Awamo Water Solutions.

A lack of access to entrepreneurial and employment opportunities keep over 65.4% youths in Uganda unemployed therefore living majority in substandard conditions, with no feasible escape. Simultaneously, over 8.4 million people across  do not have access to clean drinking water. Awamo Water Solutions is a social enterprise that leases solar powered water ultra-filtration systems + inventories using "Pay-As-You-Go" to enable unemployed youths start and own a 100% social Franchise businesses supplying clean, affordable water as their "Anchor product" to poor vulnerable communities in Uganda. 

In Uganda, an average of 400,000 youth enter the labor market annually, but only about 113,000 are absorbed in the formal employment, leaving 287,000 unemployed {Ubos}. However, lack of business skills and startup capital prevent 65.4% of the un-employed youths from improving their economic situations (world Bank).Simultaneously, despite over $177 million invested in piped water schemes and borehole access;-more than 50% Donor funded water projects fail after 2-3 years primarily because of lack of community buy-in and local ownership on the beneficiary level. Commercial bottled water companies sell water expensively reaching top 10% only, leaving a significant 8.4 million population to consume dirty and untreated water. Yet, without clean water, over 1'400 children die from waterborne diseases and illnesses annually (WaterAid).Boiling water, while safer than drinking untreated water, is adversely affected by cross-contamination due to CO2 that is emitted for every 1 kg of charcoal that is burned to properly boil 1 liter of water {WHO}.

Awamo Water Solutions is targeted population are as described below.

1. 65.4 percent in Uganda (The World Bank 2016). With the informal sector contributing to 90 percent of Sub-Saharan employment (African Development Bank Group 2013), there are few opportunities for social mobility and formalized entrepreneurial ventures. Lack of access to capital, complicated tax and fiscal processes, and slow-moving and opaque bureaucracies prevent many youths from improving their economic situations.
2. Currently, 8.4 million people in Uganda can’t access safe drinking water, and 1'400 children under 5 die per year from unsafe water consumption and poor toilets (WaterAid). and women spend over 8 hours collecting dirty water from wells. This creates additional barriers to employment and money-making activities for women, as they are required to surrender so much time to collecting drinking water for their families. Additionally, the cost of charcoal is prohibitive for many of these impoverished families. In Uganda, a sack of charcoal can cost half a week’s pay  $13.5  and equivalent of (50,625UGX).

Awamo Water Solutions is a social enterprise that is reinventing the "Pay-As-You-Go" model to equip un-employed youths to build solutions that close infrastructure gaps and propel local innovation in solving both the water and employment crisis in Uganda. Being a franchise model; - our solution is the financing of a Business – In – a –Box. Unemployed youths are identified as prospective franchisees through peer-to-peer nominations. Each youth receives business training and Awamo Water Solutions provides them with; on-site solar powered water ultra-filtration systems to enable them start and own a franchise business. Using "Pay-As-You-Go", Youths make USD 799 down payment for the Solar powered Ultra-filtration water system and a subsequent monthly USD 319 for 48 months {4 years}. The Pay-As-You-Go is purposed to provide youths with a flexible opportunity to affordably pay for the solar powered water ultrafiltration system in installments, and in 48 months, own them outright. This empowers youths to provide water as their "Anchor product" to the bottom 90% underserved population under reasonable financing terms. Franchise locations therefore sell purified drinking water in reusable PET bottles. Customers pay $2.6 initial deposit for the reusable water bottle, then pay only $1 for water when exchanging an empty bottle for a full bottle of water.Awamo Water Solutions partnered with Davis & Shirtliff Uganda who are helping us in achieving our technology objective by designing an Eco-Friendly custom-fit SolarPure Ultra-Filtration (UF) system. As municipal water in East Africa can be dirty, and unsafe, this system uses Ultrafiltration membrane to remove; - parasites, bacteria and viruses while allowing healthy, naturally-occurring minerals to pass through our integrated bottle sanitizing station for water to be packaged and sealed in bottles therefore making the water safe while localizing the taste to each community that is served by Awamo Water Solutions franchises. The system is runned by Grundfos renewable pump that propels 3,000 liters of water per hour while using as little as 200W of solar power. The solar pure ultrafiltration system is provided to the entrepreneur/ youth on day one after completing his/her training. Davis & Shirtliff technicians work with the Awamo team to oversee the installations, maintenance and troubleshooting of all water treatment systems.

Awamo is differentiating its business from competitors by pioneering a self‐propagating “Business – In – a –Box model” that capitalizes and equip emerging market entrepreneurs with: - Training, retail space, on-site water treatment, bottling, and sealing to provide aspirationally packaged safe water as an “Anchor” product while serving the immediate neighborhood within walking distance of 2 kms. Because our focus is on the undeserved living within a 2km radius of each Awamo depot, we virtually eliminate: - {1} Retail mark-up (water is sold direct to consumers), {2} Distribution costs (each depot serves a two km radius), 3.) And the cost of plastic (all bottles are exchangeable for refill.).Our “Micro‐Franchise” footprint creates permanent access to safe drinking water by facilitating on‐the‐ground business ownership through budding entrepreneurs as opposed to a centralized bottling plant.

Awamo Water Solutions partnered with Davis & Shirtliff Uganda who are helping us in achieving our technology objective by designing an Eco-Friendly custom-fit SolarPure Ultra-Filtration (UF) system. As municipal water in East Africa can be dirty, and unsafe, this system uses Ultrafiltration membrane to remove; - parasites, bacteria and viruses while allowing healthy, naturally-occurring minerals to pass through our integrated bottle sanitizing station for water to be packaged and sealed in bottles therefore making the water safe while localizing the taste to each community that is served by Awamo Water Solutions franchises. The system is runned by Grundfos renewable pump that propels 3,000 liters of water per hour while using as little as 200W of solar power. The solar pure ultrafiltration system is provided to the entrepreneur/ youth on day one after completing his/her training. Davis & Shirtliff technicians work with the Awamo team to oversee the installations, maintenance and troubleshooting of all water treatment systems.

Firstly, we are addressing the problem of youths unemployment in Uganda using "Pay-As-You-Go", where by Youths without sufficient start-up capital are able make USD 799 down payment for the Solar powered Ultra-filtration water system and a subsequent monthly USD 319 for 48 months {4 years}. The Pay-As-You-Go is purposed to provide youths with a flexible opportunity to affordably pay for the solar powered water ultrafiltration system in installments, and in 48 months, own them outright. This empowers youths to provide water as their "Anchor product" to the bottom 90% underserved population under reasonable financing terms. First-time social entrepreneurs are equipped with Awamo’s water purification and other equipment, branding, training, and the capital required to launch  Franchise locations selling drinking water at prices lower than the charcoal it would cost to boil it. The goal is to create a profitable business for local entrepreneurs, creating numerous jobs in each community it serves, while promoting social well-being, mobility, and agency for new business owners. Awamo Water Solutions franchise locations sell drinking water in reusable containers.  Secondly, The youths/Entrepreneurs, are able to address water crisis in their own communities  because, Customers pay an initial deposit for the reusable water bottle, then pay only for the water when exchanging an empty container for a full bottle. 

Awamo franchise solution to-date has launched: - 1 operational franchise, created 15 new jobs in Management, Production, sales and distributes, 25,000 liters of quality aspirationally packaged safe water to 15,000 consumers weekly. Expected in 5 years, {1} Social impact; - monthly sensitization in 100 households about the benefits of purified water and sanitation,50% reduction of water borne disease among customers {2} Economic impact: - Recruit and launch 1,000 locally owned franchises, create over 900 jobs, Sell over 360 million liters of water , and create permanent safe water access to over 20 million people as consumers no longer have to travel long distances to buy or fetch water {3} Environmental impact:greatly reduces water-borne disease as well as the carbon emissions {52 million Kg of charcoal and 260 tons of CO2 emission saved annually} and over 110,957 tons of plastics recycled as consumers no longer need to boil their water or dump throw away bottles

Awamo Water Solutions target market in Uganda is focused on the 8.4 million people with no access to safe drinking water and the 65.4% youths who lack access to capital, business skills including complicated tax that prevent them from improving their economic status. By 2030, our ambition is to operate more than 1’000 local franchises, leading to the creation of more than 8’000 jobs, annual sales of more than 450 million liters of water and to reach more than 50 million people for the provision of safe drinking water in Sub-Saharan Africa. Our potential to have an impact on more people and places is therefore embedded in the assumptions of our growth plan as explained below.

1. {Variable} Franchises;- {Assumption} We aim to Launch 1 franchise/month until 2025, then increase to 2-3 franchises/month.{Explanation}, Awamo water solutions has launched 1 franchise is operationally feasible in mature markets.
2. {Variable} Countries; - {Assumption} we aim to launch in 1 country per year. {Explanation}. Awamo water solutions has launched in 1 country so far.
3. {Variable} Job creation ;-{ Assumption} every franchise potentially creates 8 jobs/months. {Explanation}, the first franchise has created 25 jobs on average.
4. {Variable} Water sales; - {Assumption} Every franchise sells 1750 liters/day. {Explanation},the first franchises is already selling more than 2000 liters/day reaching over 500 households/day

Our main risks are centered on two key areas.

 Firstly, -Maintaining quality control and reputation are key assets to our growth and if Quality is breached in one of the franchises (e.g. if a franchisee sells a bad bottle of water) can negatively impact the image of other franchisees and the entire Awamo Water Solutions brand. 

 Secondly, Acquisition of new franchisees; if not enough suitable and reliable, our growth is at a risk, We are confronted with far more applications than we can accept.

 Thirdly, Unreliable water source; - Municipal water is not reliably available. If our franchisees rely on municipal water.

 Fourthly, Protecting company Brand and standards; - if a franchisee produces a bad bottle of water, it could severely damage other franchisees and the Awamo brand as a whole. 

 Filthy, Insufficient funding; - to scale up the social business to more places in Uganda and Africa at large. 

Awamo Water Solutions is addressing the challenges in the following ways.

 Firstly, -Maintaining quality control and reputation are key assets to our growth and if Quality is breached in one of the franchises (e.g. if a franchisee sells a bad bottle of water) can negatively impact the image of other franchisees and the entire Awamo Water Solutions brand. However, we are implementing Mature QC&A certification training for operators and franchisees using tools like:-sampling, random audits and refresher trainings, this ensures zero tolerance policy for quality issues. Unreliable water source; - Municipal water is not reliably available. If our franchisees rely on municipal water, we intend to keep large storage tanks onsite to ensure that they always have a ready supply of raw water at hand to filter. Thirdly, Protecting company Brand and standards; - if a franchisee produces a bad bottle of water, it could severely damage other franchisees and the Awamo brand as a whole. We shall resolve this by implementing strict control mechanisms that ensure recurrent training of franchisees and audits of product quality, customer satisfaction, and financial reporting. and Fourthly, Insufficient funding; - to scale up the social business to more places in Uganda and Africa at large. We could address this challenge by generating revenues from our sales as well as seeking investment from stakeholders such as Central government and social/impact investors in the community and abroad.

Our team is composed of a business-savvy, motivated problem-solvers who are committed to making a big social impact in the community. Daniel Obua Ocari (CEO, Co-Founder). is responsible for ;-Fund raising, operational maturation, business development,and setting strategic directions for Awamo Water Solutions. Gabriel Angura (CDO, Co-Founder) is an engineer, designer, and researcher from Makerere University in Civil Engineering, Currently, Gabriel is responsible for developing, standardizing and managing all aspects of supply chain and product quality control at Awamo Water Solutions.

1. Gabriel Angura, completed a Bachelors’ degree in Civil Engineering with work experience in Structural, Transportation, Water, Sanitation and hygiene projects in Uganda. Over 5 years’ experience as Civil Engineer cum Project Management Specialist in the area of Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Infrastructure, responsible as Wash Engineer to conduct needs analysis and evaluation of WASH infrastructure projects including determination of Household Matrices and Per Capita demand, their sensitivity design, analysis and Networks using EPANET and AutoCAD. Highly skilled in water distribution modelling & Networking, forecasting including GENERATED and INDUCED demands in post project period with statistical models. Considerable experiences gathered in Operation and Maintenance of WASH facilities, with determination of Maintenance strategies favourable to low income and vulnerable communities.
2. Daniel Obua Ocari holds a Bachelor's’ degree in social sciences with skills  in project planning, Monitoring & Evaluation, including Research and proposal writing. Currently, he is working as a project manager at Childfund international, Northern Uganda in the area of Gender Based Violence and Response program. His responsibility as a project officer at Childfund international where he was supporting project monitoring and evaluation as well as working with partners to deliver quality programming, strengthening M&E reporting systems and Innovate interventions for increasing government aid and action towards gender based violence preventions aimed at increasing economic stability at the household level, prevent child abuses, adolescent pregnancies and improve education for children and youth.

Awamo Water Solutions partnered with Davis & Shirtliff Uganda who are helping us in achieving our technology objective by designing an Eco-Friendly custom-fit SolarPure Ultra-Filtration (UF) system. As municipal water in East Africa can be dirty, and unsafe, this system uses Ultrafiltration membrane to remove; - parasites, bacteria and viruses while allowing healthy, naturally-occurring minerals to pass through our integrated bottle sanitizing station for water to be packaged and sealed in bottles therefore making the water safe while localizing the taste to each community that is served by Awamo Water Solutions franchises. The system is runned by Grundfos renewable pump that propels 3,000 liters of water per hour while using as little as 200W of solar power. The solar pure ultrafiltration system is provided to the entrepreneur/ youth on day one after completing his/her training. Davis & Shirtliff technicians work with the Awamo team to oversee the installations, maintenance and troubleshooting of all water treatment systems.

First time Entrepreneurs/Youths make USD 799 down payment for the solar powered Ultra-filtration water system and a subsequent monthly USD 319 installment payments and in 48 months, own them outright. Purified Water is sold to the needy population at $1 (i.e. at a fraction of the price of commercially bottled water and at a fraction of the environmental cost of boiling water).

To finance our growth and achieve financial sustainability for our initiative, our ideal funding would be tied to revenues generated from leasing the advanced solar powered water ultrafiltration machines. Using our "Pay-As-You-Go model", Entrepreneurs make USD 799 down payment for the advanced solar powered Ultra-filtration water system and a subsequent monthly USD 319 for 48 months {4 years}. Entrepreneurs/Youths would generate revenues of roughly $3,800 USD per month, with expenses around $2,200, creating a net income of $1,600 USD. In addition, we are also considering Equity and non-dilutive grants as other alternative forms of Funding. Awamo Water Solutions therefore is currently looking to raise $500,000 from Equity, non-dilutive grant and low interest debt, we are looking to raise $ 250k from equity, with a minimum investment of $50K. Apart from the equity, Awamo Water Solutions is also targeting non-dilutive grants and low interest debt funding for the remaining 250k. Achieving our financial goals would enabled us to pivot quickly to scale and grow our Minimum Viable Product (MVP) - which in our case is an internationally scalable social franchise model.

As change agents,We believe in the power of open social innovation as atool to leapfrog critical problems affecting the world over. We have a business model that has already been stress-tested in extreme environments and proven to work and scale quickly across Africa.  We therefore believe that being part of the Solve movement will not only help us to collaborate with other passionate organisations and grow our social enterprise sustainably, but will also provide us with the most suitable partnerships that will enable us to scale our social enterprise to reach the needy population. Having already launched 1 locally owned social franchise in the post war affected Northern Uganda, we are keen to operate more than 1’000 franchises, leading to the creation of more than 8’000 jobs, annual sales of more than 450 mio. liters of water and to reach more than 7 mio. people for the provision of safe drinking water across the borders of  Africa.In that regard, We would love to attend the Solve finals; to empower ourselves by being a part of a social innovation movement that will enable us to scale our social franchise business model while —driving lasting, transformational change in Africa.

Awamo Water Solutions would like to partner with the following organizations.

1.  EY – Enterprise Growth Services.  Enterprise Growth Services (EGS) is a heavily-subsidised, non-profit extension of EY’s consulting business, supporting small and growing businesses which change lives and livelihoods in low-income countries. Awamo Water Solutions would like to partner with Enterprise Growth Services to establish the following:- (a) Defining an end-to-end processes (financial and nonfinancial), (b) Introduce templates for monthly financial reporting for current and future franchises, (c) Introduce templates for weekly inventory reporting, (d) Design KPI dashboard for management and (e) Ensure uniform pricing for all products and services of Awamo Water Solutions. Our goal is to end up with one operating system — one that would be accepted and used consistently by all franchises.
2.  Climate Neutral Group. Climate Neutral Group is a leading international provider of carbon management and offsetting services  with offices in Cape Town and Johannesburg. Awamo Water Solutions would like to partner with Climate Neutral Group with the objective of putting carbon reduction ambitions at the heart of its operations. The partnership would help Awamo Water Solutions to gain from the following benefits:- (a) Reduce its carbon tax, (b) improve its B-BBEE scorecar, (C) support its CSI policy, and (d) gain competitive advantage. The ultimate goal is to enable Awamo Water Solutions to compete and prosper in a low-carbon world.

At Awamo Water Solutions, We are committed to ensuring that half (50%) of our entrepreneurs are women. We have developed better gender-driven recruitment processes and training programs to find and coach aspiring female entrepreneurs with the business and life-skills to launch them into the workforce.In January 2019,  Awamo Water Solutions team successfully rolled out a “Reseller concept" into a formal micro-franchise program which works to spur entrepreneurship among disadvantaged women. The micro franchise resellers concept serves two purposes: 1;-Expanding the reach of the Awamo water to the bottom 90% population and 2;-As a means for training and vetting potential franchisees. The micro-franchisees operate as licensed resellers of purified Awamo water. They coordinate pick-up of inventory at a Franchise location, and therefore enable Awamo water to reach a wider breadth of customer base through formal and informal distribution points. Through this program, we successfully trained 200 young vulnerable girls who benefited from our hands-on training on topics including; - profit & loss statements, cash flow, and customer service. Women also received training to become Water and Health Educators to build grassroots marketing.Each woman received approximately 170 hours of initial training over the first two months and these trainings are facilitated by Awamo Water solutions teams and subject matter experts. The innovation for Women prize would help us in training additional 1,000 women and launch them into work forces through our microFranchise reseller program.