IDEO.org joined forces with ARC last fall to design a social enterprise zone in the DRC in effort to address and improve under-five child mortality. Need a little reminder of what a social enterprise zone is? The team created a market-based model, called Asili, whereby community members could subscribe to a membership in order to receive discounts on a number of services, including healthcare, daily drinking water, and high-quality seeds. Read up on more details of the service, brand, and business model on the blog post from Design Lead Stacy Barnes.

Opening doors at the beginning of July, the Asili health clinic has already seen over 500 patients—about one in five being children and a two to one ratio of female to male patients.

The agricultural program on the other hand has been in operation in three villages of Bukavu since the end of 2013 and has served local farmers for three full harvest seasons to date. With around 225 farmers participating in each harvest season, the average farmer has been able to produce about 5.3 kg of potatoes per 1 kg of seeds. Equally as important, the growing success of the agriculture program has allowed community members to trust in Asili as a brand, thereby enabling Asili to reach more households. 

Daily water subscription has just launched at the beginning of October and with only fifteen water points in operation so far, we don’t have conclusive numbers yet as to how many individuals are being reached. But ARC has heard the most buzz and interest from community members when it comes to this water service, so we’ll be sure to follow-up soon and report the numbers when we have more conclusive data to share. 

Stay posted!