SE19-CCI- From Developing to Scaling-Up Innovative Social Businesses at the Base of the Pyramid

Ten percent of the world population lack access to safe drinking water. In Pakistan 44% of the 180 million population is without access to safe drinking water, 64% of urban and 84% of rural population do not treat their drinking water and consequently waterborne diseases are the leading cause of mortality and morbidity. High stress in the use of ground and surface water, fast growth in population and frequent flooding caused by the climate change further aggravate the availability of drinking water. Injecting active chlorine into drinking water eliminates the pathogenic microorganisms and prevents possible recontamination. Unfortunately, supply chains of chlorine do not always reach communities in developing countries, especially communities in rural areas. The paper describes the lesson learnt from the initial research that led to a start-up of a business of centralised production of liquid chlorine in Pakistan for water treatment at point of use by households. It presents the outcome of the business model of introducing the innovative WATA Technology in Pakistan for locally producing chlorine as a simple and cost-effective means for improving access to drinking water. The challenges identified during the 12 months’ pilot of selling liquid chlorine helped transforming the single product business model into a diversified portfolio of innovative Household Water Treatment and Safe-Storage (HWTS) systems that are based on WATA Technology and better integrate point-of-use water treatment in the lifestyle of targeted market segments, particularly the population at the Base of the Pyramid (BoP).