and a rethink, with Duma Works starting to focus on the company side. SMEs provided the niche the co-founders were looking for.

“SMEs don’t have a place to go to recruit effectively, if they don’t want to pay a huge fee to headhunters,” Sandor told Disrupt Africa.

“We found it was more the screening of viable candidates at a low-cost.”

The startup allows jobseekers to create a profile describing their skills and location via SMS, WhatsApp and web. Depending on their package, employers are linked to the most appropriate candidates and avoid having to deal with a huge number of unsuitable applications.

Duma Works in its current guise was launched last year, funded by a seed round with angel investors and the Rockefeller Foundation. Almost a year on, it has already signed up 250 paid employers, and adds between 30 and 50 listings per month.

“People love it. We’ve gone from 13,000 jobseekers to 23,000 since November,” Sandor said. “For jobseekers, getting alerts on jobs on their phones is a huge thing.”

The way Duma Works differentiates itself from traditional jobs boards in terms of cost and the way it matches candidates to jobs has no doubt assisted in this growth, with the startup adding clients not just in Nairobi but in the likes of Nakuru, Eldoret and Mombasa as well.

“We don’t advertise the jobs publically. We have a matchmaking algorithm and the skills will come to the top,” Sandor said.

“The big value is the screening that we provide, and there are a couple of tiers for that.”

The basic plan on Duma Works costs KES7,500 (US$80) per job, allowing an employer to see between 10 and 20 relevant candidates and evaluate them from start to finish. The express plan, at the cost of KES20,000 (US$210) per job, presents the employer with only the final round candidates who have already had their skills tested, while the elite plan at KES50,000 (US$520) per job offers a customised, intensive recruiting solution to find candidates for a more complex role. Duma Works carries out all the testing itself.

The startup is close to breaking even right now, but looking for more funds to expand.

“We do have a bit of a strategy, we’re not looking at VC right now. We’re a bit early stage for VC, so we’ve looked at angels and growth funds. Typically we work with people who are going to be strategic investors and have contacts in regions that we want to expand into in future,” Sandor said.

Though international expansion is on the agenda – Sandor says Uganda and Rwanda are likely destinations – Duma Works is focused on Kenya for now.

“Kenya’s the biggest market in East Africa and we want to become number one here before anything,” she said. “We’re trying to get in more with the hospitality and construction sector.”

The money, when it comes, is likely to come from abroad, as Sandor says local investors prefer to invest in infrastructure and have yet to be attracted to the tech space given there have been no significant exits yet. “The people that are getting in are probably going to exit massively because it is the beginning of the market,” she said. “It is in its immature stage.”

She said most of the company’s competition is in the traditional recruiting space, but in terms of recruiting for entry level and middle management positions, Duma Works is in a space of its own. “Brighter Monday is the biggest player, but it is actually helpful for us because it helps educate people that they can put a job online,” Sandor said. As an expat running a business in Kenya, she said she had experienced some challenges. “A big challenge that expats face is being trusted in a sense that you’re going to stick around and not desert the company and go and do an MBA. Part of it is keeping your promises.”

Originally published on http://disrupt-africa.com/2015/05/duma-works-carves-out-niche-staffing-kenyan-smes/

Your E-Rickshaw Has Arrived

In mass transit, the so-called “last mile” – the short distance commuters must navigate from a rail station or bus depot to reach their final destination – is more vexing than a London or New York traffic jam. But micro-transport entrepreneur Neil du Preez has a potential solution.

Despite being plagued by inefficiencies as measured by greenhouse-gas emissions, gridlock, wasted productivity and poor fuel economy, taxis are, for most urban centres, the most common remedy for that problematic last mile. That is where du Preez’s eco-friendly, rickshaw-like Mellowcab steps in with a re-imagined taxi of the future: a lightweight (230kg/507lbs) three-wheeler powered by pedals and an electric-assist motor – with plenty of visible exterior surface to serve as a rolling billboard, too.

“More than 80% of all urban trips across the globe are shorter than three miles, which is an extremely inefficient use of internal-combustion engines,” says du Preez, a former agricultural-fertiliser chemist who founded Mellowcabs with colleague Kobus Breytenbach in Franschhoek, South Africa. “But short distances are ideal for electric micro-vehicles such as Mellowcabs. Our cab's performance is on par with normal taxis, and it complies with international roadworthy standards, meaning we can operate legally and safely on just about any road.”

Some inroads are being made in last-mile solutions (and yes, there is a first mile to solve, too, at the front end of mass-transit systems). Options range from public bike-sharing programmes to so-called personal rapid transit systems, such as the one in Masdar City, a “clean-tech cluster” within Adu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates. But Mellowcab wants a seat at the table, too.

The sunny name and friendly, smiley face-yellow colour belie the vehicle’s evolved components. Its protective shell is made from recycled-plastic compound. Brushless, internally geared (12:1 step-down gear ratio) electric wheel-hub motors (5kw of power each) provide propulsion; just start pedaling, and the motors engage, not unlike some electric-assisted cargo bikes. Rechargeable lead-crystal batteries, with a maximum range of 110km (roughly 68 miles), provide the power.

Safety measures include an ultra-rigid roll cage, seat belts and proximity sensors. The Mellowcab’s top speed is 70mph, but the vehicle can be programmed to stay within a set speed limit, du Preez says.

Mellowcabs differs from most transport genre-benders because the company not only designs and manufactures the vehicle in South Africa, it provides the drivers, too. To ensure passenger safety, driving staff must complete an in-house training program and possess a valid South Africa motorcycle license and a professional-driving permit. Drivers are also monitored via real-time GPS tracking, and must submit to random alcohol and drug tests.

The Mellowcabs concept differentiates itself from regular taxis in other ways, too. As anyone who hails cars frequently in large cities around the globe knows all too well, a good experience can be as elusive as the yeti. Patrons wait interminably for a ride, then endure malodorous interiors, rude drivers, the clumsy fumbling around for cash, drivers who never have the right amount of change and so forth. Mellowcabs, on the other hand, aims to create a fast, light and pleasant passenger experience even before the ride begins.

A smartphone app allows people to see where the nearest Mellowcab is, and arrange a meeting – sort of like a dating site for urban commuters. The passenger can even view the Mellowcab’s progress as it travels, as well as read on-line driver ratings.

Patrons pay a flat fee for transport within about a 4km radius around an urban centre, eliminating disputes over confusing rate structures and “broken” fare meters. After passengers reach their destination, the app also enables credit-card transactions: no cash, no change and no hassle.

After prototype testing in Franschhoek, located about 75km east of Cape Town in South Africa’s Western Cape province, Mellowcabs is preparing an official country-wide launch of more than 60 vehicles in the next several months.

Befitting the company’s unorthodox approach to service, there are no plans to sell the Mellowcabs to companies outside South Africa in the traditional sense. Instead, du Preez wants to partner with transport operators in other countries. "We won't sell the vehicles outright without retaining some share in them," he says. "We see massive potential in the business and want to create long-term partnerships."

This article was published at

http://www.bbc.com/autos/story/20141020-your-e-rickshaw-has-arrived

Making Toilets, Building Communities: Social enterprises are helping solve the sanitation challenges in Kenya's informal settlements

By Esther Kahinga, originally published on nextbillion.net

A Sanivation toilet service representative. Photos courtesy of the Kenya Climate Innovation Center

Wading through the narrow pathways in Kibera, Nairobi, can be a nauseating and scary experience. You constantly jump over small streams of dirty, blackish water that never seem to dry up. Alongside these streams, small children play in their bare feet. Some fall into the dirty water and are quickly picked up by the rest and they continue playing. The children are happy, not knowing the danger that lurks in their environment.

Sanitation – defined as the adequate management and disposal of different types of wastes with a view to minimizing harmful effects to human health and the environment – is close to nonexistent in many informal settlements in Kenya. With few or no toilets, open defecation, “flying toilets” (defecating into plastic bags that are then tossed onto the narrow pathways and trenches), no sewerage system and broken water pipes, diarrhea is common.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, diarrhea kills 2,195 children every day – more than AIDS, malaria and measles combined. Diarrheal diseases account for one in nine child deaths worldwide, making diarrhea the second-leading cause of death among children under age 5. Diarrhea causes death by depleting body fluids, resulting in profound dehydration, and UNICEF estimates that about 88 percent of diarrhea-associated deaths are attributable to unsafe water, inadequate sanitation and insufficient hygiene.

Many donor-driven initiatives have been deployed in informal settlements to address the problems of poor sanitation but these often slow down when funds run out. Thankfully, Kenya has a growing number of social entrepreneurs who are addressing the problems of poor sanitation in an innovative way.

Sanivation is one such social enterprise based in Karagita, Naivasha County. It is turning human waste into briquettes. It was co-founded by Andrew Foote and Emily Woods, who were doing research in Naivasha when they saw the poor state of sanitation in the informal settlements in the area. In 2011, they started Sanivation to improve the overall dignity, health and environment of urbanizing communities in East Africa through delivering clean, safe and efficient sanitation services.

(Sanivation, a social enterprise launched in Kenya, turns human waste into briquettes.) 

Foote says, “Sanitation is an issue that has been neglected for too long. More people in the world have access to a cell phone than a simple toilet, which is surprising because the toilet is one of the best public health inventions ever developed.”

Sanivation households have a toilet installed in their homes, pay a monthly fee of (U.S.) $6 and the waste is collected bi-weekly. So far the renewal rate for the monthly subscription is 98 percent, with more than 300 users. Last month, the company launched a new waste transformation facility that will help increase production of the briquettes.

Naomi Chege, who has been using a Sanivation toilet since January this year, says, “Children can even use the toilet without me there.”

Sanivation has been working with public health officials and medical personnel to address waste management and sanitation challenges. Dr. Oren Ombiru, medical officer of health for Naivasha, said, “In Kenya, the leading cause of death for children under 5 is diarrhea. Safe waste disposal is one of the best ways to prevent diarrhea. Where we have the biggest challenges in sanitation is peri-urban areas. I’m proud that we have a partner that is looking at peri-urban and low-income areas.”

In June, Naivasha was one of the areas affected by a cholera outbreak in which 34 cases were reported, 24 of them in Kihoto estate, an informal settlement that relies on shallow water wells. Tests run on water from these wells showed contamination with human waste.

Sanivation plans to spread its wings to more informal settlements and refugee camps in East Africa to reach more than 1 million people by 2020.

Sanergy, another social enterprise based in Kibera, also helps build healthy and prosperous communities by making hygienic sanitation affordable and accessible throughout Africa's informal settlements.

(Almost 400 informal settlement residents in Kenya have started a Fresh Life business, left.)

Sanergy manufactures low-cost, high-quality toilet facilities and uses a franchise model to deliver an integrated sanitation solution. Local residents known as Fresh Life Operators buy and charge for usage of the toilets. The operators become franchise partners and are provided with training plus financial, marketing and operational support, including daily waste collection services. The collected waste is transported in a safe way to a central point where it is converted to organic fertilizer and biogas. The fertilizer is sold to local farmers.

The toilet facility sells for (U.S.) $500 and so far 748 of them are in use, serving more than 33,000 users. Alexander Waweru is one of the 370 informal settlement residents who have started a Fresh Life business; he has three Fresh Life facilities and this year celebrated his first anniversary as a Fresh Life Operator. “Running this business has been very fruitful,” he said, adding that he has been able to clean up his neighborhood – and especially his backyard. He has a medical condition that requires regular check-ups, and he says the extra income from his toilets helps him pay for his check-ups. He also employs his daughter Wangari as an attendant at the toilet facilities, and Wangari uses her share of the money to provide for the basic needs of her two children.

Sanivation and Sanergy are social enterprises that are bringing health, safety and hygiene where none existed. They are giving people in informal settlements an opportunity to experience dignified life in a sustainable way. With more sanitation facilities in the informal settlements, fewer children will die of diarrhea. And because the solution is based on an idea that has health and monetary benefits for the users, it is sustainable and will last much longer than initiatives by non-governmental organizations whose activities are affected by funding.

Indeed, the world is now a better place due to the social enterprises that are being born each day. There’s no doubt that social enterprises are what developing countries need to grow and also solve many of the basic problems related to health, education and unemployment that their citizens face.

UNESCO-IHE VIA Water Program chooses Africa Funded for Trainin

Read there announcement here: This summer, VIA Water will start a brand new approach, geared towards finding ánd developing the best possible solutions for water problems in African cities. This approach, entitled the VIA Water Innovation Challenge, is a virtual acceleration programme in which participants will follow a six weeks course packed with coaching, workshops and individual guidance to bring their ideas to the next level. Participants will learn about VIA Water, the market, business proposal writing, finances, risks and challenges, and they will receive technical feedback on their idea.

The VIA Water Innovation Challenge will be organised in cooperation with Africa Funded, which develops coaching programs to support entrepreneurs in Africa in their growth.  The mission of Africa Funded is to create jobs in Africa and enable people to increase their standards of living. The organisation has extensive experience with developing accelerator programmes such as this.

Africa Funded founder Ms. Saskia Reus-Makkink: 'The Virtual acceleration programs are a proven concept to support innovators to develop solid and fundable (business) plans. Via a virtual acceleration program high potential innovators are provided with in-depth expert advice and increase the opportunity to further develop their innovation with sound project plans and increased access to finance'.

She explains what the added value for participants is: 'This program enables participants to get insight into how to develop a solid project proposal for their innovation and benefit from advice from professional business coaches, experienced entrepreneurs and industry experts. An important element of the program is peer-to-peer support: working and sharing experiences with other people going through the same challenges makes a big difference'.

For VIA Water, there are also several clear benefits. The accelerator provides the opportunity to learn more about the applicant of the VIA Water Fund, as we work closely together. Through this approach, we will be able to receive more thorough proposals. Also, by experiencing the process a participant goes through close by, we will be able to learn about and evaluate our programme as well - which means that if necessary, we will be able to adjust the procedures accordingly. Originally published here; http://viawater.nl/en/the-library/articles-and-reports/via-water-innovation-challenge

What are the opportunities in building an inclusive plastic recycling business?

Plastic waste counts for up to 10% of household garbage in cities in developing countries. Not to mention the plastic litter, which is not only unsightly, but contributes to malaria and water borne diseases by blocking drains. This is a ticking time bomb. But, by understanding the recycling value chain, you’ll realise that opportunities abound to build a profitable business that makes the world a better place. Inclusive profitable business meaning including the poor in the business process be it as producers or consumers.
 
As part of the incubator program we manage for Aqua for All and WASTE, every month we have Free Feedback Friday sessions where we provide feedback to entrepreneurs about their business plans. Sophie van den Berg, senior recycling advisor at Waste, joined us for a very popular Free Feedback Friday session on 27 March. Here we speak to her about the plastic recycling world, and give you a heads up about the next session.
 
AF: Why is plastic recycling attractive as business?
Sophie van den Berg: The value chain of plastic recycling consists of activities such as collecting, sorting, washing, compacting, transporting, grinding and recycling. Business opportunities exist in almost all of these activities.
 
For instance, developing countries where no local petrochemical companies exist spend a huge amount on foreign exchange each year on importing virgin plastic raw material. As an alternative, locally recycled plastic is cheaper and very attractive. However, the key issue here is the quality of the recycled material. So starting a business producing high quality recycled material has enormous opportunities in many countries, and for sure is a viable business. There is value in the plastic waste material, enough value to make your business a profitable one!
 
AF: What are the challenges in getting started in plastic recycling and how do you overcome them?
Sophie: There are many challenges in getting started and one of them is sourcing clean plastic waste material. Very often waste plastic ends up in the mixed waste on landfills and becomes very dirty. Start sourcing clean plastic at supermarkets, restaurants, industries and the like. Or even collect plastic waste from door to door or set up small plastic waste collection centres.
 
Starting this business does not require a lot of investment, but growing the business does, because equipment is needed such as balers, grinders and extruders. And to be able to clean dirty plastics very well, processing lines are needed which require considerable investment.
 
AF: What kind of innovation is needed in the business models of plastic recycling?
Sophie: In my opinion innovation is needed in many of the steps of the value chain. In sourcing plastic waste material innovation is needed to obtain cleaner material. Furthermore you need to set up small-scale plastic recycling facilities without using too much electricity and water – often a bottleneck for success. Being clever about how you sort the waste might include using manual labour as much as possible. And last but not least innovation is needed in product design and marketing. Low quality products are made out of recycled plastic and this affects the image of recycled products. In addition, work needs to be done to raise awareness that recycled plastic products are environmentally friendly and of a good quality.
 
AF: Where can you find inspiration for innovative models in plastic recycling?
Sophie: Get inspired to start a business in plastic recycling on the Practical Action website.
 
Kampala in Uganda is a nice example where many entrepreneurs started plastic recycling businesses.
 
An upcoming trend in plastic recycling is 3D printing. In India, for example, local pickers in Pune are trained to collect high-density polyethylene (HDPE) plastic waste and then shred, melt and convert that plastic into the strands of filament that are the feedstock for one of the world's promising technology industries: 3D printing.
 
Aqua for All, WASTE and Africa Funded joined forces to support entrepreneurs to develop and validate their innovative business models with a positive impact on water and sanitation for the poor. Free Feedback Friday is a registered concept of Africa Funded. It facilitates sharing the knowledge and expertise of WASTE and Aqua for All with entrepreneurs to develop sustainable solutions.
 
Next Free Feedback Friday session is dedicated to entrepreneurs with business plans that will increase access to water and sanitation for the poor and is scheduled at April 24th. Next session Free Feedback Friday on plastics will be announced in our calendar. To plan a slot, please connect with our Skype address Free Feedback Friday and mention WASH or Plastics.

Create Access to Water with the Community of VIA Water

VIA Water, programme on water innovation in African cities, organised its very first public event in February 2015. The event was organised in order for people to get to know the programme, see firsthand what the process of becoming a VIA Water project is like, and to let people experience what the VIA Water community is about. Africa Funded supports Aqua for All, fundmanager of VIA Water with their business incubation program. Saskia Reus-Makkink  provided a workshop on getting your idea to market. Saskia  is founder of Africa Funded and leads the business incubation program at Aqua for All. One of our coachees, Osman Zafar, had the opportunity to tap into the knowledge and expertise of the VIA Water community in one of the workshops. Please find below the report of the event:

About 85 people joined the programme: an interesting mix of (African) students, NGO and government workers, business people and people from the water sector. Rolf Hut, McGyver scientist and engineer at TU Delft provided the ice breaker, in which he emphasised the need to start testing your innovations soon, and to not be afraid to fail. Simply put: stop thinking, start tinkering! The day continued with an informative session on VIA Water, its community and the fund: key components were discussed, such as the importance of sharing your ideas in the Community, the idea of learning by innovating and of course the criteria that a proposal should meet in order to apply for funding. 

The Road to VIA Water - find the video report here!

In the four workshops the building blocks of the programme were highlighted. Kevin Maina, MSc student from Kenya currently studying at UNESCO-IHE Institute for Water Education (which is where VIA Water is residing), showed us the hurdles he has come across with his plan to turn plastic garbage into roofing tiles. The workshop illustrated the need for a good plan, which is also what our selection process aims to steer toward. In this plan, the need to think through the exact research question you are trying to solve is essential, as became clear during the workshop Osman Zafar (SWS International) organised on struvite production from urine. Expert on viable business plans Saskia Reus-Makkink talked about turning innovative ideas into viable business models, while Rolf Hut showed the participants what he means by starting to tinker by making a rain sensor on the spot. The event proved to be a useful introduction of the programme for participants, while for the programme itself is was valuable to see what we can do to lower the barriers for people to join the VIA Water programme and Community.

Source: VIA Water

First Convention Dedicated to the BoP as a Marketplace

Last week the first convention focussing on the Base of the Pyramid as a market was held in Singapore. The event brought multinationals, SME entrepeneurs, NGO's and policy makers together to share experience and learn from eachother to serve the BoP as a market and improve quality of their lifes in a sustainable way. Please find below some take aways from the opening ceremony:

Prof. Jack Sim, Founder of Bop Hub and initiator of the BoP World Convetion:

• No single of us is as good as all of us. We need to work on serving the BoP together
• What are l essons learned from Singapore to become a first world country in 25 years? Can this be recplicable in other larger countries?
• People must not be locked out of the marketplace. Skills must be relevant for jobs and business. Academic education is overvalued.

Sr. Fazle Hasan Abed, Founder and Chair of BRAC:

• 1st we try to become effective, then efficient, then we expand services

Sandeep Kohli, Vice President Marketing Operations South East Asia, Unilever:

• The middle class grew past years and is more visible to the BoP. The BoP today will be middle class tomorrow. They are already in mind set to be middle class today, turning them into customers with very high aspiration: "Stop thinking small sachets, think of new aspirational products meeting the needs of the Base of the Pyramid"
• Unlock the power of partnerships. It is impossible for just a government, an NGO or company in a way that is scalable, profitable and makes a real difference. But is you do this together it will work. But it is hard work to put a partnership together

Paul Polak, CEO Windhorse &  co author of "The Business Solution To Poverty, Designing Products and Services for Three Billion New Customers"

• Achieving scale is the biggest challenge in development today. Conventional development aid has failed. CSR is cosmetic.
• Impact investing is confused about the relationship between relationshion between impact and bottom line profits.
• Scaled inclusive business solutions to poverty will only come through multinationals

Jocelyn Wyatt, Co-Lead + Executive Director of IDEO.org

• Start with collaboration, start even before you have an idea and get them on the table. Make process of collaboration fine. Design the process. Engage them in design process. Give credits to all are involved in the process. In general the lead NGO gets in general most credits, share credits with all partners.
• Critical to design technology with the users (BoP), technology developed in western world might not match needs and wants of BoP

Olivier Kayser, Founder Hystra

• Investing in relationship is key. Easy misunderstanding. Most often NGOs expect a relation to last forever, while a company expect it to last several years.
• Be sure the business is mature enough to scale, something big to be fixed is a challenge"
• There is a true obsession for simplicity to get it ready to scale. Complexity in the supply chain might be the bottleneck. For example simple reading glasses, adding extra colors could not be done in bookkeeping of the small  shops that are selling the glasses to the BoP customers.
• BoP marketing, you need to be patient: “If you 1st customers are extremely happy and spread the word and you are able to get  ball running that is where you want to be. You need to be patient to get the word of mouth working”
• Most frustration in collaboration is the duration of the partnership. Companies think it is temporarily 5-7 years. NGOs think it is for life. Align in early stages.

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