This is the 16th post in a blog series to be published in 2022 by the Secretariat on behalf of the AU High-Level Panel on Emerging Technologies (APET) and the Calestous Juma Executive Dialogues (CJED

It is worth noting that access to clean, affordable, and safe drinking water is a fundamental human right recognised by Goal 6 of the United Nation's Sustainable Development Goals[1] and essential to accomplishing the African Union's Agenda 2063 socio-economic development goals and aspirations.[2] Yet, approximately 783 million African people have limited access to clean and safe drinking water, a majority located in Sub-Saharan Africa.[3] It has been reported that 1 in 3 Africans is confronted with water insecurity[4] necessitating innovative solutions to deficient management of water resources and services to tackle Africa's water stress.[5]

Among the most affected African countries by water scarcity is Tanzania. Tanzania has a population of approximately 4 million people with limited access to clean and potable water. The country is one-third in arid to semi-arid conditions, making it difficult for people to access clean drinking and sanitary water. This is even more difficult for people that do not reside close to the three major lakes that border the country.[6] Furthermore, over 29 million Tanzanian people have limited access to sanitation.[7] Women and girls have to walk for long distances to obtain clean and safe drinking water. Furthermore, water-borne diseases such as malaria and cholera account for more than half of all diseases afflicting the population of Tanzania.[8]

Due to the high demand in Tanzania for clean drinking water and sanitation, there is a high market for water products such as storage tanks, pipes, and rain harvesting facilities.[9] The suppliers of these facilities appear to be optimally exploiting the growing digital finance sector to capacitate the impact of their facilities and water treatment innovations and technologies in Tanzania.[10]

The country has to its advantage youth population resources as indicated in the country's developmental blueprint, namely "National Development Vision, 2025". [11] The development plan places an emphasis on the youth's innovative potential in addressing societal issues such as the dearth of accessible clean water. Part of this effort involves constructing resilient infrastructure in which young people of the country can feel safe enough to experiment and create.

To best meet the demand for clean water, the African Union High Level Panel on Emerging Technologies (APET), in its capacity as an advisory body to African Union Member States on innovation and emerging technologies, encourages African countries like Tanzania to leverage youth entrepreneurship and innovation. APET also advises African countries to take advantage of the education-entrepreneurship nexus in order to capitalize on the creativity of Africa's youth and create the skilled human capital required to foster healthy communities and stimulate innovation. Engaging youth as change agents in technology and innovation can greatly promote a platform for their participation in designing sustainable and locally appropriate innovation and technologies to improve the outlook of their community.

The focus could be on creating youth-based and local solutions for water innovation and relevant, cheap, and accessible initiatives. For example, the Water Resources Integration Development Initiative (WARIDI) is building and strengthening the capacity of youth to utilise cost-effective, innovative water treatment and management technology.[12] Such technologies include smart metering and installing cheap water disinfection and filtration systems to provide clean water for local and rural communities. Local government authorities are also implementing national sanitation campaigns that are youth-based in helping the youth identify, scope, design, and implement water projects. As a result, by 2021, these interventions and initiatives improved water access and basic sanitation services for approximately one million Tanzanians.[13]

WARIDI benefited from several community-based collaborations that maximised platforms for knowledge and experience sharing, information exchange, and mutual learning, especially among the youth. Further, the Tanzanian people developed dependable and cost-effective water treatment technologies specifically tailored to the demands of resource-constrained settings.[14]

Having grown up in a remote village struggling with access to clean water, a local chemical engineer, Dr Askwar Hilonga, has developed a cheap and customisable water filtration system to provide clean water to rural Tanzania.[15] This water filtration system utilises sand filters and nanomaterials such as sodium silicate and silver to eliminate heavy metals, such as copper, fluoride, and other chemical contaminants from water. Notably, the patented filtration system enables the contaminated water to first pass through the sand and subsequently the nanomaterials to specifically target and eliminate region-specific pollutants.[16]

In some instances, the lack of accessible potable water for most of Africa's remote communities is usually a governance and management issue rather than water availability or contamination. For example, Tanzania has many non-functional clean water points challenged with mismanaged revenue collection systems. Consequently, the maintenance and upkeep of some of the country's public wells and faucets remain difficult as they require proper management with a steady source of income for maintenance purposes. For example, a functional water tap should be properly monitored to reduce possible future complications and mismanagement challenges.

To address this challenge, the Catholic Relief Services (CRS), Grundfos LIFELINK A/S, and the Diocese of Mbulu Development Department (DMDD) are collaboratively tackling Tanzania's water governance and management challenges through an innovative ATM for water solution. This ATM for water solution is a prepaid water system that self-manages the accounts of users, as well as revenue collection and water data.[17] The CRS' Revolutionizing Remittance Recovery in Water (R3W) Project in Tanzania is implementing Grundfos' AQTaps, sometimes referred to as "water ATMs".[18] These systems are for rural and peri-urban communities that Tanzanian families can utilise to access safe and clean drinking water.[19]

The AQTaps can accept smart cards, a form of mobile money, to enable the users to utilise the water dispenser. These smart cards act as reusable gift cards after reloading credit through the AQTap account from a local water vendor.[20] This account can also be recharged through a mobile money transfer system compatible with a simple mobile phone. At any time once the smart card has depleted the water credit, families can easily reload the water credit. As soon as the smart card has sufficient funds, it can be swiped at any nearby AQTap system.

Interestingly, the technology can instantaneously collect revenue and transaction data when swiping the AQTap smart card through an online database management system. The AQTap system is linked to a clean water tank that receives potable water from solar-powered boreholes that CRS funds. The water flows through the AQTap dispenser unit to pour into the user's water container. This happens after the user has swiped their smart card and chosen the amount of water they need to be dispensed. The money is collected to enable continual and timely repairs and a functional system once the CRS partnership ends.

APET notes that similar digital and blockchain-enabled technologies can be developed and tailored toward the youth. Consequently, these digital applications can provide jobs and entrepreneurial opportunities for youth.

it has been identified that rural and urban residents perceive existing water services as specifically for poor societies.[21] Fortunately, the proposed prepayment and solar innovations can significantly enhance transparency, accountability, and convenience for Tanzanians. However, the perceived challenges that should be addressed with the proposed innovations should include the disenfranchisement of vulnerable populations and technical difficulties. To this end, the Government of Tanzania is proposing the implementation of prepaid water meters and solar power technologies soon.[22] Accordingly, APET notes that it remains essential to integrate user perceptions onto these technologies' suitability, viability, and scalability prior to large-scale implementation.

Between May 2016 and October 2017, the Water Mission-Tanzania (WM-T), in partnership with the World Bank, executed investigational field trials in Tanzania to explore the feasibility and sustainability of solar-powered piped water supply systems and smart water metering technologies.[23] These mechanisms can be utilised to enhance financial accountability for rural and urban water schemes. This data could also provide evidence for the potential application of smart water dispensers (SWDs) and solar pumping in both rural and urban water sectors. Harnessing this technology can encourage sustainable and affordable water delivery services in Tanzania.

The World Bank reports that stakeholders and community members in Tanzania are overwhelmingly supporting the installation of solar-powered water systems and smart water dispensers with mobile prepayment services.[24] This could potentially improve the availability of reliable and adequate water sources, reduce the queuing time, and improve the functionality of the water point.

Solar-powered water supply systems equipped with prepaid water meters can viably and systemically improve water services in Tanzania.[25] However, capacity strengthening through training and long-term support for community-led management can improve collaborations and integrate cloud-based water management systems into the larger water sector management infrastructure. This can significantly improve the consistent availability and affordability of water services and prepaid water meter technology.

APET notes that most of these projects are predominately government-led and implemented in collaboration with international developmental partners. Provisions and access to these funding mechanisms and opportunities for local, youth-based, and start-up companies in Tanzania can significantly strengthen entrepreneurship in water-related technologies and innovation.

Currently, limited youth-based innovations and technology projects have been reported in Tanzania.[26] This is attributable to the systematic unavailability of technical and funding support. Therefore, improving funding and investment mechanisms can enhance the participation of local people in developing competitive water solutions and technologies.[27] APET notes some efforts of the government of Tanzania to strengthen local youth capacity. However, more systematic interventions should be implemented. 

It has further been identified that youth-based innovations and entrepreneurship encounter several hurdles when creating and investing in Tanzania and throughout the African continent. These challenges include limited access to capital funding, insufficient infrastructure, and a limited skilled labour market. Furthermore, young innovators face challenges in accessing markets and the necessary bureaucratic approvals from corruption, inhibitive policy and regulatory frameworks, and cultural disparities throughout Africa. Some local cultures within African societies impede youth and women's participation in innovation and entrepreneurship.[28] APET recommends that for African countries such as Tanzania to promote youth participation in providing solutions towards accessing clean water, African countries should address the barriers hindering innovation and entrepreneurship.

Government interventions and collaboration to assist youth entrepreneurs and innovators within the water sector is essential. These collaborations and funding mechanisms can be availed through governmental water departments, universities, research institutions, and non-governmental organisations dealing with water management and treatment affairs. This can develop better water-focused, scientifically accurate, sustainable, and environmentally friendly innovation and technology solutions to improve public trust.

APET also recommends that African countries should establish an enabling innovation entrepreneurship environment. This can support suitable investment efforts and enable taxation frameworks for start-up companies. African governments should also encourage and recognise youth-based innovations and entrepreneurship. This support can include establishing enabling markets, platforms, and incentives for local innovation and emphasising buying local products from the young Tanzanian innovators. Such policy recommendations can also be replicated in other African countries to avert the looming water crisis in Africa.

In conclusion, APET recognises the water crisis in Africa. To this end, APET advises that African policymakers and decision-makers should strategically collaborate with the youth to leverage their innovation, creative ideas, and skilled labour resource. Africa should also deliberately promote local water entrepreneurship and innovation to provide sustainable solutions for local challenges, with the potential to scale up these innovative activities to national, regional, and continental levels. This can be accomplished through strategic, deliberate, and systematic youth developmental projects and funding mechanisms to enhance youth innovation and entrepreneurship, especially within the water sector. African countries can also enhance engagements with young innovators and entrepreneurs to strengthen and build their capacity. This can help African innovators and entrepreneurs conceptualise and implement high-impact transdisciplinary research-based innovation projects to address Africa's water supply priorities.

Featured Bloggers – APET Secretariat

Justina Dugbazah

Barbara Glover

Bhekani Mbuli

Chifundo Kungade

 

[1] https://www.brookings.edu/blog/africa-in-focus/2021/07/23/addressing-africas-extreme-water-insecurity/.

[2] https://au.int/en/pressreleases/20160317.

[3] https://www.globalcitizen.org/en/content/water-and-sanitation-crisis-sub-saharan-africa/#:~:text=Of%20the%20783%20million%20people,are%20in%20sub%2DSaharan%20Africa.

[4] https://www.wri.org/insights/climate-change-hurting-africas-water-sector-investing-water-can-pay.

[5] https://www.nepad.org/blog/achieving-water-security-africa-role-of-innovation-and-emerging-technologies

[6] https://thewaterproject.org/water-crisis/water-in-crisis-tanzania.

[7] https://water.org/our-impact/where-we-work/tanzania/#:~:text=4%20million%20people%20in%20Tanzania,long%20distances%20to%20collect%20water.

[8] https://thewaterproject.org/water-crisis/water-in-crisis-tanzania.

[9] https://water.org/our-impact/where-we-work/tanzania/.

[10] https://water.org/our-impact/where-we-work/tanzania/#:~:text=4%20million%20people%20in%20Tanzania,long%20distances%20to%20collect%20water.

[11] https://www.unicef.org/tanzania/young-people-engagement-priority-tanzania.

[12] https://pdf.usaid.gov/pdf_docs/PA00W5GC.pdf.

[13] https://www.unicef.org/tanzania/what-we-do/wash.

[14] https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/57a08a2fed915d3cfd000628/tanzania-sanitationreview.pdf.

[15] https://www.wipo.int/wipo_magazine/en/2015/04/article_0005.html.

[16] https://www.howwemadeitinafrica.com/water-purification-tanzanian-sees-business-opportunity-instead-of-challenges/50485/.

[17] https://nextbillion.net/water-atms-how-technology-is-improving-water-governance-in-tanzania/.

[18] https://www.ict4dconference.org/water-atms-how-technology-is-improving-water-governance-in-tanzania/#:~:text=CRS'%20Revolutionizing%20Remittance%20Recovery%20in,to%20use%20the%20water%20dispenser.

[19] https://product-selection.grundfos.com/za/products/aqtap?tab=models.

[20] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ich4EsHdRVM.

[21] Sherry J, Juran L, Kolivras KN, Krometis L-AH, Ling EJ. Perceptions of Water Services and Innovations to Improve Water Services in Tanzania. Public Works Management & Policy. 2019;24(3):260-283. doi:10.1177/1087724X18815486.

[22] Hans C. Komakecha, Lukas Kwezi, Mansoor Alic, Why prepaid technologies are not a panacea for inclusive and sustainable rural water services in Tanzania? Water Policy 22 (2020) 925–942. doi: 10.2166/wp.2020.070.

[23] https://documents1.worldbank.org/curated/en/583191530243092019/pdf/TANZANIA-SANITATION-PAD-06072018.pdf.

[24] https://documents.worldbank.org/en/publication/documents-reports/documentdetail/126401524092315833/study-of-solar-powered-prepaid-water-systems-in-tanzania.

[25] https://documentos.bancomundial.org/es/publication/documents-reports/documentdetail/126401524092315833/study-of-solar-powered-prepaid-water-systems-in-tanzania.

[26] https://www.globalgiving.org/projects/help-tanzanian-youth-make-tech-to-help-themselves/reports/.

[27] https://pathwayscommission.bsg.ox.ac.uk/sites/default/files/2019-09/tanzania_case_study_rapid_technological_change.pdf.

[28] https://aaltoglobalimpact.org/pbl-east-africa/pictures/Ubujamii%20Final%20Report.pdf.