Amplifying Aqua Clara’s WASH solutions in East Africa using mWater
Interview by Binepe Bwambale
With over 9,104 clients' data collected on the platform, mWater has become Aqua Clara’s centralized hub for data management, insights, and analysis. From tracking customer usage trends to comparing metrics across different time frames.
Aqua Clara Kenya is a B Corp-certified social enterprise incorporated in Kenya in 2009, delivering effective Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) solutions across East Africa. They focus on three key areas:
Capacity development of NGOs and government staff to create awareness in communities and foster behavior change.
Consulting services to organizations that want to introduce or improve WASH interventions through a tailor-made approach and
Provision of affordable WASH technologies, including water filters, rainwater harvesting systems, and sanitation improvement for households and schools.
Over the years, Aqua Clara's main beneficiaries have been households, typically living in rural communities with an income of around $5 per day; schools through the provision of sufficient drinking water for students; and, lastly, partnerships with NGOs to subsidize the cost for households and schools that cannot afford to pay the full cost of the products.
The Challenge
Prior to adopting mWater as a data management tool, Aqua Clara faced a significant challenge: paper-based data collection!
“We were introduced to mWater by our partners, Transform International in 2018. Before that we were using paper to collect our data, and that was quite a challenge, especially when you are sending people out to the field to go and collect the data, they come back, you do the data entry, you have to do cleaning, check what is missing. That was quite a task. But when we were introduced to mWater, our work became much easier, “ said Josephine Mokeira, Customer Success Manager at Aqua Clara Kenya.
History has shown us that paper documents can be easily damaged, lost, misplaced, or stolen. A fire or natural disaster could mean the loss of essential information. If you don’t have any copies stored far away, once the files are gone, there is no way of getting the information back. Organizations ought to make the deliberate decision to transition to more reliable and adaptable data management approaches.
Aqua Clara enumerators training on the mWater app
Navigating the transition from traditional methods to a digital platform presents hurdles. Designing and deploying surveys, selecting appropriate question types, and ensuring data verification can be daunting. With numerous resources and manuals available, the team at Aqua soon found their footing. By leveraging the manuals provided by mWater, and by studying existing surveys, the team familiarized themselves with the application's capabilities, gradually mastering its usage.
With a userbase exceeding 250,000 across 196 countries, the majority of mWater’s users require no formal training or advanced computer skills to use the platform effectively. Many engage with the software autonomously, without direct instruction or affiliation with mWater. Users commonly opt for self-training through the abundance of materials and resources available on the YouTube channel and website and through the Certified online course provided.
In today's competitive job market, mWater Certification has emerged as a coveted skill sought after by employers. Now, you can enhance your professional prospects by enrolling in our complimentary online course and completing the Level One Certification here.
We also recently launched our new Jobs Board. It is a platform where we can showcase skilled enumerators who have undergone training and worked alongside us with other remarkable organizations within the mWater/Solstice network.
Enumerators eager to have their details featured can simply log in at hire.mwater.co. Use your Solstice/mWater credentials to complete your profile. Organizations utilizing Solstice/mWater for data collection on the lookout for exceptional enumerators for their upcoming projects can access a number of enumerators on this site.
Scaling Impact through Data Management:
The structure of the annual monitoring survey
Serving over 200k people, Aqua Clara needed a robust system to manage and monitor its customers.
The adoption of mWater was a timely and impactful decision. Currently the organization collects data from its clients annually using the Annual monitoring survey designed in the mWater Portal shown here.
This survey is then deployed to a team of field agents / enumerators on the Surveyor application.
mWater’s automated reports on the Portal provide insights into survey completion rates and performance metrics, facilitating swift decision-making.
Additionally, the application has facilitated team follow-ups with clients, enabling the organization to gather feedback and assess product use effectively.
“We're able to get the data in real-time. This allows us to correct the mistakes the enumerators will likely make while in the field. We can also verify that this person visited this client because we ask them to take photos through the application. We track the time this client was visited, whether their products are functional, and the GPS coordinates of where this survey was conducted. So, the supervision role becomes very easy when we use mWater. We're able to verify that, yes, this is the quality of the data that we need from this individual before they even return from the field then we can analyze the data and conduct follow-ups. The platform gives summaries as the survey goes on. If you are supposed to visit 100 households or 100 clients, you're able to see how many clients you've been able to visit so far, who has visited X number of clients, and who is behind the target.“ Risper Mose M&E Officer, Aqua Clara Kenya.
Understanding Clients’ Needs and Trends
Using the shapefile features in mWater, Aqua Clara visualizes the location and distribution of its customers using maps. Through a set of questionnaires designed in mWater, they conduct team follow-ups with clients using phone calls to learn about their experience with the products and whether they're experiencing any challenges. This has improved customer satisfaction greatly.
Aqua Clara dashboard
A recent impact assessment study by 60 decibels, a social impact measurement company, indicated that 96% of customers reported an improved quality of life because of Aqua Clara.
Over time, they monitor and compare trends in different metrics across different periods, from one month to another or one year to another; this information is used to improve service delivery, generate monthly, quarterly, and annual reports for donors, and inform day-to-day operations.
Integration with Other Tools and Platforms
mWater allows integration of its data with other platforms like Power BI through API systems. Users can easily access and manipulate data within their preferred environments by leveraging APIs. With mWater’s API capabilities, you have the flexibility to construct custom API calls tailored to your specific needs. With just a few simple API quickstart steps, you can build powerful API calls that link your data in mWater to another platform. Whether you're extracting data for reporting, analysis, or visualization in Power BI or any other platform, mWater's API functionality provides the tools you need to streamline your data integration tasks and drive insights effectively.
Aqua Clara uses multiple tools that complement each other:
“We have another software called Upya, used by sales agents to track and capture the details of physical products. Once we have that data, we conduct follow-up surveys on mWater using phone calls. We use mWater and other applications like Microsoft Excel to generate visualizations and Canva to design good visuals for reports”. - Josephine
Accessible Technology
Aqua Clara's success in using mWater should set a precedent for how accessible technology can revolutionize service delivery in resource-constrained environments. mWater pioneered an innovative free and open-access business model that enables data-driven management by governments, utilities, water authorities, and private sector organizations in low-resource areas by providing a scalable technology platform for free forever. The platform has become more than just a tool; it's a catalyst for positive change in communities across East Africa.
Investing in accessible technology is key to driving sustainable water, sanitation, and hygiene solutions across low-income countries and beyond. Aqua Clara's use of mWater proves this by not only scaling its impact to serve over 200k people but also enhancing client engagement and feedback mechanisms.