Lieselotte Heederik and Guido van Hofwegen moved to Indonesia from the Netherlands in 2007 to do relief work and discovered a lack of clean, safe water that led to the deaths of many children every year. They founded Nazava to manufacture an affordable water filtration system for low-income families, especially in rural areas. It took ten years to hone their distribution system, and last year, they sold 40,000 units in over 30 countries, primarily in Indonesia and Kenya, impacting over 600,000 people.
The couple’s motivation stemmed from the contaminated water they encountered in Indonesia, as well as the lack of availability of clean water filters. Lower-income rural mothers were particularly affected, spending time looking for wood fuel to boil water and often needing to buy medicine for children suffering from water-borne illnesses. This inspired Heederik and van Hofwegen to develop a filter to provide households with safe drinking water, saving time, money, and reducing plastic waste in the process.
After deciding to sell their product and form a company in 2009, Heederik and van Hofwegen tried various sales methods but ultimately settled on targeting microfinance institutions (MFIs) to reach lower-income women in Indonesia and Kenya. Through MFIs, customers could sign up for loans to purchase Nazava filters, and the company would ship the products directly. This approach proved successful, with Nazava working with approximately 400 women in Indonesia through a partnership with Kiva, an online lending platform.
In 2022, Nazava expanded to Kenya, leveraging the existing infrastructure of MFIs to reach more lower-income households. Investment from Miller Center Capital and other investors helped fund this expansion. During the pandemic, the company adapted by selling online via social media platforms and partnering with schools to provide filtered drinking water to students. Manufacturing changes, including designing their buckets and filters in-house, improved the product’s appeal and helped reach more customers.
Nazava’s achievements include certification by the World Health Organization for bacterial removal, allowing them to export to countries like Nepal and set up assembly operations in conflict zones like Ukraine. The company has raised approximately $2 million in funding from organizations like Danone Communities, Kiva, and private investors. Heederik and van Hofwegen’s journey from discovering a health hazard to creating a successful social enterprise exemplifies their commitment to making safe drinking water accessible and affordable to those in need.
