by Martin Shardow
NAIROBI, Aug. 31(Xinhua) -- For a world that is nearly three quarters covered with water, any mention of scarcity would be the last "word" would expect to hear.
However, this is not the case. According to the United Nations statistics, over 1 billion lack access to safe water and over 2.5 billion lack adequate sanitation.
Bottled water is potable, clean and safe, readily available especially for those who can afford it and is mostly used by the corporate. Many use the commodity from hazardous resources. Most of those who use the unsafe water spend hours or even days in search of the commodity. Diseases such as cholera and diarrhea are predominant in such areas. Children suffer from deformities while most miss school nursing their sickness and while out there searching for it.
As a result, many investors have ventured in the sale of clean and safe water and consequently, the industry has become one of the fastest growing sectors in Kenya and the world over.
In Kenya, it is estimated that the bottled water business alone nets over 1.3 billion shillings (16 million U.S. dollars) annually and with the quest for a safer commodity, the sales are bound to rise with demand.
In fact hotels and supermarkets have began branding their own bottled water products just to compete with the already existing companies and individuals in the business.
"As a supermarket chain, we realized that besides selling the bottled water brands for other companies and yet the industry has a great potential for growth and profits, then we would also market our own and make more profit since we are selling the product within our premises which is another advantage. All the profits come back to us," Mr. Kimani Mbugua, a sales executive with a local leading supermarket chains in Kenya's Nairobi city, told Xinhua.
For a long time, bottled water was seen as a product for the elite (well-to-do individuals), but as years went by, the industry began 'going small' by packaging small quantities that even the not-so rich person would afford.
"We differ from our competitors in that we target the low-end market so that they can also enjoy the benefits of drinking safe water," adds Mr. Mbugua.
Most people prefer taking bottled water, saying it is potable, fresh and safe.
"When I am travelling, I have to carry one or two bottles of water depending on the journey's distance. Also, when I travel upcountry, definitely I carry more than 10 liters of water because when I drink water from the river even if it has been boiled and treated, I usually suffer from typhoid upon returning to the city and to save on medication, I better take the bottled water than spend thousands of shillings on treatment," naraated Ms Mary Nguya.
Hotels have not been left out of this lucrative business too. A visit to most hotels in Nairobi's central business district reveals that they too have branded their own product one as a marketing strategy and secondly as one of the ways of offering quality service to their clients, with water being the top priority.
For most urban residents, water shortage sends shivers in their nerves because the vendors do even sell dirty water to make money regardless of whether it is safe for their clients or not.
And as the Water Ministry strives to ensure that Kenyans access adequate safe and clean drinking water, more and more investors are taking up the challenge in this multi-billion shillings industry to fill the gap occasioned by the shortage.
