BoP Fund Projects
BoP Fund projects
Through the BOP Fund, GEXSI has been able to support the work of the following four projects:
- Biofuel production in Tanzania;
- Sanitation in Ethiopia;
- Energy and clean water access in Madagascar; and,
- Growing pyrethrum in Bolivia.
Tanzania
TheTanzanian project involved the establishment of a Jatropha farming business that sought to engage 15,000 smallholder farming families in the production of Jatropha seeds. The project produced Jatropha oil as well as pressed seed cake. The oil will be mainly sold to poor rural and urban households currently relying on candles, kerosene and charcoal as biofuel derived from jatropha oil is an excellent alternative to charcoal - or kerosene - as a fuel for lamps or cooking stoves and organic fertiliser.
Ethiopia
Every year, unsafe water, coupled with a lack of basic sanitation, kills at least 1.6 million children under the age of five years. Extending basic sanitation services to poor urban areas is of utmost importance to prevent outbreaks of water-related diseases such as cholera, typhoid and hepatitis. Since more than half the population of Addis Ababa does not have access to latrines and experience open defecation, there is huge demand for safe and affordable public facilities. The project's pilot phase has shown that people are prepared to pay a small fee of 1.5 Euro Cent for such services, which may be used by several thousand people every day. This small fee will ensure the project is self-sustaining. This project plans to provide public ecological sanitation for the people of Addis Ababa. GEXSI provide money through the BoP Fund to purchase ecologically sound latrines. These latrines use ecological sanitation technology, and as a result, the side products are organic fertilizers and soil conditioners that are used to fertilise crops and help prevent erosion.
Madagascar
GEXSI provided financial support to a social business, BushProof, that developed very low-cost solar and drinking water products for use by rural and urban populations who have no access to grid-based electricity or safe drinking water. As spelled out by the BushProof brand, the products are specially designed to withstand the tough environment of a developing country, without compromising affordability and functionality. Examples include family ceramic water filters, low-cost wells, irrigation and hand pumps, micro-solar panels and LED lights. Whenever justified, they are locally made or assembled. Central to BushProof’s vision is the belief that development activities are only truly sustainable if they answer to a demand for which the recipients are willing to pay the full cost.
Bolivia
Pyrethrine is an excellent natural alternative to chemical insecticides, used for example in organic farming. To date, pyrethrum is produced mainly in the Kenyan highlands. GEXSI has supported Bolivian social business, founded by three local partners, which will be the first commercial producer of pyrethrum in Bolivia. This project was built on a successful 15-year pilot project conducted by the university in Cochabamba. The company implemented the project in cooperation with local peasants, who grow the flower and, with other stakeholders, usethe insecticide for organic agriculture (e.g. quinoa) in the Altiplano region of the country. The local indigenous population will thus benefit from a steady and increasing income as the use of pyrethrum gains acceptance.
