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  • October 2021 (Revised January 2022)
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Project Maji: Pricing Water in Sub-Saharan Africa

By: Elie Ofek, Marco Bertini, Dilyana Karadzhova Botha and Esel Çekin
  • Format:Print
  • | Language:English
  • | Pages:28
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Abstract

In July 2021, Sunil Lalvani, founder and CEO of Project Maji, a non-profit social enterprise headquartered in Dubai that had already provided sustainable, clean water solutions to 80,000 people living in rural communities across Ghana and Kenya, was facing an important decision. Traditionally, fees collected from community members covered the operating and maintenance costs of the solar-powered water kiosks, while donations paid the initial capital expenditure and setup costs. Yet Lalvani needed a more scalable financing solution to reach a hefty goal: impacting 1 million lives by 2025. Serving larger, more affluent peri-urban communities was a viable alternative, as the additional revenue could be channeled to rural projects. Thus, Lalvani and his team worked on a pilot for three peri-urban sites and looked to Danone Communities, a venture capital fund that invested in social businesses, to provide a loan. The team mapped out a feasible system, but debated what fees to charge residents. A low price meant that Project Maji would pay off the loan for the first four years, and only then start accumulating funds to support its activities in rural areas. This would delay scaling. Alternatively, a high price, coupled with an offer to establish direct connections in more well-off households, would allow Project Maji to generate excess earned revenue from the get-go, but it would also raise questions of equitability. All of this weighed on Lalvani as he pondered what price point to include in the investment proposal.

Keywords

Water; Pricing; Nonprofit Organizations; Projects; Price; Decision Making; Social Enterprise; Growth and Development Strategy; Equity; Green Technology; Social and Collaborative Networks; Africa; Dubai

Citation

Ofek, Elie, Marco Bertini, Dilyana Karadzhova Botha, and Esel Çekin. "Project Maji: Pricing Water in Sub-Saharan Africa." Harvard Business School Case 522-043, October 2021. (Revised January 2022.)
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About The Author

Elie Ofek

Marketing
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Related Work

    • October 2021 (Revised January 2022)
    • Faculty Research

    Project Maji: Pricing Water in Sub-Saharan Africa

    By: Elie Ofek, Marco Bertini, Dilyana Karadzhova Botha and Esel Çekin
    • June 2022
    • Faculty Research

    Project Maji: Pricing Water in Sub-Saharan Africa

    By: Elie Ofek
    • June 2022
    • Faculty Research

    Project Maji: Pricing Water in Sub-Saharan Africa

    By: Elie Ofek
Related Work
  • Project Maji: Pricing Water in Sub-Saharan Africa By: Elie Ofek, Marco Bertini, Dilyana Karadzhova Botha and Esel Çekin
  • Project Maji: Pricing Water in Sub-Saharan Africa By: Elie Ofek
  • Project Maji: Pricing Water in Sub-Saharan Africa By: Elie Ofek
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