OCA Impact Stories: Durdur Water Enterprise raises over USD 600,000 to connect over 20,000 people to clean water

Open Capital supported Durdur Water Enterprise to raise over USD 600,000 in grant and debt financing to connect over 20,000 Somalis to clean water and to develop a growth strategy to reach over 500,000 more. Open Capital’s support involved strengthening Durdur’s investment readiness by refining its business model and growth strategy.

Established in 2022, Durdur, a for-profit social enterprise and subsidiary of the Adeso Organization, is tackling water insecurity issues in Somalia by providing access to clean, reliable, and sustainable drinking water in rural and remote areas. Owning the end-to-end process of getting water from below-ground reserves into homes, Durdur is able to provide water more reliably, conveniently, and affordably to households and institutions that previously relied on expensive trucked and bottled water, inconsistent natural springs, and untreated groundwater.

Supported by Vitol Foundation, Open Capital helped Durdur develop a business plan to raise funding for a multi-village water enterprise. By partnering to pressure test assumptions, evaluate commercial expectations, and develop investment materials, Open Capital helped develop a five-year plan outlining expansion opportunities in over 10 water-scarce communities that would help secure water access for over 500,000 people.

Following the investment readiness support, Durdur has since secured USD 627,500 in grant and debt financing, connected over 300 households to clean and affordable piped water benefiting 1,800 people, and has plans to reach another 20,000 people in the next 12 months, which translates to about 4,000 households.