Potable water supply is a perennial issue in many Nigerian cities. The situation has been the same for decades, with majority of urban dwellers lacking improved access to clean, potable water and sanitation services. This has impacted the quality of life of urban residents and is a prime source of several public health emergencies.

The Nigerian National Water Supply and Sanitation Policy enacted in the year 2000, encourages private sector participation in the provision of potable water supply services at the state level. In Enugu, private sector operators such as commercial borehole owners and water tanker drivers constitute a major source of potable water supply for decades. However, the supply system remains inefficient. The inefficiency of the system and the poor investment climate have resulted in a lull in investment in the sector, while the people suffer.

The Vendor-side Management Challenges

What would have been a gold mine for investors is plagued by several seemingly insurmountable problems. Some of the challenges of the sector, particularly those encountered by the tanker drivers, include but are not limited to:

• Long-distance Delivery: Tanker drivers only service customers in their network, many of whom understandably live in areas distant from each other. Drivers tend to travel very long distances to make supplies and the associated costs almost always outweigh the revenue.
• A lack of Accountability: Tanker owners are faced with lots of leakages as a result of long age dishonesty in the system. Because owners are not privileged to track and monitor their drivers' sales, the issue of trust has become a mirage in Enugu water tanker business. Most times, it might seem like the drivers are short changing their employers but, this is not always the case. Due to poor time and customer management, drivers are more likely to make wrong choices that can negatively impact operations cost and the bottomline.

These problems have precipitated a lack of investor confidence and private sector involvement in the sector. The results are continued irregularities in service delivery, poor customer service, and unbearable wait times for the residents. 

The Orban Springs Solution

Orban Springs introduces an integrated water supply management platform that utilizes innovative technology to seamlessly connect water vendors to unlimited demands in their immediate vicinity. The Orban Springs app, enables water tanker drivers with time and customer management tools to sell more by intuitively connecting them to multiple customers within their immediate area, cutting down transport time and lost income on long distance travel time. The system promotes time optimization, customer acquisition and management, and profit optimization that benefits all.

Through our vendor management platforms, partners can manage their assets, including water service trucks and keep track of their vendors sales and operations in real-time. Orban Springs fleet owners have full autonomy over the assets in their fleet, also they have the opportunity to register and manage other water service trucks within their market.

Investors in the sector will benefit from the cohesive, technology-driven approach of Orban Springs.