Young Water Solutions newest member of the SWEP
Thanks to the support of the Waterloo Foundation, Young Water Solutions has joined the Sanitation and Water Entrepreneurship Pact (SWEP) with the aim of supporting water and sanitation entrepreneurs more effectively, building an ecosystem around WaSH entrepreneurship and channelling funds where they are most needed. What is the SWEP and why was it created? In the past decade, the universe of players involved in delivering WaSH services has become larger and more diverse, with public, private and third sector entities getting increasingly involved. Many different organisations and programmes which support water and sanitation entrepreneurship have also emerged. The challenge – and the financing gap – remains huge, though, both locally and globally. This begs the question:...
Three Young Water Fellows funded to help fight COVID-19
Thanks to generous funding from the International WaterCentre Alumni Network (IWCAN), three Young Water Fellows were selected to implement projects responding to the threat of Covid-19 in their community. The Fellows selected were Everlyne Nabakka and Patricia Rhoda Nekesa from Uganda and John Tumaini from Kenya. Despite the challenging times that COVID-19 has thrown upon many enterprises, our 2019 Global Young Water Fellow Everlyne Nabakka and partner Daniel Kimbugwe turned a challenge into an opportunity. While Eve’s YWF project usually produces ecological and reusable sanitary pads, she temporarily re-purposed her workshop to produce face masks. In two months, her social enterprise EcoSanitary Uganda successfully manufactured and distributed 2,000 re-usable masks to vulnerable communities, health facilities and key local government departments whilst also contributing to improved hygiene...
COVID-19 Crowdfunding Campaign: initiatives and updates
We want to say a big thank you to the many contributors who helped us reach our goal of €6,600, great job! Special thanks go to BOSAQ and Rotary Club Wavre-Europe for their very generous donations. Through the initiatives described below, the campaign provided an opportunity for youth-led social businesses to stay operational and impactful during these difficult times. Their work has helped restrict the spread of the virus by promoting safe hygiene and supporting vulnerable communities with little or no access to handwashing facilities and protective wear. Thanks to the funds raised, four Young Water Fellows - Nuha Anfaresi (Indonesia), Jenifer Colpas (Colombia), Baseka Saidi (Burundi) and Christopher Sunday (Uganda) - have re-purposed their social...
YWF Côte d’Ivoire 2020 training in Abidjan
From 14th to 27th September 2020, ten dynamic young entrepreneurs participated in the training component of the Young Water Fellowship Côte d’Ivoire. The two-week training on social entrepreneurship in the WASH sector was delivered in partnership with cewas and Incub’Ivoir at a glorious location near Abidjan. The first week of training focused on identifying the WASH problems to be tackled, adapting the entrepreneurs’ solutions accordingly and honing their long-term business plans so as be as self-sufficient and impactful as possible. The second week of training concentrated on the financial management of their social enterprises and planning for their pilot projects. The programme concluded with a...
E-Hackathon in Water, Sanitation and Hygiene for Informal Settlements in Latin America and the Caribbean: updates and winners
On 11th and 12th September 2020, 120 young entrepreneurs from Latin America and the Caribbean - divided in 30 teams - participated in the E-Hackathon in Water, Sanitation and Hygiene for Informal Settlements in Latin America, organized by the Inter-American Development Bank (IADB), in collaboration with cewas and Young Water Solutions. During day one, the participants worked on defining the problem to be addressed, identified solutions and ideas to develop as well as their main costumer segments. The second day of the event focused on validating their ideas and assumptions with their costumer segments as learning how to effectively present the idea in a pitch. The young entrepreneurs developed with great effort and commitment different proposals that could contribute to sustainably solve water, sanitation and hygiene issues. These proposals were subsequently evaluated...