Access to clean water is a major problem in Nigeria, with 36 percent of the population lacking access to improved water sources. It is more often women who spend time collecting water and dealing with the consequences of ill-health in the family. Although boreholes can provide water for communities without piped water, many fall into disrepair due to lack of accountability and ownership.
TechnoServe partnered with TRANSFORM to pilot the concept of Sunlight Water Centers in eight peri-urban areas near Abuja. A Sunlight Water Center combines a solar-powered motorised borehole and retail kiosk selling clean water and household products (including Unilever products). Managed by a local, female entrepreneur, these women become ambassadors for behaviour change in their communities. The vision was to facilitate access to clean water under a sustainable business model that covers the cost of building boreholes and maintaining them in years to come.
With TRANSFORM’s financial and technical support, the centres were operationally sustainable at the end of the pilot phase.
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