iWET 2.0 — Inspiring Water Entrepreneurship in Tigray
The iWET 2.0 project, implemented by Emmanuel Development Association (EDA) with support from Woord en Daad, ensures access to clean, reliable, and affordable water for rural communities in Tigray. Building on the successes and lessons of iWET 1.0, the project strengthens Private Local Service Providers (PLSPs) — skilled young entrepreneurs who maintain rural water schemes including hand pumps, motorized systems, and solar pumps — and supply spare parts at an affordable, government-set tariff.
Key activities include providing high-level technical training to PLSPs for water scheme maintenance; establishing five new PLSP enterprises to expand service coverage; piloting an advanced preventive maintenance model through a Tabya WASHCO federation in one woreda; supporting the issuance of water service regulations for sustainable governance; distributing fee collection receipts to 9,000 WASHCOs; and reactivating community water user payment systems.
The project targets over 1.1 million rural beneficiaries across Tigray, with goals of reducing water scheme non-functionality rates to below 10%, ensuring a maximum three-day response time for repairs, and building a sustainable, privately-led water maintenance system that is scalable across the region, contributing to long-term water security and youth entrepreneurship in post-conflict Tigray.
Key Activities & Deliverables
Private Service Provider (PLSP) Empowerment
- Technical Upskilling: Provided high-level technical training to Private Local Service Providers (PLSPs) for the expert maintenance of hand pumps, motorized systems, and solar pumps.
- Revenue & Tariff Collection: Re-activated community water user payment systems and distributed fee collection receipts to 9,000 WASHCOs to ensure financial sustainability under government-set tariffs.
- Regulatory Support: Guided and supported the issuance of new local water service regulations to establish long-term, sustainable governance.
System Sustainability & Governance
- Preventive Maintenance Pilot: Piloted an advanced, proactive maintenance model by forming a localized Tabya WASHCO (Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene Committee) federation in one target woreda.
- Capacity Building: Trained 16 facilitators and 65 teachers to improve education quality.
- Sanitation: Constructed two latrines at local school sites.
Projected Regional Impact Targets
- Target Reach: Structured to ultimately benefit over 1.1 million rural residents across the Tigray region.
- System Efficiency: Aims to drive down water scheme non-functionality rates to below 10% and guarantee a maximum three-day turnaround time for system repairs.