Social Business Pedia

Grameen Veolia Water - A Social Business

Grameen Health Care Services Ltd. combined forces in 2008 to create a joint venture - Grameen Veolia Water Ltd (GVW). Following the model of a Social Business, as defined by Peace Nobel Price Pr. Yunus, GVW’s objective is to build a sustainable economic model to provide maximum people with access to safe drinkable water for their basic needs (drinking and cooking) at an affordable rates. The project started in Goalmari, a village located 50km away from Dhaka, in which 83% of underground water, mostly tube wells, in the Goalmari area are arsenic contaminated (according to Department of Public, Health & Engineering of Bangladesh). In 2018, the safe water is distributed through a 17 kilometer pipe network serving 55 public tap points, 3 school connections and 337 house connections. In total, Grameen Veolia Water is serving close to 9000 families in Goalmari. The house connections enable people to collect water directly from home so that it is easier for all the family members to not only drink this safe water but also use it for cooking purposes. Beyond the water network, GVW has developed a 20 litres jar distribution activity in Goalmari and its surrounding areas to support the rural network by using the revenue for expanding the outreach for house connections. Since the inception of this activity, the jar business has gained popularity and serves both institutions and individual clients like tea shops and small businesses. In 2019, GVW is serving more than 300 clients.

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Grameen Veolia Water - A Social Business