Participants in the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy's 2010 Senior Management Programme help facilitate the transition from donor funding model to commercial enterprise

PHNOM PENH, CAMBODIA, 20th July 2010

This week marks the beginning of a unique initiative to improve access to safe potable water for Cambodia's population through the 2nd annual Global Leaders Module of the Senior Management Programme (SMP) at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy in Singapore.  During an 8-day field project in Phnom Penh and surrounding areas in Cambodia, twenty-two senior civil servants from Singapore and the Asia region will work to support the project partner Hydrologic in transitioning from a donor-funded business model to an enterprise model based on consistent revenue and expansion.

In Cambodia it is well established that more than 50% of the population currently lack access to safe potable water.  This is due to a chronic lack of sufficient infrastructure to deliver drinking water as well as the necessity for much of the population to rely on point of use treatment to protect themselves from contamination, both from surface ground water and collected rain water.  The negative social impacts of this situation include some 9.4 million cases of diarrhoea and more than 10,000 deaths per year, in addition to an estimated US$80 million in lost productivity.

To date much of the efforts to address this problem have been driven by development initiatives and global aid organizations providing donor money.  Cambodia received US$ 1 billion in foreign aid money in 2009 which amounted to almost half of the government's annual budget and the highest per capita foreign aid in the world. Now, through the work of International Development Enterprises (IDE) and its recent spin-off Hydrologic, there is a movement to leverage market forces among the vibrant 'Bottom of the Pyramid' population, to establish a more sustainable solution to providing safe water access using affordable and effective ceramic water purifiers (CWP).

During the programme, participants from Singapore, China, Hong Kong, Thailand, Qatar and Brunei will work with IDE and Hydrologic to assist in upgrading the business plan for Hydrologic so that it might distribute affordable water and sanitation products throughout Cambodia.  They will work to strengthen the financial analysis and projections for the short and medium term planning for the company.  They will also research and analyze the potential for expansion of the product lines in the domestic market and provide recommendations on sales and marketing, operations and supply chain strategies, as well as potential partnering opportunities.  The final output of their work will be a strategic recommendation in the form of a robust business plan which can be taken forward by Hydrologic for implementation.

At the conclusion of the programme, participants will present the results of their work as a final business plan at a Social Business Opportunity Briefing in Singapore, on Friday, 23 July 2010.  This event will serve as a culmination to the week-long programme for participants and also bring together key potential investors and business partners to explore the opportunities for working with Hydrologic.  The attendees at this event will come from around the Southeast Asia region and be comprised primarily of individuals or businesses with interests in the water services sector.

Scott Fritzen, Vice Dean (Academic Affairs) and Associate Professor at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, and Lead Faculty for the programme  said, "One thing we have learned in the global financial crisis is that governance matters to development outcomes.  The senior managers in this unique program are thinking deeply about how to get the invisible hand of the market, and the visible hand of government, to work together to achieve collective goals."

GIFT is a social venture think tank which runs leadership development programmes applying business skills to social causes and linking investment to commercial opportunities with social impact.  The Global Leaders Module has been based on the Global Young Leaders Programme (YLP) which has been designed to initiate a fundamental shift in the understanding of business, its influence and impacts by engaging participants in a life-changing field project.  Previous YLP projects have been based in other parts of China, India, Laos and Cambodia dealing with issues such as delivering elderly care and services, setting up rural supply chains, marketing sustainably produced forest products and scaling up of renewable energy distribution.
 


About the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy: http://www.lkyspp.nus.edu.sg
The Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy (LKY School) of the National University of Singapore was established in 2004 with the mission of educating and training the next generation of Asian policymakers and leaders. Its objectives are to raise the standards of governance throughout the region, improve the lives of the region's people and, in so doing, contribute to the transformation of Asia.
 
About the LKY School Senior Management Programme
Together with the School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University, the LKY School has brought together a distinguished team of academics and policymakers to offer a month-long Senior Management Programme (SMP). This flagship programme brings together senior management professionals from the public, private and not-for-profit sectors from a host of different countries to embark on a journey of renewal aimed at improving their performance as leaders and managers in their respective organisations.
 
About IDE and Hydrologic: http://www.ide-cambodia.org
International Development Enterprises (IDE) is a non-profit International NGO with a unique market-based approach to poverty reduction.  IDE helps to build profitable enterprises and value chains that deliver sustainable social and economic benefits to the rural poor, enabling them to increase their income and improve their quality of life.

Hydrologic is a newly established social enterprise delivering clean water, sanitation, and hygiene solutions throughout Cambodia on a commercial basis. Hydrologic builds on the experience of the joint venture partners: IDE Cambodia and Hagar Cambodia, which have implemented successful Point-of-Use water filtration programs since 2001, and supplied more than 150,000 Cambodian households with clean water products. The main product is the Rabbit ceramic water filter.
 
 
About GIFT: https://www.globalinstitutefortomorrow.com
GIFT is a social venture think tank that prepares future leaders of corporations, government and civil society to think differently about the role of business in society and in so doing creates new investment opportunities for dynamic social enterprises in the region.
 
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For more information about GIFT and the Global Young Leaders Programme (YLP) please contact Eric Stryson, Director at +852 3571 8103 or via email at: