In this episode, meet Murendeni Mafumo, the founder of Kusini Water, a social impact water business in South Africa.
Kusini Water makes water purification and distribution systems from locally sourced materials such as Macadamia nut shells and uses renewable energy to supply clean water to communities most affected by the lack of access to safe drinking water.
In our interview with Murendeni we discuss:
- > How he came up with his idea and how he developed the confidence to start his venture
- > How he developed the business model for a social impact water company
- > How he transitioned from working full-time for the municipality to being a full time entrepreneur
- > How he financed his first product
- > How a corporate partnership put Kusini Water on the global map
- > Why every single day he feels like giving up and what keeps him going AND
- > How he managed to step into the water market, a market, dominated by a few big corporates
Also, we speak about ‘Black Tax’ and why Murendeni kept his entrepreneurial journey a secret from his family for two years after quitting his job.
And so much more…
“No one wants to get on a stationary train. So done is better than perfect. If we had waited for stuff to be perfect, we’d literally be nowhere.”- Murendeni Mafumo CLICK TO TWEET
Kusini Water is, at the time of the interview in December 2019, providing clean and safe to drink water to seven low income communities. In 2020, through a corporate partnership with a big logistics company, they plan to provide clean drinking water to 60 low income communities across South Africa.
There is SO MUCH to learn from this one interview with Murendeni. If you are into water and sanitation OR have a business idea, that needs some initial funding to get off the ground, then stick around for the full interview, because you will learn a lot.
We hope we got you interested, enter Murendeni:
Social Links to Kusini Water and Murendeni Mafumo:
- Kusini Water Website
- Kusini Water on Instagram
- Kusini Water on Facebook
- Twitter Handles:
- @kusiniwater
- @murendi
- LinkedIn Profile of Murendeni Mafumo
