ArqLite Green

Elevate Prize funding and support would be key to taking our growth from steady to exponential. First, the funds will be leveraged to secure matching funds through Rotary International. Second, this prize will unlock interest free seed loans for franchisees from microfinance partners. At this scale, we will be able to centralize our supply chain and lower startup costs by 30%, increasing franchisee margins and decreasing franchisor costs. These savings will allow us to capitalize on existing partnerships to increase brand awareness and accelerate recruitment of new geographic territories. These public private partnerships will effectively triple Elevate Prize’s funding and support investment and within three years we will have full cost recovery, allowing us to continue to scale.

The first time I attended a community training, I was devastated. We had invited community members to come to a multi-day training as leaders, supporting a water project in the community. The room was filled with 30 people, 20 of whom were women. Despite their overwhelming numbers, the women never spoke. This training was held for a water project requested by the women, and the women had no voice. When I attended the last day, women were the only ones speaking. I didn’t understand what happened, but the truth was extraordinary in its simplicity: water is a women’s issue. Women were chosen to go to the leadership and business training because they were the experts in water and it was clear that they would take ownership of the project and ensure that it thrived. When the training was over, the women in the next village came up to me and I knew I wasn’t done. Our only goal is to empower women in slums and rural villages to turn the burden of water collection into the opportunity of a lifetime. Through women social enterprises they can transition from water bearers to water providers, launching sustainable water and sanitation businesses.

Women sacrifice time, education, earnings, and their body to water collection which takes 4-8 hours per day. And, one illness from dirty water costs two weeks’ pay for medicine, and countless hours of her time caring for the sick. Ugandan women are entrepreneurial. With 4 out of 5 women involved in income generating activities. But, to start a business successfully, they need access to time, business training, and culturally acceptable businesses. Sustainable WaSH businesses provide all of these things.   

At ArqLite Green, we are developing a #WWB- (Women, Water, & Business) as social enterprises tackling the water crisis while building sustainable businesses. Each WWB enterprise established uses existing and accessible technologies for water management, starting with compressed earth blocks. This technology has been repurposed utilizing locally-made machines to allow women to build and sell rain tanks and bricks under the WWB brand. Women have the ability to provide water, sustainably, for their entire community. As a micro franchise, WWB women receive thorough training in business, leadership, and critical WaSH issues. Through grassroots marketing, then learn to identify decision makers and potential customers, complete a market assessment, and utilize branding to spread awareness. Through business and leadership training, these women build financial models and develop a business plan to ground and grow her business.   

To get everyone water, charity isn’t enough. WWB model uses lowtech and readily available solutions repackaged as social enterprises that expand through earned income. Women are the key. They are directly connected to the impact of dirty water, they know their communities’ challenges and strengths, and are driven to fix the problem. We focus on the intersection of women, water, and business. The WWB enterprises are intentionally designed with women to fit their needs and build on their strengths.

The cycle of shared value is critical to our people today, as the government forces them to transition away from their traditional nomadic lifestyle. To grow their communities, it is vital that they are able to keep wealth circulating within their local economies. Through WWB franchises, women double their annual income while providing access to water for their community. In the community, the tanks she builds save each family 154 USD in economic losses from typhoid while freeing the time of women and girls in the home to pursue work and education, improving economic outcomes overall. Greater access to water also prevents the loss of herd animals, the primary source of wealth for the Easterners. By improving the herd, families are able to afford to build permanent homes using materials purchased from WWB women. WWB franchises are also an entry point for a traditionally unbanked community, allowing families to build credit and access finance for continued growth.