eWATERpay is an innovative solution integrating mobile technology and contactless pre-pay to create accountable micro businesses supplying sustainable clean water and transforming lives across rural Africa. Solving the problem of poor maintenance of water supply systems, users pay affordable fees of approximately 1 cent per 20 litres to purchase eWATERcredit, which operated the eWATERtaps offline.

In 2014 the World Bank said that “a low cost, pre-paid water supply system for rural Africa will be the game-changer to lift one billion people out of poverty”Each household buys an eWATERtag, registered to their household, (just like purchasing an Oyster card.) In each village at least one water retailer has a £100 smart phone, loaned to them by Africa Water Enterprises, in truth in most villages there are already a few people with basic smart phones. The retailers bulk buys eWATERcredit, via Africell’s mobile money scheme, and then they sell it onwards to households simply by touching their phone to the users eWATERtag. Sellers take 8% commission. This takes place completely offline – no need for $1,000 point of sales terminals linked to the head office like in Kampala’s pre-paid system. The eWATERtaps in each village only operate when an eWATERtag is touching them, (just like contactless payment) and credit is taken off the tag. (See photos on Africa Water Enterprises Facebook.) https://www.facebook.com/Africa-Water-Enterprises-916772458346993/?fref=photoIn March 2016, having successfully been awarded a £200,000 grant from the GSMA Mobiles4Development/DFID Fund, the first eWATERtaps were installed in four villages, 200 miles upriver from Banjul, close to the Senegalese border. Within the first 24 hours of repairing Jarreng Village’s broken solar pump and installing the eWATERtaps, 532 households bought tags from the local shopkeeper and handed over between 50 pence and £1 to purchase water. At 1 pence per 20 litres of water the price was affordable. The amount of water credit purchased exceeded Africa Water Enterprises’ expectations and the feedback from users has been overwhelming. For the last two years since the government solar water supply scheme broke they have used open wells, infested with worms, or bought bags of water costing four hundred times more than eWATERpay water.

eWATERpay, a UK social enterprise founded by ex DFID economist Alison Wedgwood, and technology entrepreneur Rob Hygate, is the first rural water supply system to launch in Africa that is low cost and financially sustainable. Currently all taps are built in the country of operation, the integrated circuits and parts are shipped out and local woman build the taps. As eWATERpay grows we anticipate hundreds of local people employed in production, distribution and maintenance of the rural water supply system. Local people can become the sellers of eWATERcredit simply by purchasing the credit on their smart phones via the eWATERapp, they then make 8% profit for selling eWATERcredit. A seamless hub of self employed water sellers has evolved since launching in April 2016. Similarly, contracts with local and national water maintenance companies, pump and solar specialists ensures that as soon as a tap is reported broken via the live LoRa hub a maintenance team is sent out and payment for services is enabled. The system is a fully closed and accountable business generating loop that not only will improve the delivery of clean water to the most poor and remote regions of Africa but also will provide professional services employment for engineers, sales operators, IT and data base managers and local water sellers.

Africa Water Enterprises a UK based charity, supporting eWATERpay, the in house software developers. Working in partnership with government water departments and national mobile phone companies to install eWATERtaps across rural sub saharan Africa. Live cloud based monitoring of all taps and consumers ensures professional maintenance and tailored customer service whilst serving those living on less than $2 pppDFID and Mobiles4Development have funded the initial development and piloting of the eWATERtaps and the goal is to scale up to serve 7 million people by 2030.

Africa Water Enterprises eWATERpay DFID WEDC Exeter University Newton Europe Ltd