Case study of
#00055 Professionalized, results-based maintenance service paid for by uptime (not community self-management)
Kitui & Kwale Counties, Kenya
#00046
Implementer
FundiFix Ltd / Water Services Maintenance Trust Fund, with Oxford REACH, University of Nairobi and UNICEF
Timeline
Since Jan 1, 2013
Location
Description
A professional maintenance company on performance contracts replaced volunteer community management across two Kenyan counties. Communities call a hotline; "smart handpump" sensors (accelerometer + GSM) flag failures remotely; the operator guarantees fast repair and holds a parts inventory. Users pre-pay small monthly fees via mobile money on an insurance logic ("scale reduces risk"), blended with results-based payments into a maintenance trust fund. The model seeded the Uptime Catalyst Facility, now running results-based water contracts internationally.
Metrics
5Funding
Lessons learned
- The binding fix for the maintenance graveyard is institutional and financial, not technical — a service company with a parts chain and pooled funding, not a better gadget.
- Insurance-style pooling ('scale reduces risk') plus results-based payments can drive donor dependence down over ~5 years toward user-fee sustainability.
- Remote failure sensing lets the operator dispatch before communities even report a breakdown, which is what compresses downtime.
Documented Jun 7, 2026