More than two billion people worldwide lack access to safe water. Join us and our many partners in advancing innovative, entrepreneurial, market-based solutions that transform lives—sustainably.
Each small water enterprise (SWE) is a small business managed locally. We provide the know-how, tools, and support to ensure that these systems provide affordable, reliable, safe water for years to come.
Since 2008, we have worked with partners in more than 350 communities in Ghana and India to implement locally owned and sustainable water systems. Both countries have a significant need for access to safe water.
We partner with leading organizations from the public, private, and academic sectors to continuously refine and standardize the small water enterprise model for ease of replication toward scale.
Our collaborative research measures impacts and helps to solve the challenges to local sustainability.
Despite billions spent on safe water solutions, roughly half fail within a few years. A quarter of the world’s population is still in need. That's why we're in the field with our partners, embedded in communities demonstrating new approaches, and working with the water sector to overcome the challenges to keeping safe water flowing in the long term. Here's what we're focused on:
OperationalMany people living in areas of need lack the technical and operational skills to manage and operate a small water enterprise. We build local capacity through comprehensive training, locally customized manuals, and ground-proven toolkits. |
FinancialWhen water systems break down there are typically no funds set aside to fix them. Our small water enterprises sell water at affordable prices to generate revenue to cover operating and maintenance costs. This is crucial to combat the high failure rate of many systems, and help assure economic sustainability. |
ConsumerWe view people as consumers, not beneficiaries, and educate them about the need for and benefits of safe water. Communities pay a nominal amount to keep safe water flowing for all. |
EnvironmentalRural water sources are precious and easily stressed by overuse. Our collective approach to water management helps ensure that this shared resource will be available for future generations. |
From offices in Ghana, India and the United States, Safe Water Network focuses on three areas to address the global water crisis:
 Countries & RegionsBuilding on local success over the past decade, we and our partners are proving that small water enterprises are succeeding at credible scale in Ghana and India. Every month, new small water enterprises are launched to move more communities up the water services ladder, and to continually optimize the approach.
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 Ongoing InnovationWhile providing affordable safe water access, the existing network of small water enterprises also acts as a real-world innovation lab. Through testing and refinement, we and our partners on the ground simplify operations, lower costs, and standardize the model for replication and, ultimately, global scale.
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 Insights & EngagementWe convene and catalyze sector leaders to advance support for community water solutions through forums, workshops, and technical assistance. A new partnership is developing the first-of-its-kind operating platform to increase impact through knowledge-sharing with like-minded organizations, improving efficiency, and standardizing practices to help transform and unify the sector. |
The need is too great and the challenges too complex for any one organization to succeed alone. That’s why “Network” has been in our name from the very beginning. Working together, we achieve greater impact.
