Can you imagine a world in which water is so scarce, it has to be transported to your community via a government-operated train or if the only safe way for you to consume your morning glass of water is via a dirty pond with a 12-inch long filtering straw? Believe it or not, for billions of people across the world, quick fixes like these are their everyday reality.
1.2 billion people lack access to safe drinking water; 2.4 billion lack access to improved sanitation (UNEP). Adrien Couton, Acumen’s Water Portfolio Manager, cited these statistics and others at Acumen Fund’s Water breakfast this week. Despite such sobering numbers, I came away from the breakfast with a sense of hope that even though there is no silver bullet, we are getting closer to understanding how to address the complex issue of water.
Adrien first discussed the need to move beyond our strong inclination that the latest and greatest technology will solve all of our problems. A perfect example is Water Health International (WHI), an Acumen Fund investment since 2003. Water Health International recognized that just because they had a proven technology didn’t mean the poor were going to buy their water.
Instead, according to Adrien, WaterHealth’s commitment to consistent access, high quality water, a trained and professional staff and solid branding has allowed them to scale their model and reach 1 million customers through with 150 systems. In the next year, they plan to set up another 2,000 systems and bring water to another six million customers.
Next, Adrien addressed the critical role of patient capital, trust and customer education. He cited Global Easy Water Products (GEWP), a micro drip irrigation company in which Acumen Fund invested in 2004. GEWP was established by the promoters of International Development Enterprises, India (IDEI), an Indian non-profit with 25 years of experience in the development of irrigation technologies and market linkages for smallholder farmers.
IDEI discovered that the drip systems could increase the efficiency of water use, double a farmer’s yield in a year, and raise their incomes from $1 day to $3 day. But what ultimately made this company a success (currently, they are serving 150,000 small scale farmers) was IDEI’s long standing relationships and networks, which they leveraged to literally create a market for their product.
After discussing these insights, the tone shifted dramatically to how Acumen could play a greater role in knowledge sharing. Our guests mentioned the importance of partnerships and knowledge transfer across our portfolio, two things which we’re thinking hard about. In addition, we also heard from many members of our community about the need for Acumen to create a voice in policy. This is something we continue to discuss and I would be interested in our readers’ thoughts around this issue.
But what I took away most from this breakfast was that the complex issue of water provision requires a portfolio of solutions combining market based, policy driven, and socially oriented approaches.
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