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Research & Development Without Borders

RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT WITHOUT BORDERS TO IMPROVE LIVING STANDARDS IN VULNERABLE COMMUNITIES THROUGH EASYWATER (EASYWAT) TECHNOLOGY.

In developing countries, access to portable and drinking water remains a challenge for most communities. This challenge can be explained by factors such as; poor accountability, irregular maintenance framework works, and inconsistency in water supply. All these affect the quality of water consumed by the populations in these communities, thereby negatively impacting the living standard of the people. Given that access to safe drinking water is and remains a fundamental and universal human right, there is a need for evidence-based innovative technologies in Water Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) to resolve the problem of water scarcity and poor water quality. In a bid to address this need, social entrepreneur and WASH expert, Ngang Christian came up with the EasyWAT project.

What is EasyWAT?

EasyWAT is a startup in its research and development phase. The project addresses the challenges of water sanitation and hygiene access in an Integrated Water-Energy Technology (IWET) nexus approach. It also involves the use of the Internet of Things (IoT) to; monitor water usage, track real-time payments, and trigger maintenance.

Taking into account the need to reduce carbon footprints, EasyWAT systems are powered by solar energy. In addition, in a bid to increase flexibility, reduce mobility, and save cost and time, the project makes provision for digital payment methods. 

What Opportunities Does EasyWAT Have?

  • Reduce water wastage

With rising climate change challenges around the world access to portable water is becoming more and more difficult in developing countries. Ironically, in 2016, a study by the World Bank revealed that, developing countries account for over 45 million cubic meters of water loss daily; with average household water leakages being responsible for about. This water, which is lost, is referred to as non-revenue water (NRW). If these 45 million cubic meters of water can be prevented from being wasted, this could provide enough water for over 90 million people, thereby going a long way to reduce the global water scarcity problem. (What is non-revenue water? How can we reduce it for better water service? 2016)[1]

EasyWAT technology holds great potential when it comes to minimizing the amount of NRW. This is so because the system is designed to detect issues with water systems and automatically trigger maintenance.

  • Flexibility

Standing in a long line to pay water bills takes time, money, and energy. However, with EasyWAT technology, it is possible for people to settle their water bills from the comfort of their homes as the system makes provisions for digital payment methods such as mobile money.

  • Reduced carbon footprint

The system is being designed to operate on solar energy, which is a renewable source of energy. Through the use of solar energy, EasyWAT can help to reduce climate change impact.

Aside from this, the abundance of sunlight in sub-Saharan Africa makes this technology relatively cheap to run.

The overall objective of EasyWAT technology is to resolve the problem of water quality, accessibility, reliability, and the high cost of drinking water for the population in areas lacking access to pipe-borne water or where pipe-borne water is of low quality. The startup sets out to provide affordable technology to make quality drinking water accessible to all.


[1] Bill Kingdom, Gerard Soppe et al: What is non-revenue water? How can we reduce it for better water service? World Bank Group, August 31st, 2016.

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