Population growth in the Ivory Coast poses the challenge of ensuring universal access to drinking water. Despite national efforts, a network of small private water operators (SPWOs) plays an essential role in supplying the most vulnerable neighborhoods, where access to drinking water remains precarious.

They have become indispensable but struggle with formal recognition. A 2023 study carried out by the Montreal Economic Institute (MEI), in collaboration with Audace Institut Afrique (AIA), a professor from the University of Montreal (Canada), and a lecturer at the Université Sultan Moulay Slimane (Morocco), with the support of the Templeton World Charity Foundation, explores paths to their formalisation.

Neighborhood entrepreneurs

SWPOs work in the very neighborhoods’ they serve; in the absence of reliable drinking water, they provide an accessible alternative adapted to local consumption habits.

This model is based on selling small quantities of water that respond to the direct needs of poor households. During a water shortage, their role becomes more crucial, yet their activities take place on the margins of legality – limiting their access to finance and technical support.

A profitable sector despite being informal

The study showed that the 1067 SPWOs manage to generate stable revenue built on the trust they have established with their clientele.

50% of them report better remuneration efforts than their previous occupation, and 88% of SPWOs say they are in favour of formalising the trade.

Integrating these market actors into the institutional framework would provide several benefits:

• Access to financing: Legal recognition would allow SPWOs to invest in better infrastructure.
• Job security: Gradual integration into a regulatory framework would provide social protection to SPWOs and their employees.
• Improved water quality: Training in proper sanitary practices and the use of suitable containers would reduce the risk of contamination. However, this training must remain flexible and adapted so as not to dissuade these entrepreneurs from signing on.

A complementary role

99% of SPWOs see their activity as complementary and not in competition with that of SODECI, the main distributor of drinking water in Côte d’Ivoire.

By integrating these operators into an overall strategy, it would be possible to improve service for suburban and rural areas, often less well served by the official network.

Concrete solutions that could be considered include:

• Subcontracting mini-water networks installed by SPWOs.
• Partnership with the Office National de l’Eau Potable (ONEP) to ensure constant water access during a shortage.
• A pilot project was carried out in Abidjan that would identify, train, and register SWPOs.

A model for other countries to follow

Formalising SWPOs and integrating them into the water distribution system would be pragmatic and reduce the water inequality in Côte d’Ivoire. A hybrid model that combines flexibility with proximity could prove useful to other countries in an analogous situation. This is far from a “stop-gap measure” as this demonstrates that’s public-private partnerships can sustainably transform water accessibility in struggling regions.

By Michel Kelly-Gagnon, president of the Montreal Economic Institute, and Gisèle Dutheuil, director of Audace Institut d’Afrique.