Powwater

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Powwater

Creating digital solutions to improve water access and empower local communities through impact investing in water filtration systems. 

 

BCTA MEMBERSHIP STATUS
Alumni

SECTOR
Water, Sanitation & Waste Management

HEADQUARTERS
United States

REGION OF INITIATIVE
Africa, Asia & Pacific, Latin America & Caribbean

SDG CONTRIBUTION

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The Impact Goal 

Powwater joined Business Call to Action in December 2020 and made a commitment to onboard 1 million users on its mobile water platform, empowering consumers to have a transparent, reliable, and quality water source in Africa, South Asia, and Latin America; create 10,000+ local jobs through Powwater’s impact investing and app arms, and bring sustainable clean water to 3 million low-income school children in Kenya and Nigeria through impact investing by 2025.  

The Market Gap 

Many water solutions today are not sustainable - organizations may establish a water well or filtration system but leave with no method for maintenance, local engagement, or autonomy. Indeed, many of today's global water challenges are characterized by improper management, lack of innovation and infrastructure, and false motives. The result is an urgent need for water solutions with a focus on community engagement, capital investment in adequate infrastructure, and a heightened priority around sustainability and environmental conservation.

The Business Solution 

Powwater achieves its inclusive business goals through 2 business segments with a core focus on implementing water projects: 

  • An impact investing arm that funds water filtration projects around the world. Powwater has invested in water filtration systems in Bangladesh, Kenya, and Ethiopia. While each system functions differently, the model for sustainability is similar: these are not charity donations, but rather investments that resemble micro-loans to local entrepreneurs who then own and operate each system as a business.

  • The Powwater App, a mobile platform that serves as a transparent marketplace for accessing water in communities without reliable supply.

Active, Goods & Services, Value Chain, Both, SDG 1, SDG 6Studio EliasWater; Sanitation & Waste Management, Africa; Asia & Pacific; Latin America & Caribbean, SME, United States, Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Kenya, Nigeria