Local Infrastructure for
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Distribution Platform for
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Technology Platform for
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THE PROBLEM: RAPIDLY URBANIZING POPULATIONS IN DEVELOPING MARKETS
Sub-Saharan Africa is rapidly urbanizing, outstripping existing infrastructure and the governments’ capacity to keep up. Africa is expected to add another 1 billion people in the next 30 years. Current infrastructure won’t be enough. More problematic is that conventional models of development are unlikely to reach most of them:
Safe Water Enterprises is an effective complement --and sometimes alternative -- to conventional top-down water project. Faster and more modular to deploy, these decentralized water centers can meet the needs of rapidly urbanizing regions better than the long cycle of centralized water infrastructure development. At the same time, they are more sustainable than basic hand pumps and better suited to address the type of contamination found in urbanizing settings. A 2017 study by Dalberg concluded that, "[Safe Water Enterprises] can serve between 1.46 – 3.86 billion people and deserve greater support." See the study and other reports on SWE's here.
UNTAPPED provides technical support, mobile IT tools, business model expertise, and asset financing to help local organizations deploy this model faster and at greater scale, all with less risk working with a proven team and best practices.
UNTAPPED is also a last-mile distribution platform serving rapidly urbanizing regions in developing countries. This platform provides consumers a reliable and affordable source of clean water. It also improves the supply chain for small retailers, boosting incomes for micro-entrepreneurs and increasing availability of a variety of basic products and services.
We place particular focus on scalable tools to run things more efficiently: mobile IT, systems and standards for operations, data for better decisions, and technology for quality control.
Sub-Saharan Africa is rapidly urbanizing, outstripping existing infrastructure and the governments’ capacity to keep up. Africa is expected to add another 1 billion people in the next 30 years. Current infrastructure won’t be enough. More problematic is that conventional models of development are unlikely to reach most of them:
- Government-managed, centralized water and energy infrastructure fail to reach the vast majority of the population
- Public utilities face high per capita costs and insufficient public financing to meet growing needs
- Inefficient supply chains in informal markets mean higher prices and limited product availability for consumers living outside of large cities
Safe Water Enterprises is an effective complement --and sometimes alternative -- to conventional top-down water project. Faster and more modular to deploy, these decentralized water centers can meet the needs of rapidly urbanizing regions better than the long cycle of centralized water infrastructure development. At the same time, they are more sustainable than basic hand pumps and better suited to address the type of contamination found in urbanizing settings. A 2017 study by Dalberg concluded that, "[Safe Water Enterprises] can serve between 1.46 – 3.86 billion people and deserve greater support." See the study and other reports on SWE's here.
UNTAPPED provides technical support, mobile IT tools, business model expertise, and asset financing to help local organizations deploy this model faster and at greater scale, all with less risk working with a proven team and best practices.
UNTAPPED is also a last-mile distribution platform serving rapidly urbanizing regions in developing countries. This platform provides consumers a reliable and affordable source of clean water. It also improves the supply chain for small retailers, boosting incomes for micro-entrepreneurs and increasing availability of a variety of basic products and services.
We place particular focus on scalable tools to run things more efficiently: mobile IT, systems and standards for operations, data for better decisions, and technology for quality control.
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DloHaiti is our sister operating entity in Haiti. Launched in 2013, dloHaiti offers national and global companies the ability to reach underserved markets and improve the quality of life of low-income consumers outside of the main cities. At the same time, it increases the income of local entrepreneurs and offers high-quality, permanent employment opportunities for many outside of the urban centers.
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UNTAPPED focuses on catalyzing business investment to address hard-to-solve problems in economic and infrastructure development. Initial and supporting investors include International Finance Corporation (World Bank Group), the FMO (Dutch development bank), Leopard Capital (PE frontier markets), Danone Communities and others.
UNTAPPED is led by a team of international entrepreneurs and investors with deep experience of the water business, developing markets, IT, and logistics. Integrating local, on-the-ground understanding of developing markets with systematized, scalable business practices is a key to rethinking business in developing markets and unlocking its potential.
If you are interested as an investor or as a business partner, please contact us at info@untapped-inc.com