Delivering safe drinking water to rural households in Cambodia

Despite the rapid economic developments in Cambodia in recent times, the lack of infrastructure is still affecting the daily lives of the Cambodian population. One of the most pressing needs is providing access to safe drinking water to the rural households outside of Phnom Penh. In July, GIFT had collaborated with the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy to bring participants of the Senior Management Programme (SMP) to Phnom Penh to address this water challenge.

Participants of the SMP had the unique opportunity to work closely with the International Development Enterprise (IDE)’s new spin-off, Hydrologic, to develop a business plan for the newly established entity and its ceramic water purifier (CWP). The new entity would enable Hydrologic to adopt a commercial approach to structure the expansion of ceramic water purifiers and the sales and marketing channels that cover 14 provinces in Cambodia penetrating into the rural household market. Participants of the Senior Management Programme include senior government officials from Singapore, China, Hong Kong, Brunei and Qatar. The diverse group collaborated and created a business plan to provide recommendations for Hydrologic to launch a new and professional education service that is key to filling the gap in the awareness of water and sanitation in rural Cambodia. In the process of creating the business plan, the SMP participants conducted market research and household interviews to examine the real needs of the community and their affordability to adjust the pricing system of the CWP products and tailor the sales and marketing campaign.