Creating a sustainable water supply in Africa has been a long-term goal for the global community, but market innovators are making real strides towards that future. Water scarcity has been increasing in the continent due to increased agriculture, water rights conflicts, and donated machine malfunctions and waste. This can lead to all kinds of economic and health problems for the people living there, which is why companies like eWATERservices have been investing in creating market incentives work for everyone.
Their water dispensers operate on a monetary exchange basis, but with solar powered tech, reusable cannisters to fill, and efficient dispensing and repairing, make the costs affordable while profitable so that there is incentive to repair the existing systems and install new ones. In this way, water access has expanded across Tanzania, The Gambia, and Ghana so that people have nearby clean, sustainable water. Not only is this system efficient economically, but dramatically reduces environmental waste due to the sustainable resources and technologies used, eliminating the need to boil the water to purify. The affordable cost makes it accessible to all, but still prevents waste by putting an economic cost to the refills, balancing the supply and need.
While the tech and company are relatively new, they've already been creating huge change for good. This is an issue that has been around a while, and though many good intentioned public programs have tried to help, private markets work more effectively at creating long-term, sustainable solutions.
