Bringing water to rural Africa

A British startup is attempting to do what billions of dollars and dozens of donors have not: Bring a reliable source of water to rural Sub-Saharan Africa.

In the past, Solar pumps were distributed to villages with mixed results. If the pumps broke down, villages typically couldn’t repair them, according to The Economist.

According to The Water Project, 783 million people do not have access to safe water worldwide, and 319 million of those are living in Sub-Saharan Africa alone.

Without reliable pumps, people use surface water found in pools or dig shallow holes near rivers. The water is often contaminated and is the source of as much as 80 percent of all illnesses in the area.

Now eWater has devised a plan to install pay-as-you-go solar pumps which are equipped with their own repair strategy. The pumps dispense water in response to electronic tags. At local shops, villagers spend one cent for 20 liters of water. Shopkeepers refill the tags via smart phones. Then 85 percent of the money collected is reserved for future repairs. The taps are connected to mobile networks and can transmit their status.

According to eWater, the women and girls who collect the water now take care not to spill it since they are paying for it.