“Those who aren’t currently living through a water crisis would be shocked to see the water people drink here and the amount of turbidity in the water. If you had it in a 1 liter bottle, you wouldn’t be able to see through it, it would look like chocolate milk.” –Daniel Meisel
Daniel Miesel, one of Business Connect’s East Africa Distributors, is the founder of Element Access International located in Kenya. Element Access is a social impact water development company focused on all aspects of rural water infrastructure development. Daniel and I spoke about Business Connect’s role in East Africa and the impact our organizations have on the current water crisis.
Currently, there are two sides to the water crisis in East Africa: accessibility and water safety. Some areas have quite a bit of water, but the water quality is very unsafe on a bacterial level.
The other side is accessibility. Drought in East Africa causes some areas to stay dry for up to two years. The communities will dig 10-15 feet holes beside the river and find water that way. The issue with this is that the livestock and wildlife are also dependent on these water holes, leading to cross contamination.
In other areas, water access is even less accessible, meaning people are walking 2-3 miles one way to access a water source. Each country in East Africa has its own particular landscape, making water challenges unique per region.
One product that combats these issues is the MajiPoa, a two-tier bucket water filtration system created by Element Access International to provide communities with clean water. This is a simple product that uses a VF100 filter cartridge to eliminate bacteria, parasites, and protozoan cysts. This product can last five years or longer with proper maintenance.
A large market bearer for some of the water filtration products was that they were not ‘ready to go’ products. Organizations or individuals would have to buy the bucket first and then drill a hole for the filtration device.
With the MajiPoa, you get an all-in-one product that is ready to go right out of the box. This system also provides consumers with an instant view of the water transformation, where tablets or treatment powder may not have the same effect.
“When you’re dealing with rural communities who may not understand the full extent of bacterial contamination, they can physically see this dirty water become clean water and be convinced that a change has happened.”
Daniel started Element Access International with his wife in 2017 where they have a really “boots on the ground” type of approach. Within this business, they provide hydrogeological surveys, boreholes, installation of solar pumping systems, automatic ATM water kiosks, pipelines, water storage, and sell a large range of household and industrial WASH products. Daniel broke it down into three main areas:
One of the most exciting things that Element Access International is currently working on would be their app. In line with Business Connect’s mission of creating hope through business, Daniel is trying to achieve that exact sentiment with this app by leveraging network marketing. He not only wishes to provide clean water products with this, but to empower local people to sell these products and enhance their livelihoods.
“One of the things I’m most excited about with [the app] is that it has an automated social marketing commission system to help people make money while helping others get access to clean and safe water,” Daniel said.
“The system rewards anyone who recommends a product to a friend by a significant percentage. We handle all the packaging and shipping, so this provides them with the same margins as if they were managing a micro business. I am very excited for how that both brings together creating hope through business and access to clean water.”
In the next five years, Daniel hopes that the organization’s emphasis and focus remains on self-sufficient technology like the AquaBot and app. Through the expansion of their services and continuing to work with different developmental players, he hopes to create even more long- term sustainable projects.
Element Access International is looking for impact investors to help them make the app even bigger once it launches. This helps to continue to provide clean water access in an affordable way for those in Kenya and the surrounding areas, as well as provide jobs for local people to provide for their families. If you are interested in learning more about this incredible organization, please check out their website.
If you are currently in East Africa and are interested in becoming a distributor of water filtration products or just interested in learning more about our products in general, please visit Business Connect’s website to find out more.
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