Water as a Business
The Water as a Business Model
Water as a Business (WaaB) is a model that encourages private sector involvement in improving access to water services. It is a market-based strategy that facilitates entrepreneurship and catalyzes water businesses, moving away from the traditional subsidy-driven approach. There are three main models of implementation: construction of new water schemes, extension, and rehabilitation.
The focus is the monetization of water flow as the key to sustainability. This encourages entrepreneurship and creates jobs for water point operators, collectors, and mechanics. Collecting money for water on a pay-as-you-fetch basis and remitting part of the revenue to future maintenance costs, ensures that repairs and replacements can be addressed and fully covered as they occur.
Water as a Business (WaaB) in Action
Hand Pump Mechanics Association
Village Saving and Lending Association
Laban the Water Seller
Laban spends his days overseeing the local water point as community members fetch water. He is the water seller and caretaker of the local hand pump.
Every bright yellow jerry can filled with water means a payment of three cents, and is recorded carefully in Laban's ledger. This fee covers his salary, payment for the water entrepreneur who manages the water system, and maintenance and eventual replacement of the hand pump.
