A Hammanskraal resident has created a business opportunity for herself selling bottled water to residents amid a water crisis in Tshwane and recent cholera outbreak in Hammanskraal.
Andile Msiza, 27, started her business, Supreme H20, two months ago after realising there was a serious demand for water in the area.
Hammanskraal has had a water crisis for years. The tap water supplied by the City of Tshwane is regarded as unfit for human consumption because of its “poor” quality. Residents have to buy bottled water or rely on water tankers that roam the township daily.
Realising the severity of the crisis, Msiza, a property agent, started her business.
She has spent about R60,000 buying equipment for purification, testing and packaging of water.
Supreme H20 purifies the undrinkable municipal water through reverse osmosis and sells it to residents and shops in Hammanskraal.
She sells one litre of water for R1 if customers bring their own container. If she provides a 1.5l container, she charges R10 a bottle of water.
Business started slowly in the beginning but over time has been growing steadily. But since the outbreak of cholera this week, my sales have shot up from R200 a day to R1,000.
— Young entrepreneur Andile Msiza
Residents providing their own containers pay only R5 for five litres but R15 if the water is already bottled. The biggest container is 10 litres, for which she charges R10 but R27 if no container is provided.
“I chose to price my water low because I am new in the market, as time goes on I may have to increase my price. Also the majority of people in our township are not working, so I could not price my product high.
“Business started slowly in the beginning but over time has been growing steadily. But since the outbreak of cholera this week, my sales have shot up from R200 a day to R1,000. Since Monday, people have been afraid of drinking the water from the tankers, so people came to buy. Business is booming since Monday,” Msiza said.
Msiza said the feedback from the community has been good because she tests the acidity of the water and also tastes it before packaging it for her customers.
Most residents bring their own containers to take advantage of the low price. Spaza shops in the area are also buying the bottled water from her.
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