Drinkwell

Area of Focus:

TRANSFORM Survive & Thrive

Geography:

Bangladesh

Millions of people in India and Bangladesh consume unsafe drinking water from contaminated groundwater sources. Thousands die every year as a result. 

Drinkwell provides affordable, safe drinking water to people living without piped water, using water ATM machines and pay-as-you-go, prepayment cards.  

Drinkwell wanted to scale their model to Chittagong, the second largest city in Bangladesh. TRANSFORM initially provided funding and access to marketing expertise, supporting six new water ATMs in the city. The initiative helped Drinkwell promote safe hygiene practices in low-income communities and drive the purchase of Drinkwell Water ATM cards through various retail channels including local pharmacies and bazaars. It was also able to trial the use of an existing network of door-to-door sales agents to sell the cards on commission, reducing recruitment and training costs. EY provided a blueprint of how Drinkwell can achieve its target of reaching 100 million people by 2030 throughout South and South East Asia.  

Additional funding and support from TRANSFORM then helped Drinkwell respond to the COVID-19 pandemic by providing 250 freely available, contactless handwashing stations located near their water ATMs. These foot paddle-based stations were accessible to low-income households, in public spaces and offices. Unilever’s Lifebuoy hand hygiene products were also provided.