"Industrialising" the capacity building of local entrepreneurs. A case study of 1001fontaines' "4G Project" in Cambodia

Abstract

In Cambodia, only 16% of the population in rural areas has access to safely managed and clean water supply services, putting the health of 10.12 million people at stake. (Cambodia's Voluntary National Review 2019 of the Implementation of the 2030 SDG Agenda). 1001fontaines, a community-based enterprise located mainly in Cambodia, responds to this issue by enabling the production of safe drinking water directly in the targeted communities, through the establishment of small water enterprises. These units, called water kiosks, are entrusted to local entrepreneurs and supported in the long run thanks to a franchise model. In 2014, 1001fontaines su ered from low-performing water kiosks, which impacted the viability of the whole portfolio. As a result, 1001fontaines decided to launch the so-called "4G" capacity building project to upgrade the initial and continuing training of water entrepreneurs, expand distribution channels, and further leverage the local "O-We" brand to reach more bene ciaries. The "4G project" was implemented from 2014 to 2015, and resulted in the identi cation of best practices to be followed by every water entrepreneur. Since 2016, 1001fontaines has generalised the use of these best practices to build the capacities of new entrepreneurs. This case study aims to investigate the impact of the "4G project" and its conclusion on the water kiosks' performance and on 1001fontaines' ability to better and faster scale up its approach in Cambodia.