Working Water: Sunil Lalvani of Project Maji

The United Nations estimates that sub-Saharan Africa loses 40 billion work hours per year collecting water; the equivalent to an entire year’s worth of labour in France!

In this episode, we speak with Sunil Lalvani, the founder and CEO of Project Maji. Project Maji is a nonprofit that leverages solar technology to bring access to clean water across rural Africa. Previously, Sunil was a Director at his family business Binatone, a consumer electronics company, working around the world.

"Does a social enterprise have to be a for-profit or a not-for-profit? I don't think it matters. I prefer the phrase 'not-for-dividend,'" says Sunil. "In the not-for-profit world, you use the word 'surplus' instead of 'profit.' The difference is that I'm not going to dividend that out - it's just going to stay in the organization. The terminology is antiquated. It shouldn't be what holds people back."