‘Water, water, everywhere but not a drop to drink’
                                                                         Samuel Coleridge

Globally, waterborne diseases caused by lack of safe drinking water and sanitation facilities kill more young children than AIDS, malaria and measles combined!1 It is estimated that 884 million people lack access to safe water worldwide. In India it is estimated that around 37.7 million Indians are affected by waterborne diseases annually. Out of this, 1.5 million children are estimated to die of diarrhoea alone. The need for safe drinking water cannot be over emphasised.

Traditionally viewed as a liability, this BoP population segment of over 4 billion people is slowly emerging as an asset to the local, national and global economy. Modest estimates place the value of the BoP market at $5 trillion. In Asia, the measured BoP water market is $3.2 billion (1.4 billion people), while the estimated total BoP water market in the region (including the Middle East) is $6.4 billion (2.9 billion people).2 With an approximate population of 700 million, India’s rural BoP market presents itself as a significant opportunity not only for multinational corporations but also for small and medium manufacturers and producers.3

The BoP market for safe drinking water is ripe. So why isn’t everybody jumping on to the band wagon to become the next Bill Gates or, if he is too dated, the next Mark Zuckerberg? The reason is that the conventional approaches have failed. The need of the hour is to innovate and design new products that will serve the local needs instead of the traditional one-size-fits-all methodology. Every location has different water problems, different socio-economic conditions; so, forcing a generic product at every location will get as much success as trying to shave while driving on a bumpy road. It could work but the results would not be pretty.

Through baseline surveys, focus group discussions and other impressive activities you have innovated a water purification solution that is not only inexpensive, easy to use, a sure-shot success but also very profitable. So you start imagining retiring as a rich social entrepreneur, sitting on a sunny beach, sipping margaritas. Unfortunately, the clouds of ‘how will the product reach the customer’ start raining, spoiling your otherwise perfect afternoon. Setting up of delivery channels is probably even more important than designing the product. Delivery channels can be by way of door-to-door sales, tying up with existing local shopkeepers, starting a franchisee or any other way that effectively takes the product from the warehouse to the customer. An effective delivery channel would not only deliver the product to the customer but also do so in a financially viable manner. Financial viability in this case is not restricted to the customer or the entrepreneur but to every member of the supply chain. Even a single weak (read unprofitable) link in this chain can make the entire operation fail.

Now that you have designed the product and set up an effective delivery channel, you are about to pick up that margarita when your phone starts to ring. You think, ‘I have created an excellent product, put a financially viable delivery channel in place, so now what’s the problem?’ The voice on the other end of the phone informs you that the people in the community do not feel the need to purify their water. They feel that their water is pure and anyway it’s the government’s responsibility to provide safe drinking water. Suddenly, your life starts to flash in front of your eyes. You think of all the time and money that you had spent on designing the product and setting up the delivery channel. Were they a complete waste?

Even though you have designed the product and the delivery channels, the customers are not buying the water purification solution because for them it’s a latent demand. Social marketing is an effective way of bringing the latent need to the surface. Social marketing will increase awareness about waterborne diseases, their causes and the ways to mitigate them. Constant engagement with the community is of vital importance to ensure that the message sticks with the people. Awareness can be generated through street plays, wall paintings, group discussions with doctors, etc.

Only after you have perfected the product, the delivery channel and the social marketing will there be any chance of success. Many enterprises are running successfully. Sarvajal, one such example, has set up 165 franchisees in western India and provides safe drinking water to 90,915 people.4 Sarvajal enlists local entrepreneurs as Sarvajal franchisees to operate and distribute Sarvajal water in their villages from the company owned filtration units. Sarvajal supports its franchisees centrally by providing maintenance, marketing and back-end operations support. This model allows Sarvajal to grow quickly and innovate locally.

Technology and Action for Rural Advancement (TARA), the social enterprise of the Development Alternatives Group has tied up with Antenna Technologies, Switzerland and introduced an innovative product called Aqua+.

Aqua+, a liquid chlorine solution, has been packaged in 50ml bottles and can provide safe drinking water to a family of five members for a month at less than USD 1. This product, still in its pilot phase, has been introduced in nine slums of New Delhi.

Both the examples above have created innovative products, set up effective delivery channels in place and are aggressively promoting their products. The next challenge that faces these enterprises (in fact, all social enterprises face this challenge) is that of scale. How do these enterprises that have shown success locally, replicate their efforts in other areas and, thus, scale up their operations? The obvious answer is investment. But capital alone cannot sustain these enterprises in new geographies. It is critical for these enterprises to retain the three golden rules so as to avoid falling into the one-size-fits-all approach: customise the product so that it caters to the local needs; set up financially viable supply chains; and design a locally relevant social marketing campaign.

To conclude, the water enterprise space has a lot of potential for growth. So, are you ready to become the next social millionaire? q