American investor to inject $75m in water stations in Uganda

Jordan Chirico, an American investor is set to invest over $75 million in Uganda meant for health water stations that will see the minimization of plastic waste across the country.

Chirico is in the country on the invitation from the Office of the President that is currently running a campaign of encouraging investors to come into the country.

Speaking about his investment, Chirico, a Director at Water Station Technology, a US company said that the investment will focus on utilizing reusable bottles with a unique and technologically advanced purification system that allows the company and customers to reduce on environmental impact.

“We want to create healthy spring water through a natural mineralization process. Our inspiration to invest in Uganda is based on our view that all people deserve easy access to a clean, purified and affordable water source while not increasing waste on the surrounding environment or community,” Chirico said.

He noted that Uganda being at the heart of the Nile and Lake Victoria, affordable and purified water a priority for all citizens.

“We believe the people of Uganda and the city of Kampala will be great headquarters to launch a business serving all of East Africa and has the right business practices in place to allow for significant growth and success as a partner,” Chirico said.

He noted that the company will first provide a reliable unit that sits outside of businesses, offices, and apartments that allows citizens to refill reusable jugs on their own at a much cheaper price than available in retail settings with bottled water.

“With our second product, we plan to launch a similar unit that will produce one demand purified ice. We do not see ice being available anywhere and we have a specialty machine that will produce up to 8,000 lbs (800 bags) of ice a day and allow citizens to walk up and purchase individual bags of purified clean ice.”

Speaking of Chirico’s visit and investment plans, Isaac Kigozi from the Office of the President noted that given Uganda’s high population growth rate, the need for safe and clean water can only be addressed by such initiatives.

“According to research conducted in 2020, eight million Ugandans lack access to safe water and due to disparities in water access, urban people pay as much as 22 percent of their income to access water from water vendors. Spending such a high percentage of earnings on water reduces overall household income, limiting opportunities to build savings and break the cycle of poverty,” Kigozi said.

Kigozi noted that the investment venture will do much in addressing the safe water challenges in the country.