Water Saves — Buy to Give · The Golden Model

The Crisis

A world in water crisis

A third of humanity lacks access to safe drinking water. The crisis fuels poverty, famine, waterborne disease, social inequality, and forced migration. Women and children bear the heaviest burden — spending hours each day collecting water from unsafe sources.

people lack safe water globally

people lack basic sanitation

of wastewater flows untreated

Billions lost annually in water-related illness

Why existing aid fails: Donor fatigue, fluctuating funding, and lack of local infrastructure undermine even the best-intentioned projects. The solution must be self-sustaining.

Our Solution

Sell water.
Give life.

Water Saves is a self-funding commercial enterprise whose very structure ensures that social impact is automatic, permanent, and growing. Every bottle sold is a verifiable act of giving.

Africa does not lack water. It lacks ownership of its water. The world's largest beverage multinationals operate hundreds of bottling plants across Africa — and send their profits abroad. Water Saves is built on a different principle. Every Water Saves operation is a locally incorporated African company, employing local people, paying local taxes, and channelling its profits back into the communities it serves.

Find premium natural water sources

In African countries with growing urban middle-class demand for quality water.

Build European-standard bottling plants

At the source, with S.C.F. and a network of experienced European equipment manufacturers.

Sell premium water under Water Saves®

To the growing urban middle class, hotels, restaurants and institutions in each country.

61.8% of profits fund the NGO

Clean water infrastructure, sanitation, education & cooperatives for communities in need.

The Golden Model

Nature's own mathematics
applied to economics

The entire financial architecture of Water Saves is built on the golden ratio — φ = 1.618 — nature's formula for balance and harmony. At every level, the larger share goes to the social mission.

"We are the pioneers of a new economic model — one where the giver willingly takes the smaller share, where 61.8% flows to those in need, and where commercial ambition serves human dignity. It is nature's own mathematics applied to economics."

This ratio is permanently embedded in constitutional documents, shareholder agreements, and financing agreements. It cannot be changed without agreement of all parties. This is legal architecture — permanent, binding, and irreversible.

The 61.8% / 38.2% ratio governs not only profit distribution but the shareholding structure itself: Water Saves Holding owns 61.8% of each African subsidiary, and the DFI holds 38.2% as a minority equity shareholder.

During DFI Period

61.8% → NGO / Humanitarian mission

38.2% → DFI investors — 38.2% equity stake in the local African company

After DFI Exits

85.4% → NGO / Humanitarian mission

14.6% → Holding company

Community Impact

Four pillars of transformation

The NGO Water Saves does not simply install water points. It delivers a complete and self-reinforcing system for community transformation built on four pillars.

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Pillar 1 — Water Access

Solar-powered boreholes and secured tap fountains serving 2,000–5,000 people per installation. 30–40 litres per person per day, within 20 minutes' walk. Managed by elected village citizens — with a preference for women.

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Pillar 2 — Sanitation

Modern sanitation facilities and hygiene training that prevent waterborne disease, reinforce dignity, and free time for education and productive work.

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Pillar 3 — Education

Hygiene awareness programmes and training in permaculture and sustainable agriculture — teaching communities to grow their own food and build long-term food sovereignty.

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Pillar 4 — The Cooperative

Cooperative Eau Sauve buys harvests from village farmers and sells them in urban markets — creating a stable income stream and a self-reinforcing cycle of growing village prosperity.

DFI Partnership

A compelling case
for impact investors

Water Saves is structured specifically to meet the requirements of Development Finance Institutions — co-investing as 38.2% minority equity shareholders in private, for-profit African companies. The DFI's legal counterparty is always the local African subsidiary, not the Belgian management company. Bankable returns. Robust governance. Measurable social impact.

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Preferred Return

12% min.

Preferred dividend on a 38.2% equity stake — guaranteed minimum annual return on invested capital, paid before any ordinary distribution, structurally protected in the shareholder agreement.

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NGO Board Seat

Active

The DFI receives two board seats: one on the local African subsidiary as a 38.2% shareholder, and one on NGO Water Saves — direct governance over how the 61.8% is deployed.

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Replicable Pipeline

Africa

One model, country by country across Africa. Same proven architecture, same partners, same impact structure. The DFI may reinvest in each new country as the network grows.

Return on Investment: The Structural Guarantee

The preferred dividend mechanism provides a mathematically verifiable return profile, independent of any specific market projection.

9 years

The 9-Year Guarantee

At 12% per year, the DFI recovers its entire invested capital within 9 years from the preferred floor alone — for example, EUR 1.2M annually on a EUR 10M investment. This is the structural worst case.

31.4%

The Tipping Point

The early-stage adjustment becomes unnecessary once net profit reaches 31.4% of invested capital. Above this threshold, the 38.2% golden ratio share naturally exceeds the 12% floor — and the DFI's return accelerates with every increase in profitability.

The DFI is not financing a project — it is co-founding a local African business. When the DFI exits, it does not leave a hole. It leaves behind a functioning African company, permanently committed to its mission, with 85.4% of profits flowing to clean water access for the people who need it most.

Interested in partnering with Water Saves?

We are actively seeking our first Development Finance Institution partner to co-launch the Golden Model.

Get in Touch

Scalability

One model.
Every country.

The Golden Model is designed from the outset to be replicated country by country across Africa — building a globally recognised brand that funds clean water access wherever it operates.

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The Replication Formula

Same water source identification, same European-standard plant, same NGO structure, same local incorporation in each African country — only the source name changes.

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Ring-Fenced by Country

Each operation is a separate legal entity. Difficulties in one market cannot affect operations elsewhere.

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PET Recycling Commitment

Only recyclable PET — never sachets. Deposit-return systems in every market. Goal: recover 1.618× bottles in circulation.

A guest at a hotel in Nairobi picks up a bottle of Water Saves. They know that bottle funds a water fountain, a latrine, a garden, a school — for a family they will never meet. That is the brand. That is the promise. That is why it scales.

Water Saves — a global brand.

ESG Alignment

Built for the
world we want

Water Saves contributes directly to ten UN Sustainable Development Goals and is designed to meet IFC Performance Standards PS1 (Environmental & Social Risk), PS2 (Labour), PS3 (Resource Efficiency), PS4 (Community Health & Safety), and PS6 (Biodiversity) — the standards most directly applicable to water bottling operations in Africa. Water Saves is equally aligned with the EDFI Harmonised Standards, the common framework adopted by European Development Finance Institutions for environmental and social due diligence.

SDG 1
No Poverty

SDG 2
Zero Hunger

SDG 3
Good Health

SDG 4
Education

SDG 5
Gender Equality

SDG 6
Clean Water ⭐

SDG 8
Decent Work

SDG 10
Reduced Inequalities

SDG 12
Responsible Production

SDG 13
Climate Action

No Poverty

Clean water access transforms village economies. Women and children freed from water collection can work, farm, and study. Harvests improve, local commerce develops, and health costs fall. Every village that receives water sees its poverty reduced.

Zero Hunger

The NGO teaches permaculture and sustainable farming techniques designed to grow food with minimal water. Families cultivate personal vegetable gardens. The Cooperative Eau Sauve buys harvests and sells them in urban markets, returning profits to the village.

Good Health

Clean water eliminates waterborne diseases — a leading cause of child mortality in developing countries. Improved hygiene, better nutrition from stronger harvests, and reduced physical exhaustion all contribute to healthier communities.

Education

When children — especially girls — no longer spend hours collecting water, they can attend school. Better nutrition and health mean they can concentrate and learn. Water access is the foundation on which education becomes possible.

Gender Equality

Women and girls bear the overwhelming burden of water collection. Clean water access liberates them to pursue education, employment, and leadership. The bottling plant commits to female employment targets under the 2X Criteria Framework.

Clean Water & Sanitation ⭐

This is the core mission. 61.8% of profits permanently fund clean water infrastructure for disadvantaged communities.

Decent Work

The bottling plant creates direct employment at European standards with genuine skills transfer. Beyond the plant, water access generates economic activity across every village it reaches.

Reduced Inequalities

The Golden Model exists to bridge inequality — providing free water access to populations excluded from commercial markets, funded by those who can afford to pay.

Responsible Production

Recyclable PET only, no sachet production, and deposit-return innovation. Water Saves actively addresses the plastic waste crisis rather than contributing to it.

Climate Action

Commitment to renewable energy integration at plant level. Climate-resilient water infrastructure protects communities against drought and changing rainfall patterns.

The Team

The people behind
Water Saves

Michael Asbeek Brusse

CEO & Founder

25+ years in the European mineral water industry. Founder of The Flow SRL. Author of L'Eau du Corps. Creator of the Golden Model.

Stanley Asbeek Brusse

CTO & CMO

15+ years in technology and marketing. Responsible for global technological infrastructure and worldwide brand strategy.

Axel Guzmán

Chief Operating Officer

12 years of expertise in social entrepreneurship in Africa. Oversees execution of operations across all subsidiaries, ensuring smooth running of daily activities in emerging markets.

Henri Erre

Hydrogeologist

Doctoral degree in hydrogeology. 2,000+ project references across France, Spain, Africa, the Caribbean, and French Guiana.

Serge Sablé — Sources et Captage de France (S.C.F.)

Founder & Independent Consultant

Independent consultant in the creation and auditing of spring water conditioning units since 1983, with experience across Europe, the Americas, Africa, and Asia. Serge directs the entire technical scope of water adduction and bottling plant engineering for Water Saves projects.

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European Equipment Partners

Every Water Saves bottling plant is designed, equipped, and commissioned by leading European manufacturers and engineering firms — partners with decades of experience and hundreds of turnkey bottling lines delivered across Africa, Asia, and the Middle East.

Wherever we operate, European standards apply. The technical architecture is proven, repeatable, and built to scale.

Every bottle you drinkgives water to 4 people