The business at a glance
The scale of the water crisis in Ethiopia is staggering: 62 million people lack access to safe drinking water. Diarrheal disease alone kills around 25,000 children under five every year, almost all due to unsafe water and poor sanitation. Not only that, nearly 80% of the rural population live in multidimensional poverty - lacking access to clean water, adequate nutrition, education, and basic services.
Vital Water Purifier exists to tackle both problems at once. It's an early-stage for-profit business that sells water filters and sanitation products while recruiting low-income women and young people from the communities it serves as sales agents, giving them a source of income and a path out of poverty. Sales generate profits that are used to cross-subsidise free and discounted products for the poorest rural families.
Currently, the business is established but still building toward break-even. With our help, Vital Water Purifier’s founder, Habteab Argaw Bantora, will develop a robust business plan and budget to run the venture more sustainably and expand its reach.
Meet the project leader
Habteab Argaw Bantora is an engineering graduate from Hawassa University who grew up in Aleta Chuko, southern Ethiopia, watching his community struggle without safe water. He founded Vital Water Purifier to fulfil a lifelong dream of building a business that solves water access and sanitation problems. He is a 2023 D-Prize winner, a 2024 Echoing Green finalist, and has been recognised by Ethiopia’s Prime Minister for his participation in community work.
Meet our alumni
Want to see who we’ve supported in past years?
Find the full list of all founders we've worked with since our inception in pages 32–43 of our impact report.