Increasing access to safe water in rural areas in Kenya
Maintenance and Reporting Solutions for WaterStarters' Franchisees
The Challenge
In Kenya, 30–40% of the installed water supply systems are broken at any given time. Communities invest significant resources — time, labour, money — in building water infrastructure, only to lose access within months due to breakdowns that go unreported, undiagnosed, and unfixed.
For WaterStarters, a social enterprise operating a franchise network of community-managed water schemes, the problem was clear: their franchisees — local entrepreneurs who own and operate water kiosks — had no reliable way to report faults, track maintenance, or communicate with the WaterStarters technical team. When systems broke, they stayed broken for weeks.
The Solution
We designed a mobile-first reporting and maintenance coordination tool for WaterStarters' franchisee network. The app allows local operators to log faults with photos and GPS data, track repair status in real time, and communicate directly with WaterStarters' technical support team.
The interface was designed for low-literacy contexts — visual-first navigation, large tap targets, SMS fallback for offline conditions, and support for Swahili and local dialects. Onboarding was designed to take under 5 minutes with no prior smartphone experience required.
For the central WaterStarters team, a complementary web dashboard provides a live map of all active schemes — showing fault reports, maintenance schedules, water delivery volumes, and scheme health scores.
580
water schemes to be supported by 2030
1.5M
people with access to clean water by 2030
< 5 min
app onboarding with no prior smartphone experience
App screenshot — franchisee mobile interface
Anticipated Additional Impact
Income
Franchisees with reliable, functioning water schemes can increase their daily revenue by 40–60% and reinvest in scheme maintenance — creating a self-sustaining local business model.
Health
Consistent access to clean water is projected to reduce waterborne disease incidence in served communities by up to 30%, particularly for children under 5.
Education
When women and girls no longer spend hours collecting water, attendance and performance in school improves significantly — freeing time for learning and economic participation.