Dutch Company Helping Malawians for Clean Water

Basic Water Needs, a Dutch manufacturer and marketer of household water treatment products, has joined the Business Call to Action (BCtA) with a commitment to distribute its Tulip table top water filters to more than 540,000 Malawians

The company is establishing a new assembly plant in Blantyre, Malawi’s second largest city, which will provide full-time employment to ten women, and plans to train more than 100 women entrepreneurs to sell Basic Water Needs products through their own shops and local networks. Basic Water Needs projects that the initiative will reduce CO2 emissions by more than 150,000 tons.

Working with two local, Safi Water Treatment Solutions and ARKAY Plastics Industry Ltd., Basic Water Needs’ inclusive business model involves local development and production of Tulip Table Top water filters to meet customer-specific needs and reduce distribution costs. The company aims to market its products through: direct sales to reach customers at the base and middle of the economic pyramid; the retail network of ARKAY reaching more than 300 shops in Malawi; and partnerships with NGOs that will also raise awareness of proper hygiene and product use to reach Malawi’s poorest and most vulnerable communities.

“At Basic Water Needs, we take our social responsibility very seriously and strive to make our whole supply chain sustainable, respecting both human rights and our environmental impact,” stated Jens Groot, the company’s Chief Executive Officer. “We are honoured to join the Business Call to Action and look forward to working with both BCtA and our fellow members to strengthen the impact of our work.”

Locating the assembly plant in Malawi is part of BWN’s broader strategy to make low-cost water filters available for all income groups by helping to increase market share within the country as well as providing Basic Water Needs and its partners a strategic location from which to strengthen regional distribution. Currently, the company’s manufacturing takes place in India, making transport costs high for the comparatively low-cost Tulip Table Top filter. Local manufacturer will also enable the company to transport its goods to the 19 other countries of the Common Market of Eastern and Southern Africa, of which Malawi is a member. In addition to scaling up regionally, Basic Water Needs is starting a similar initiative in Ethiopia. And there are plans to replicate the initiative in other important countries, including Indonesia and the Philippines, by 2018.

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Taxonomy

• Water Treatment Solutions
• Water Supply
• Water Filtration