Universal, safe and reliable water access is a pressing need in the global south. One-quarter of the world’s population don’t currently have access to clean drinking water. In Ghana, about 5 million people out of a total population of about 31 million lack access to clean, safe water. One person in ten has to spend more than 30 minutes to get drinking water.

Problems are particularly acute in off-grid communities. These are the low-income, rural and peri-urban locations that aren’t connected to municipal or main centralised water supply.

The private sector and other non-governmental providers are getting increasingly involved in filling the gap, sometimes in partnership with the government. Some private water service providers have turned to innovations like “water ATMs”. These automated standpipes are popping up as a way to expand affordable water services.

Powered by solar energy, most water ATMs are designed to operate 24 hours a day. They are low-cost, self-contained, automated water vending machines that store clean water and are most often connected to a water purifying plant that uses groundwater. Customers buy water from the ATMs using a water card, which is topped up with credit via mobile money.