The HCDExchange in collaboration with ThinkPlace hosted an event on Designing Community Led Business Models for Sustainable Social Impact in Humanitarian Settings. During this event organizations shared case studies from Ethiopia, Uganda, and Syria. We have put together responses to a few questions that emerged from the audience in this document. If you did not make it for the event, for more context, you can view the slide deck and watch the event recording.
What role does capacity building and skills development play in ensuring the success of community-led business initiatives, and how can these efforts be effectively implemented?
One of the key factors in ensuring the sustainability of CLBMs is ongoing training in both technical and business management skills. This emerged as a common lesson across all three case studies we examined as captured in the Webinar’s key takeaways.
Have you looked at the willingness to pay for the sanitary solutions from families and communities?
Yes, we’ve looked into the willingness to pay for sanitary solutions from families and communities, particularly in areas where sanitation is a critical issue. ThinkPlace Kenya conducted a cost analysis to understand how much families are willing to invest in improved sanitation solutions, and found that WTP (willing to pay) is influenced by factors such as income level, awareness of health benefits, and the perceived affordability of the solutions. In some communities, there’s a higher WTP if the solution is seen as a long-term investment in health and well-being, while others may require more subsidized or flexible payment models which the CLBMs have adopted.
How do we finance the community led business model given the shrinking donor aid pool?
This approach will primarily focus on building partnerships with governments and private sector enterprises. Additionally, one of the key recommendations from ThinkPlace to the Ethiopian CLBMs, was to have relevant government departments such as the livelihoods team support the CLBMs in applying for financing mechanisms such as grants to manage the CLBMs.
Could you speak more to how many women and men are affected by incontinence and how that affected uptake of the diapers? Do you think that stigma also affected uptake?
Incontinence affects both men and women, but women tend to be affected more frequently, particularly due to childbirth, menopause, and other age-related factors; roughly 25-45% of women experience incontinence at some point in their lives, compared to a lower percentage in men. Men, while less likely to experience incontinence overall, often face it due to prostate issues, surgery, or aging. While specific data for Ethiopia is unavailable, a report by ThinkPlace and Axena Health estimates prevalence rates in Sub-Saharan Africa ranging from 28% in Nigeria to 60% in Kenya, an indication of high prevalence. Due to the stigma surrounding incontinence, many affected adults urgently need effective management solutions, reinforcing the importance of CLBMs in addressing this critical community need. We have provided a link to this report here detailing the burden of incontinence in sub-Saharan Africa.
How did you manage to get a license for Refugees in Jewi Camp? What do you think regarding expanding to other refugee camps to scale up the innovation?
The Refugee and Returnees Service in Ethiopia is constantly engaging the Bureau of Trade to allow certain trade licenses for refugees in order to increase their access to income generation within the camps in order to increase their economic resilience and reduce dependency on aid only which purely depends on available donor funding. Additionally, in accordance with the Global Compact on Refugees, the Ethiopian Government and UNHCR are issuing work permits to refugees. As part of this initiative, cooperative members from Jewi camp in Gambella have been registered as legal enterprises.
Studies are mentioning the cons of using sanitary wear in climate sustainability (landfill, low biodegradability, high mix of polymer-based material) any thoughts on that?
In the long term, reusable products dramatically reduce waste, as it can be used for several years, cutting down on the need for constant production and disposal of single-use products. It can still offer significant advantages in terms of reducing landfill waste and minimizing the long-term environmental impact.
How was the waste disposal managed?
1. Repurposing – Turn your reusable diapers into something new. If the cloth diapers aren’t quite up to the job anymore, it can be repurposed as cleaning clothes. It has the right materials to soak up spills and a good wash with oxygen-based bleach will sanitize it so that it is safe to use for household cleaning.
2. Home composting – This is the process of using household waste such as this reusable diaper to make compost at home. Shred the used diaper as much as possible into smaller pieces, this helps to decompose faster.
3. If available use an incinerator which reduces the waste material into ashes.
To enhance sustainability co-investment and return on investments are key. How was this ensured at production and considered as an external function?
One of the key aspects to ensure sustainability will be strategic partnerships between CLBMs and private sectors, governments, investors among others.
Can you share about the acceptability of reusable pads, the hygiene of handling these pads, how they are cleaned and how long they can be reused?
Reusable pads are generally safe and hygienic when properly cared for. That said, their use in water-constrained areas presents unique challenges. The key is to find practical ways to minimize water usage while ensuring thorough cleaning and drying. Another way is to use portable Washing Kits: Provide small, portable washing kits for women, which include a small water container, soap, and a scrub brush that can be used for cleaning the pads with minimal water. With proper education on hygiene practices, design features that accommodate limited resources, and community support, reusable pads can still be an effective and sustainable solution, even in areas with limited access to water.
Do these assessments also consider local and indigenous knowledge, which may offer more sustainable and widely accepted solutions, particularly in ensuring quality water access?
The assessments conducted, across all case studies, were inspired by the Human Centered Design process that recognizes that those most affected by the challenge are best placed to share their lived experiences allowing the CLBMs to respond to actual challenges experienced by communities.
To what extent do you promote utilization of locally available indigenous technology and knowledge, bearing in mind the challenges associated with this in humanitarian context, for instance repatriation and relocation?
Ideally, local resources are best placed to support CLBMs, be more effective and offer their products at a lower cost. The challenge is more around existing policies that stifle the uptake of local resources due to high taxation or high costs of local resources. To mitigate the risks of relocation within humanitarian contexts, ThinkPlace proposed the design of CLBMs that incorporate both refugee and host communities; this way the CLBMs will be self-sustaining as host communities are also involved.
How long do we, as donors, must remain actively involved in day-to-day operations of the CLBM before letting the community take full leadership? How have you tackled scaling funding past the donor-funded pilot phase? What options have worked for you?
Transition from donor support should be a strategic component that is considered from the inception of CLBM projects. What we have learnt with the Ethiopian case study is that to transition successfully, donors will need to support CLBMs source for local and global strategic partnerships to support the CLBMs. In Ethiopia, one of the potential partnerships was with the Livelihood department within the Government who’d provide technical and financial support to the CLBMs.
