The Hippo Roller Makes Its World Bank Debut

Published on by in Non Profit

The Hippo Roller Makes Its World Bank Debut

A few weeks ago, Jacob Shiman, a team member in the Finance, Competitiveness, & Innovation (FCI) practice at the World Bank, reached out to us at Hippo Roller. His team was looking to pitch an innovative product to the entire FCI Global Practice, and had selected the Hippo Roller; “Would we be interested in participating?” he asked.

 

Absolutely! Yes!

 

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Pitching the Hippo Roller at the World Bank's Finance, Competitiveness, & Entrepreneurship Knowledge Exchange

Jacob’s query quickly set in motion a chain of events: we packaged and shipped a Hippo Roller to the US, shared presentation summaries and facts about water, and updated the team on the status of the drought-ravaged regions of South Africa. Cape Town’s #DayZero campaign had just exploded on the public, so there was much to talk about.

 

Lisa Kaestner , the Practice Manager for the World Bank Group’s Trade and Competitiveness Global Practice in Europe and Central Asia, took it up from there, crafting a pitch to showcase the Hippo Roller to five “sharks” (based on the venture capital TV show Shark Tank) at the Finance, Competitiveness, & Entrepreneurship Knowledge Exchange.  

 

Lisa pitched an investment in production facilities and the establishment of a distribution network, leveraging the (unfortunately) increasing demand around Cape Town to create enough critical demand among consumers who can afford a Hippo Roller, in order to bring down the cost for those who cannot. A classic social enterprise.

 

Said Lisa, “The pitch went very well. The 700 plus staff in attendance were clearly impressed, and a vote from them on how they would invest if they had seed capital to do so, went the Hippo Roller’s way!”

Where to from here? The FCI Global Practice team will place the Hippo Roller on permanent display at their walk-in centre in Washington DC.

 

And hopefully, a seed will have been sown and the Hippo Roller’s World Bank debut will open doors to improved access to water for millions more.

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