Business Profile/History

Chamkarlue Water Supply (CWS) was founded in 2016 by a young risk-taking and dynamic entrepreneur, Ms. SIEMNY SIM, acting as CEO, who took a great deal of courage to revamp the socio-economic conditions of the less-treated communities from scratch in Chamkarlue district of Kampong Cham province.

CWS is a sole venture and community-based water project, touching the lives of the communities that are inaccessible to clean and drinking water and part of the Millennium Development Goals, an engine for the acceleration of the communities’ economic growth, sustainable development, and improved health and poverty reduction.

As a consequence, many communities face clean drinking water scarcity as a fundamental challenge to their economic and social development, CWS plays its top leading role in the designated zone and invests millions of dollars in technologically innovative treatment plants and facilities in conformity with the national standard of Ministry of Industry and Handicraft in order to extend its service coverage areas for accommodating the escalating needs at the fast-growing pace.

In the strong sense of collaboration with the local authorities and stakeholders, there is the only glimpse of hope to escalate at the quantum pace the water supply project implementation across the communities with favorable outcomes and sustainable growth.

* Maximum creativity aspects

Every drop of the water flowing in the water treatment plant maximizes the high margin of living and lifestyle of the communities. Portable water is a source of life and prosperity as the communities have been suffering the untreated and contaminated water for decades and struggling with their financial situations as medical check-up and treatment is so costly in developing communities.

The dominant factor that prompts the project into place is the humanity-oriented mechanism. From the treatment process to waste, it is meticulously designed in order to maximize productivity efficiency, and efficacy. The sewage wastes are either recycled for treatment or used for agricultural fertilizer purposes.

 * Vision

Everyone in rural Cambodia has access to clean safe drinking water with affordable costs for a healthy and wealthy society.

* Mission

Enhance the livelihood of the communities through the affordability and sustainability of safe drinking water.

* Core Value

• Vivid passion and commitment are key drivers of sustainable business outcomes to be achieved along with our business partners. Four imminent values characterize the unique culture of CWS’s business in all aspects.

 

* Problem & Demand:

The fair reflection of the unceasingly evolving society echoed the negation of voice over chemical residues contaminated by nature and mostly by human acts.

Falling behind the pace of technology evolution, the negligence of health care, and ignorance of health risks, give rise to the high mortality rate, lower life expectancy, and intensified birth defects due to the hazardous substances contaminated in the water. Because of the lack of clean water, the communities have been facing health issues that tend to lower their financial status and responsibilities.

The determinant effects of using contaminated water inherently cause rampant waterborne diseases including Cryptosporidium, Diarrheal Disease, Dysentery, Cholera, Cyclosporiasis, Giardiasis, Gastroenteritis, Hepatitis E, Guinea Worm, Typhoid Fever, and so on, while there is the existence of radiological, chemical, biological and physical contaminants in the raw and unsterilized water.

With the provision of clean water, CWS’s time and effort shifted the communities to refocus on health and socio-economic development. The country-wide access to basic water and sanitation could result in a billion-dollar reduction in healthcare costs. At least the medical check-up per head costs them $75 per year, whereas the medical treatment for severe and chronic disease is far beyond their earnings.

Contaminated water can possibly cause many types of diseases and other serious illnesses and takes thousands and thousands of lives each year. The demand curve reflects the unfairness and unbalance of the supply curve. In other words, the equation of the demand and supply is in stark differences- unbalanced, while the demand is surplus and remains in the surge.

 * Solutions:

Over 10,000 families have limited access to clean and drinking water due to their health negligence and ignorance of the presence of risk. Only 85% of them have been using the local well pump, ponds, channels, and streams. All of them have been living with water unsafe for human consumption.

Waterborne diseases due to lack of basic water treatment and sanitation surpass their effect on communities’ health and give rise to barriers to development including education and socio-economics.

The water crisis and its detrimental effects can be resolved with the provision of CWS’s treated water to the communities.

* Treated water solutions:

• Education: CWS’s team activates its propagandizing project in collaboration with the provincial health department, school, community leaders, and other development partners to change the old taboo mindset of water consumption and lifestyle habits.

• Innovation and conservation: all of the water sources, from aquifers and rainwater, approximately 80 percent of the freshwater used for agriculture and plantation are of unpredictable hazards. CWS’s invention of new water conservation techniques will counteract this issue.

• Infrastructure:  properly managed infrastructure increases the economy by not wasting resources, diminishing costs, upgrading the quality of life, and eradicating the spread of water-borne diseases and enhances the quality of life.

 

• Installation loan: Tying up with other microfinancing institutes to provide affordable loans to those who require additional help in establishing clean water piping systems.

 

• Water equity: CWS total relies on not other sources, but the social impacts of investing to increase their expenses for treated water consumption.

 

• Communal engagement: Communal engagement is a window to the fundamental changes on local levels. These valued clean water solutions are not the only solutions to the above heating issues but also improve health, education, and work opportunities for families across the communities.

 * Market, Market Strategy, Channel & Competition

Chamkarleu’s water market is set for its biggest transformation since privatization as it opens for competition between CWS and unauthorized well pump suppliers.

Businesses, charities, and public sector bodies will be able to choose CWS with a regional monopoly in a first for communities in Chamkarleu rather than rely on unauthorized and non-standardized well pump suppliers,

The CWS hopes that indirect competition will lead to better customer service, lower costs, and more innovation among suppliers as they vie for customers. CWS already regulated its water market for businesses in 2014.

Although at first, the retailing margins won’t provide significant discounts on existing tariffs, it is expected that CWS business will be switching to cost savings within a few years of its operation.

Better service

Increased ingredients of water market competition will also encourage the communities to shift from their non-treated water consumption by providing better service to differentiate CWS from the well water pump of the market. These service value-adds may include safe water for a healthy community, 24/7 hours of water available, convenient and modern lifestyle, cost savings from water reservoir building, and regulated price.

In addition, CWS helps customers find water leakage in houses and provide free consultation on the proper pipe installation and cost saving.

CWS provides the rationale speed of piping system installation and the fixed price of installation and more than that, tying up with the micro-finance bodies to provide subsidies to the communities for installation. In addition, CWS makes it easy for customers to pay their water bills through mobile banking and various offline agents, MFIs, and banks.

* CRS

As the demand curve is higher and the terrain is vast, one establishment is planned to take place every two years as stated in the 5-year future plan in good correspondence with the headquarters. Each and every establishment is settled in a synchronized mode.

Other than being a profit driver, CWS creates values for the stakeholders and instills the spirit of helping hands and riding above the surface of the poverty line, corporate social responsibility activities remain the top priority. It is what CWS gives back to society at least 3% of the total revenue per year.

 

* Team/client/Testimonial

To walk the talk, key opinion leaders from the public representatives are selected to portray and amplify the moral ethics core value and human-oriented activities of CWS through Facebook mentions, interviews, publications, and other mediums and also acting as brand ambassadors for CWS.

* Recognition

The existence of CWS impacts the lives of thousands of households to a great extent and showcases its humanity-oriented activities with positive outcomes and was authenticated with credential certificates from the Ministry of Industry and Handicraft.

* Business Goal: 

To be existent to maximize the well-being and health benefits to the communities by and through business expansion and optimal services and sustainable development through the following future plans:

• Expansion of infrastructure facilities and equipment;
• Share advances in water treatment knowledge and technology
• Conduct regular trainings on water treatment and utilization and sanitation practices;
• Public water forum to generate awareness & marketing services
• Corporate social responsibility
• Work with NGOs and other relevant bodies to study the needs and provide viable solutions to rural Cambodia;
• Learn about the water needs of Cambodia, bearing in mind the cultural nuances and challenges, and be able to promote the ASEAN spirit of sharing and caring for each other.

 * Social and Environmental Responsibility

CWS avails itself to help the less privileged communities to prosper. In so doing, CWS supplies clean drinking water and service by ensuring its business contributes to the well-being of the less accessible and privileged communities in the Chamkalue district. More than that, CWS provides job creation and capacity building including hard and soft skills to its employees and legally pays taxes to support government spending.

CWS’s work in the drinking water industry is ethical and harm-free for human health and seeks to contribute to sustainable development through being socially and environmentally responsible. It achieves this through standard quality in conformity with the one adopted by the Ministry of Industry and Handicraft.