Water For People adopta un enfoque de mercado en materia de saneamiento. En lugar de proporcionar servicios sanitarios gratuitos, apoyamos a los emprendedores para que proporcionen productos y servicios de saneamiento. Este enfoque es más sostenible y, al mismo tiempo, crea empleos y eleva las economías locales.
After graduating college with a degree in administration, Alexandra was at a crossroads. Her parents owned a big hardware store in Cascas, Peru that was a fixture in the community. She couldn’t decide whether to join their business or take a risk and branch out on her own.
Alexandra se encontró con un concurso local para jóvenes emprendedores que quisieran presentar una idea de negocio a fin de ganar un capital inicial para ponerla en marcha, y supo que tenía que participar. Esta era su oportunidad de correr un riesgo y establecerse como emprendedora.
Pero primero necesitaba una idea de negocio.
"I asked, ‘What are we lacking here in Cascas?’" recalls Alexandra. She had lived her entire life in Cascas and knew the community well. The first need that came to mind was bathrooms. She knew at least 20% of families throughout the district didn’t have safe sanitation services.
"I have worked at my parent’s store since I was 12, so I already had knowledge about sanitation materials," said Alexandra.
Armada con ese conocimiento, rápidamente se puso a trabajar en la creación de su plan de negocios para una ferretería que se centraría exclusivamente en productos sanitarios y para baños.
"Some people were discouraging me, saying, ‘You’re not going to be able to sell these types of products," Alexandra shares. "But I said, ‘No, everybody wants to improve their bathrooms. There is a market for this.’"
El concurso contó con 74 participantes y Alexandra fue una de los 11 ganadores. Recibió un poco más de US$1,500 para iniciar su negocio y se puso a trabajar rápidamente.
"I used the money to invest in all of the materials – toilets and other supplies," she explained.
Alexandra stocked her small store with as much inventory as she could – sinks, faucets, toilets, tiles, and any materials families would need to complete their bathrooms. She began marketing on social media and eventually plans to utilize local radio and television to reach more potential customers.
Water For People is supporting Alexandra’s business by driving potential customers her way through sanitation fairs and sanitation promoters. Throughout Cascas, behavior change promoters that Water For People trained have told families about the importance of having safe and hygienic bathrooms. These families can now be directed to Alexandra’s store, where they can buy everything they need for their bathrooms – families like Robert’s.
Robert is a single dad living with his 9-year-old son Victor. When Robert decided to build their modest home last year, he knew he wanted to make sure it had a good bathroom. Having a bathroom has made their life happier and healthier – and Victor takes pride in practice good handwashing and hygiene habits. Thanks to businesses like Alexandra’s, families throughout Cascas can now access all the materials they need to build bathrooms they’re proud of.
Robert and Victor represent Alexandra’s ultimate goal – that every family in her district would be able to have bathrooms. To her, building a bathroom is one of the best things a person could do for his family.
