A new MEI study highlights the importance of micro-entrepreneurs in supplying drinking water to poorer neighbourhoods in Ivory Coast

/EIN News/ -- MONTREAL, May 02, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- An informal network of small private operators ensures an essential supply of drinking water in some of the poorer neighbourhoods of Abidjan, the capital of Ivory Cost, shows a new study conducted by the MEI.

“Access to drinking water is a fundamental need, but the formal infrastructure does not always manage to meet the needs of the population,” explains Renaud Brossard, vice president of communications at the MEI. “This has led to the emergence of a whole network of innovative local micro-entrepreneurs to fill this gap.”

The study explains that these micro-entrepreneurs generally live in the neighbourhoods they serve and offer an accessible alternative adapted to the consumption habits of the population, in areas where formal access to drinking water remains uncertain. Yet, despite their crucial role, they continue to operate in the margins of Ivory Coast’s legal framework.

A survey carried out among these micro-entrepreneurs reveals that working as a small private operator delivering water provides interesting income prospects: over half chose this occupation because it promised to pay better than their previous job.

The vast majority—88 per cent—would like their activity to be formalized, however, providing legal recognition of their trade, securing their equipment and jobs, and giving them better access to financing. Easier access to training would also help improve the quality of the water delivered.

The authors of the study recommend three avenues for formalization:

1. Authorizing these entrepreneurs to act as subcontractors for the main water distributor in Ivory Coast, in order to extend coverage in underserved, poorer neighbourhoods;
2. Setting up a partnership with Ivory Coast’s regulatory authorities to ensure provisional supply in the event of problems accessing the resource;
3. Launching a pilot project in Abidjan to identify, register, train, and support these micro-entrepreneurs.
   

“The example of small private water delivery operators clearly shows that necessity is the mother of invention,” concludes Mr. Brossard. “This model has proven its worth, and could provide a concrete solution for rapidly increasing access to drinking water in underserved neighbourhoods.”

This study was carried out by the MEI, Audace Institut Afrique, a professor from the Université de Montréal, and a lecturer from the Université Sultan Moulay Slimane, thanks to support from the Templeton World Charity Foundation.

The MEI is an independent public policy think tank with offices in Montreal, Ottawa, and Calgary. Through its publications, media appearances, and advisory services to policymakers, the MEI stimulates public policy debate and reforms based on sound economics and entrepreneurship.

Interview requests
Renaud Brossard
Vice President, Communications
Cell.: 514-743-2883
rbrossard@iedm.org

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