The Winddrinker
Example: Walk us through a specific example(s) of how this solution makes a difference; include its primary activities.
Marketplace: Who else is addressing the problem outlined here? How does the proposed project differ from these approaches?
Founding Story
Nathan
The Winddrinker is comprised of dedicated and entrepreneurial individuals who are committed to out-of-the-box thinking and global solutions which are affordable, scalable, and needed by all humans. We make clean drinking water affordable for the poor. The Winddrinker turns salt water into clean drinking water utilizing solely wind energy. It is a promising solution to solve water problems in dry coastal areas of developing countries.
An intrapreneur is someone who can take ideas that already exist, and make them better, more real, and actionable. I, and the Winddrinker team are intrapraneurial because we took an idea which existed - wind power desalination, and built a prototype which generates more water, with a simpler design, and is cheaper to assemble than other models. We have built a prototype and set it up in Somaliland and it works.
, AW, Berbera
Construction
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Start-Up (a pilot that has just begun operating)
The Winddrinker is cheaper to assemble, simplier in design, and generates more fresh water than other wind powered desalination units available. Additionally, each Winddrinker is built to optimize local conditions of wind availability and water salinity through a software model. In short, Winddrinker creates water, and the economic certainty, health benefits, and humanity associated with this human right.
The impact of our solution to date has been promising. It generates water and has the potential to be commercialized through our partnership with Malao Water. In Berbera, Somaliland, water scarcity is a reality faced by the local population. The Windrinker confronts this scarcity issue and changes the reality but creating new fresh water supply.
The Winddrinker hopes to within 3 years to have built a total of 9 Winddrinker systems - 5 generating only fresh water and 4 also bottling the water in jerry cans. The result of 20 Winddrinkers working at full capacity will be 25m3 per day per Winddrinker - enough to serve 100,000 people. The Somaliland region has the demand for 100 Winddrinkers.
The impact will be that in 5 years we serve 216.000 customers, supplying them clean and affordable drinking water; this number will grow to over a million customers in 10 years. In addition we save 2,825Mt of CO2 in 5 years and 15,000Mt on an annually basis. This all will create 2500 Jobs directly in 10 years.
The benefit that the Winddrinker team brings is experience in engineering, finance, business, economic development in Africa, and drive- perhaps first and foremost. Through the Winddrinker's franchising model, in short order the financial model will become one that is driven by locallized pockets of growth, and funding stemming from local entrepreneurs, Aid groups, diaspora pools, and even potentially crowd-funding in some cases.
All of Winddrinker's primary actors hold full-time jobs elsewhere due to current lack of funding. Funding would propel full-time involvement. However, we utilize our know-how to raise funds, attract investors, travel on-site when needed for repairs, etc. In short, we make it work until we have the funds to do the work full-time.
Winddrinker anticipates a breakeven point being reached by year 5, when sales outpace installation costs. The achieve our ambitious roll out plan which creates the largest amount of fresh water, Winddrinker will need combinations of grants and equity investments - totaling $2million USD in total financing sought, over the course of the the first 5 years. The projected IRR on this investment will be 34%.
The Winddrinker's key partners thus far who have provided know-how, financing, and technical assistance. Technical partners have been have been Delft University, Daryeel Foundation, Hatenboer, Financial assistance has been provided by TedX Amsterdam, Hivos, and Aqua for All/AKVO.
The major barriers, as identified earlier, are the initial challenges of maintenance, fundraising, and continuing to push hard after the team's goals. There have been setbacks in repairs being needed, and personal ones as well in team members attaining new jobs and starting families. These are all part of the ongoing challenge associated with making Winddrinker a reality.