4Life Solutions

16 February 2023

Opportunity: 4Life Solutions

4Life Solutions, the producer of solar water disinfection system SaWa, is currently raising $6-10 million from investors. The firm is now poised for explosive growth following a considerable period of testing, adoption and endorsements from trusted NGO partners working in East Africa.

The SaWa is now well-positioned to become a dominant player in the market for water purification in low-income communities. Revenues are now projected to rise from approximately $1.5 million in 2023 to over $100 million in 2027. The firm’s mission is to bring clean drinking water to more than 1 billion people – saving lives, reducing medical costs and improving productivity. An estimated 2.2 billion people still don’t have access to clean, safe drinking water, while 500,000 children die from water borne diseases each year.

For investors, the 4Life business case is also enhanced by the SaWa’s carbon-offsetting credentials, since heat treatment—using wood or charcoal—is a major alternative water purification method in the relevant markets. Studies have shown that 600 million people currently burn wood or charcoal to boil their water for sanitation purposes. Heat-based water purification not only releases CO2 but also causes deforestation. The introduction of carbon credits is expected to provide a 20% boost to the firm’s revenue projections and a 50% improvement in target EBITDA by 2028; the carbon offset model is relatively capital intensive because revenue is created over a five-year period.

The 4Life Solutions journey

• 2018: Proof of the SaWa product.
• 2019-20: Donated SaWa to trusted organisations, who have tested the solution with low-income communities and signed evaluation reports.
• 2021-22: NGOs co-financed the SaWa; all new programmes were fully financed by 2022. In total, the firm has carried out 12 successful projects to date with 152,000 SaWa used and excellent results, showing high user adoption and user satisfaction rates.
• 2023-24: 4Life intends to fulfil the National SaWa programmes and expand to three other countries, showing proof of scale; positive P&L from 2024.
• 2025-26: 4Life will expand to ten countries (eight in Africa as well as India and Bangladesh). The firm expects positive cashflows from 2025.
• 2027-8: Global reach anticipated, with projected revenues of more than $100 million.

It is challenging to introduce new products that assist low-income communities in developing economies. SaWa has now reached its tipping point, with the results and relationships required for rapid growth. The firm is keen to identify high-quality investment partners that seek to achieve high social and environmental impact with their investments as well as appropriate financial returns. If you are interested in finding out more about 4Life Solutions, contact Clota Varde.

Read more