Tap Water for Slum Dwellers

About

This partnership provides access to safe running water directly to homes in the slums of Bangladesh. The partnership collects payments door-to-door through a tailormade approach, which allows people to pay affordable bills through flexible payments. The average repayment ratio is 98% and non-revenue water do not exceed 8%.

With a social enterprise Shobar Jonno Pani (SJP) fully dedicated to delivering water to slum communities, the NGO partner Water and Life delivers complementary community reinforcement activities. This results in water quality enhancement, local economic development, and urban inclusion.

Building off its successful model in the Philippines, the partnership began operations in Bangladesh in 2012. Since then, Tap Water for Slum Dwellers has provided over 12,000 urban poor with safe and treated water at home, resulting in reduced monthly health expenses and work absence due to illness. In the first operating area, the families’ water consumption rate almost doubled reaching 53.2L per day, which is superior to the minimum 50L the World Health Organization considers necessary to have a decent life (impact study of 2016). 

The partnership also contributed to the creation of local employment: 58 employees, of which 93% are from Bangladesh, 42% are women, and 49% are inhabitants of the slums where the partnership operates. In Bangladesh, the partnership is managing over 2,334 contracts in Dhaka and Chattogram with an average growth rate of approximately 10% per year.

The objective is for SJP to reach financial sustainability where the turnover covers the operational costs. To achieve that, the partnership aims to open two new operating areas yearly to increase the number of contracts by 1,000 (households connected to the water network) each year. The partnership has reviewed satellite views and studies to ensure efficiency in the new selected areas. The partners have also cultivated strong relationships with the city utilities to expand the model in more slums.