SHIPO (Southern Highlands Participatory Organisation)
SHIPO is an NGO working for families who have wells that dry up or who want to increase the capacity of their wells. The SHIPO SMART Centre is a member of the SMART Centre group, coordinated by the social enterprise, MetaMeta Netherlands.
What we should know about you
Questions answered by Leire Diez Larrea, Manager
1. Imagine yourself/yourselves 5 years ago in comparison to the situation you are in today. Which achievements surprise you the most?
Achievements are that a part of these trained drillers and entrepreneurs in the past 10 years have drilled over 4,000 wells and produced/installed over 12,000 rope pumps. A part of these wells and pumps are subsidized but over 60% of the pumps are now paid by families.
2. What drives you personally to keep your social business running?
The reason I do this is to help to increase access to water and sanitation but at the same time make sure that the entrepreneurs that are trained make a profit so they will go on after training.
3. What recommendation would you give to someone who thinks about starting a social enterprise?
A recommendation for a social enterprise would be to be market based. Talk to your clients! Make sure you know what they want and what they want to pay for.