Two ways innovation is improving access to clean water and sanitation for refugees in Uganda
WaterKit Wallet and Opero Services are enhancing WASH conditions for refugees in Uganda through their sprint with the Humanitarian Innovation Accelerator. By approaching similar challenges from different angles, innovations can holistically support communities with limited resources, enabling positive health, economic and social outcomes.
By Jackie Negro, Michelle Joseph and Vrinda Kabra
Uganda is Africa’s largest host of refugees, housing nearly 1.7 million people who have fled their home country or community due to conflict, violence or natural disasters. The majority of refugees live alongside host communities in one of 13 refugee settlements across the country.
Uganda has a progressive approach towards supporting its refugee population, prioritizing free movement, access to land, home ownership and national services, ultimately supporting their self-reliance and integration into society. Still, a steady influx of refugees due to ongoing conflicts has put an increasing strain on refugee protection and assistance systems.
Amongst other essential services, access to water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) services are a top demand for refugees’ wellbeing and safety. In refugee settlements, ensuring safe and consistent access to these services can be challenging, resulting in unfavourable health outcomes and increased risk of disease and infection.
Innovation can help local and international actors better deliver WASH services in these complex contexts, ensuring that refugees and refugee hosting communities have improved, equitable and sustainable access to clean water and sanitation.
Innovative WASH solutions around the world are working overtime to enhance community access to clean water, build resilient systems for water purification, improve sanitation conditions on the ground and more. Rather than expecting a one-size-fits-all panacea of WASH solutions, supporting a holistic range of innovations enables comprehensive and responsive solutions for those in need.
At the WFP Innovation Accelerator, we support and scale a suite of innovations and ventures that make strides toward the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including WASH challenges that fall under SDG 6.
WaterKit Wallet and Opero Services — two ventures participating in the first cohort sprint with the Humanitarian Innovation Accelerator, powered by the Government of Luxembourg and the Austrian Development Agency — are approaching WASH challenges from two different angles: one by improving access to WASH products and services and one by directly managing waste. With their innovative solutions, they are both improving WASH conditions for refugees and host communities in Uganda.
WaterKit Wallet: Enhancing access to WASH products
WaterKit Wallet is the first mobile money-powered credit access card providing direct credit access to WASH and energy products from as low as 0 percent interest rates through the community village stores.
With WaterKit Wallet, refugees in the Bidibidi settlement can buy needed WASH products or finance maintenance projects at 0 percent interest rates, paying back in installments that are more accessible to them than paying up front.
WaterKit Wallet has already seen how their solution is changing lives. After losing her husband in conflict, one mother living in Bidibidi settlement was responsible to support her three children through school on her own. She was scared she would not be able to service her loan payments through her small business, where she sells WASH products. With WaterKitWallet’s accessible loan and guidance, she was able to stock her store with fast-selling products, such as soap, detergent and sanitary pads, sell them for a profit and support her children’s education.
After clearing her first loan, she signed up for a second loan to continue earning sustainable income while providing her community with critical WASH products.
WaterKit Wallet uniquely allows donors and charities to make direct donations to these mobile credit-access card wallets, which can be used to purchase any WASH product. In this way, anyone can support local communities facing WASH challenges. With its solution, WaterKit Wallet helps communities navigate the existing mixed environment of free assistance products and market-driven produce, helping them meet their cost needs for long-term, sustainable access to WASH products and services.
WaterKit Wallet was able to pilot its solution in the Bidibidi refugee settlement thanks to their sprint with the Humanitarian Innovation Accelerator, an end-to-end programme of the WFP Innovation Accelerator and powered by the government of Luxembourg and the Austrian Development Agency.
With its mentorship, coaching and access to a global network of stakeholders, the WFP Innovation Accelerator supported WaterKit Wallet in bridging the gap between innovation and real-world humanitarian needs. It helped WaterKit Wallet refine its product, launch its mobile application for receiving donations and refine its credit-access business model.
In addition, the WFP Innovation Accelerator helped facilitate the completion of an Memorandum of Understanding with Uganda’s Office of the Prime Minister to enable the solution’s rollout in Bidibidi settlement. As a new implementing partner, it can take time for such a document to be recognized and processed, and WaterKit Wallet’s association with WFP helped expedite the process, allowing them to start implementing change in the settlement with community boreholes and household tap water connections.
“Unlike other innovation programmes, HIA provides a clear pathway to scale solutions within WFP operations or with partners, helping innovators transition from pilots to broader implementation.”
Dennis Ogwang, Supervisor, WaterKit Wallet
With the support provided by the WFP Innovation Accelerator, the government of Luxembourg and the Austrian Development Agency, WaterKit Wallet greatly exceeded its sprint goals of establishing 100 new water points and enrolling 1,000 individual users in Bidibidi, enrolling 4,000 refugee users on the wallet and providing direct credit or donations to 2,315 direct beneficiaries of the wallet.
While the Humanitarian Innovation Accelerator has been invaluable to the team in their progress, they are far from done with reaching greater impacts, and plan to continue scaling after the programme completes.
“Moving forward, we are committed to scaling responsibly, deepening our impact, and ensuring that WaterKit continues to be a transformative solution for communities in need.”
Dennis Ogwang, Supervisor, WaterKit Wallet
Opero Services: Improving WASH conditions in humanitarian settings
500 km south of WaterKit Wallet’s work in Bidibidi, another WASH venture, Opero Services, is working to improve sanitation conditions in the Kyangwali refugee settlement.
Instead of increasing access to WASH services, however, Opero Services are building a solution to control one of the most pressing challenges in humanitarian settings: under- or mismanaged waste from sanitation facilities, which causes water, soil and air pollution, contaminates drinking water and puts people at risk for infection and disease.
During their Humanitarian Innovation Accelerator sprint, Opero Services has been working with key partners and engineers to develop Saniforce, which is designed to safely contain and treat human waste specifically in humanitarian settings. Saniforce contains human waste, anaerobically digests it and further treats it through thermal disinfection, sanitizing waste and completely eliminating pathogens to ensure its safe release back into the environment.
Over the year-long sprint, they were able to design, install and continuously test the innovative system with the support and guidance of the WFP Innovation Accelerator, who helped facilitate critical launch agreements and advise on potential stakeholders for long-term sustainability and scaling.
“The experience has been amazing and so instrumental in helping us refine the technology and pilot it in a real humanitarian context.”
Edwin Marrita, Opero Services
In its pilot phase, Saniforce has effectively treated waste for 21,736 people using common sanitation facilities in the Kyangwali settlement. By implementing their solution to improve WASH conditions, Opero Services makes it possible for refugees to drink clean water and use sanitation facilities with more assurance that they are clean, healthy and safe.
As their sprint concludes, Opero Services is committed to bringing its solution to market by 2026. Additionally, in a bid to foster greater humanitarian impact, the venture plans to make its designs open-source, enabling humanitarian organizations worldwide to adopt and implement this groundbreaking sanitation solution.
The next solutions for WASH
As they close their sprints with the Humanitarian Innovation Accelerator, WaterKit Wallet and Opero Services will continue their missions to improve WASH conditions and access in refugee settlements and humanitarian settings.
Complex challenges, such as ensuring safe and sustainable water and sanitation access in refugee communities, require diverse, multifaceted solutions. The journeys of WaterKit Wallet and Opero Services demonstrate how innovative solutions can work in tandem to improve people’s livelihoods, even in difficult contexts.
Apply today to the Humanitarian Innovation Accelerator
The Humanitarian Innovation Accelerator, after guiding WaterKit Wallet, Opero and six other impact-driven ventures through the sprint phase, has launched its second edition seeking new ventures and organizations working in humanitarian contexts. Both ventures encourage innovators like them to apply and see the impact.
“For any innovation that has the potential to address a critical humanitarian challenge, the Humanitarian Innovation Accelerator can help bridge the gap between concept, pilot and large-scale implementation, turning bold ideas into real-world solutions that drive systemic change. Thus for any entity that is serious and passionate about innovative and sustainable ideas, this is the perfect place to be.”
Dennis Ogwang, WaterKit Wallet
This next iteration of the Humanitarian Innovation Accelerator seeks proven, innovative, technology-driven solutions that provide crisis-affected populations with access to information, financial resources and essential infrastructure. Additionally, it seeks innovations that strengthen humanitarian organizations’ crisis management and coordination capabilities.
“Go for it! WFP Innovation Accelerator programmes offer unique opportunities to refine your solution, get access to funding, gain visibility, network and collaborate.”
Edwin Maritta, Opero Services
Learn more about the Humanitarian Innovation Accelerator and apply by 20 April 2025.
Read more about WaterKit Wallet and Opero, or watch their pitches at the Humanitarian Innovation Accelerator pitch event in Luxembourg [VIDEO].
Thanks to the Government of Luxembourg and the Austrian Development Agency for supporting the Humanitarian Innovation Accelerator.
The Humanitarian Innovation Accelerator and other WFP Innovation Accelerator initiatives continue to source, scale and support innovative solutions to the SDGs, creating lasting impact for communities in need. We work with public and private sector partners to create meaningful opportunities for innovators around the world. If you are interested in working together, please get in touch.
The WFP Innovation Accelerator sources, supports and scales high-potential solutions to end hunger worldwide. We provide WFP colleagues, entrepreneurs, start-ups, companies, and non-governmental organizations with access to funding, mentorship, hands-on support, and WFP’s global operations.
Find out more about us: http://innovation.wfp.org.
Subscribe to our e-newsletter.
Follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn and watch our videos on YouTube.
