VITAL WATER PURIFIER
Unlocking water access for rural Ethiopia and beyond.
Vital Water Purifier is a social enterprise involved in delivering interventions such as water filter distribution, WASH education, and policy advocacy targeted to elevate the lives of 62 million people who lack water access in Ethiopia. We envision reaching 12 million people in the next 10 years.
Featured as a finalist in 2024 among 84 best innovators by Echoing Green.
About Vital water Purifier
What we do
62 million people in Ethiopia don’t have direct access to safe drinking water. We deliver proven water filter interventions to rural families. We leverage partnerships with local offices to facilitate faster and bulk distribution. We also raise WASH education among village communities to diminish diarrheal diseases in rural households. Our interventions have reached around 7,500 people so far. We are planning to expand our solution to impact more than 12 million people in the next 10 years.
While we have been running a pilot program in village woredas in Sidama Region, in southern Ethiopia, we observed that people in rural Ethiopia suffer frequently from water-borne diseases such as Cholera and typhoid fever. In fact, one in 17 children does not live to see their 5th birthday, and diarrheal disease is the leading cause of death in Ethiopia in children under five. After benefitting from our programs, many of our beneficiaries speak highly of our intervention, and they testify that they feel much healthier and safer. It saved them a lot of money they used to spend on medical expenses. We want to see this impact amplified on a larger scale. Our programs and interventions helped create equitable access through cross-subsidization and a digital voucher system for water filter distribution designed to benefit the most underserved rural communities, including members of ethnic groups that have been historically and geographically marginalized despite having a fairly large population.
How it all started: our team participating at Generation Unlimited – Ethiopia (March, 2022)
Projections On a mission to deliver 51,500 water filters to 259K people by the end of 2027.
Cumulative
51.5K / 259K
We plan to distribute 50,000 water filters to reach 250,000 people in a course of 3 years
Robust distribution model
Our Innovative Approach and future aspirations
We are pioneering a new distribution model where we create convenient channels to promote and deliver water access programs to rural Ethiopia at scale, leveraging partnerships with the Ethiopian Health Ministry. We work closely with Health workers to reach underserved families. We have introduced the most affordable water filters to rural homes for the first time, partnering with a local manufacturer, Tulip Addis. We are improving the status quo with these two promising approaches: cross-subsidization and an app-based water filter voucher system. Through cross-subsidization, we charge higher prices to wealthier households, urban customers, schools, and clinics, while using the margin to subsidize filters for low-income rural families. This creates an internal stream of funding that reduces dependence on external donors. Alongside this, we are also using a voucher system assisted by a digital platform that allows low-income households to purchase filters at a reduced price.
- We distribute high-quality ceramic water filters
- We conduct WASH education and raise awareness among rural communities
- We shift power to underserved low-income families through strong policy advocacy
Founders and partners
Our Team
We’re a team of highly driven and passionate professionals.
Team
Habteab A. Bantora
Founder and CEO of
Vital Water Purifier,
Research Assistant from
Hawassa University
Nahom T. Kebede
Distribution Partner
Health Communications Specialist at
Sidama Regional Heath Office
Consultants
Andiamlak T. Fersho
Hydrologist and borehole drilling engineer
Aynalem Mathewos
Consulting Health Personnel
