A social enterprise created by a team of scientists at Cambridge University and activists in Tanzania has won funding to help transform water in sub-saharan Africa.

The enterprise, known as Majicom, has developed an innovative water kiosk that purifies, stores and dispenses clean affordable drinking water via solar energy.

At present, 73% of people in Tanzania lack access to clean improved water infrastructure. Majicom's technology has been designed to be low-cost, easily manufacturable and off-grid.

The kiosks will be installed across the city of Dar es Salaam - the largest city and financial hub of Tanzania, reducing the price of clean water by over 50% for its users.

The kiosks purify and store water before dispensing to paying customers, automatically - with no mains power, chemical additives or significant cost. The system harnesses nanomaterial technology, ultra low power electronics and digital water management tools.

The team prioritised human-centred design by working closely with local communities, non-governmental organisations and researchers to co-create all of its solutions. Several interactive workshops run in Dar es Salaam over the last two years used interactive prototypes, produced at Makespace, to understand everything from design and colour preferences to how people want to pay for water.

The first trial kiosk units were unveiled in late 2022 and now Majicom has secured fresh funding through Innovate UK - the UK's innovation agency, which provides money and support to organisations to make new products and services.

Thanks to this funding, Majicom will be able to launch a fully commercial version of the system later this year.

According to UNICEF, more than two billion people lack access to clean affordable drinking water globally. This problem is particularly acute in cities across sub-saharan Africa, where population growth is outpacing the development of supporting water infrastructure.

This lack of improved infrastructure forces many communities to rely on single-use bottled water as a primary drinking water source – a solution that carries a very high cost whilst creating thousands of tonnes of unrecycled plastic waste every year.

In Tanzania clean water is expensive. Residents in Dar es Salaam will spend around 26 times more per litre for clean water relative to earnings compared to a resident in the UK.

“We are delighted to have secured funding through the Innovate UK Fast Track scheme. The funding is being used to create our launch units for deployment and to further our research and development in key areas.

"This takes us towards our ultimate goal of increasing access to clean affordable drinking water for communities most in need," said Majicom chief executive Dr Mike Coto.

The first Maji Jua kiosks will be installed at Ardhi University, one of the largest educational institutions in Tanzania. These units are due to be commissioned in late 2023, and will serve to demonstrate the impact, suitability and durability of the solution.

Beyond this, Majicom has ambitious plans for growth and will install kiosk networks across East Africa, with the aim of saving £1 million in water costs and 2,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions per year.