Celebrating the closing of the third Reckitt Access Accelerator

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Six months, eight social enterprises, 12 mentors, and one reflection and celebration event—the third Reckitt Access Accelerator cycle draws to a close!

The accelerator supports social businesses in scaling their impact in their local communities. We ran the accelerator in Kenya and Nigeria for this cycle and focused on solutions that improve access to water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) and, for the first time, included businesses that target sexual and reproductive health (SRH).

Change where it's needed most

Reckitt and Yunus Social Business have built the award-winning Access Accelerator, which makes access to health and hygiene a universal human right by scaling grassroots social enterprises. We carefully select the locations where we work to create change where people are most in need. Previous accelerators have been held in South Africa, Brazil and Nigeria.

This cycle, we returned to Nigeria and added Kenya. Both Nigeria and Kenya face significant barriers to sufficient access to WASH. Issues such as funding, inadequate infrastructure, lack of government coordination and increasing urbanisation all add to the challenge.

In Nigeria, 33% of the population does not have access to safe drinking water (UNICEF, 2022), which contributes to the deaths of over 70,000 children under five annually (UNICEF, 2020), and 61% of Nigerians don't have access to basic sanitation services. Meanwhile, the situation in Kenya means 40% of Kenyans lack access to safe drinking water, 9.9 million people drink directly from contaminated water (USAID 2023), and 71% don't have access to basic sanitation services (USAID 2023).

Our research has helped us identify a clear correlation between lack of access to WASH and SRH, which is why we've included this area in our selection criteria for enterprises. For example, WASH is essential for managing menstruation and fertility in a safe, hygienic and dignified way. Inadequate WASH facilities can also contribute to people living with HIV becoming more susceptible to infections. It is also essential for safe childbirth and newborn health care.

The social enterprises

In this cycle, we selected eight social enterprises that are all making an impact in WASH and SRH in their local communities and beyond. Solutions include water filters aimed at rural households, pay-as-you-use toilets and showers, digital pregnancy care, and water monitoring via an app. Here are some reflections from participants, and you can read about all the social enterprises here:

"What I really liked about this accelerator is that we worked with brands that are so aligned with what we are doing, like improving livelihoods and creating healthier communities - that brought a lot of energy." Lisa Heederik, Nazava Water Filters

"The accelerator helped us to redefine our theory of change and create clarity for our business model" - Jife Williams, MN Environmental Services

"The small size of the accelerator group means it is really personal. The programme is not trying to tick boxes; they want to see you progress and succeed." - Dr. Ifunanya Igweze, Preggify

"I appreciated that the accelerator wasn't just focusing on what we're doing today but about helping us think about the broader picture and very specific long-term goals. Reckitt and Yunus Social Business have asked the question of: How can we leverage these different products and organisations and do something bigger than what we could do alone? I feel like we're just at the beginning of doing something important. I don't feel like we're at the end, I feel like we're at a new beginning!" - Meghan Mukuria, ZanaAfrica.

The accelerator: funding, mentorship and networking

The accelerator is a six-month cycle that offers mentorship, capacity-building, networking, and access to seed funding. 

Reckitt employees based in the markets where we hold the accelerators are a key part of the social enterprise’s journey. They offer their business know-how and collaborate with the social entrepreneurs to enable them to scale their impact. In this cycle, we worked with 12 mentors, including Oluwaseun Oyewole, a Site Hygienist in Nigeria, and Okorie Chibueze, Supply Chain & Procurement Specialist in Nigeria. Here's what they had to say about being mentors.

“The mentorship experience has helped me to practice the act of providing constructive feedback, enabling mentees to refine their understanding of sustainability and social entrepreneurship and develop their critical thinking skills.” - Oluwaseun Oyewole, Mentor to MN Environmental Services

“For me was great getting the entrepreneurs to partner with Reckitt brands, connecting with new people and being able to collaborate” - Okorie Chibueze, Mentor to Nazava Water Filters

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Beyond the accelerator: a new alumni program

With three Reckitt Access Accelerators successfully completed by 26 social enterprises, we have built a community with a wealth of knowledge, experience and insights. We want to find ways to extend the impact of the accelerator and enable its alums to connect, share and inspire one another and so they are not alone at the end of the programme. We are in the process of building a platform that will bring together alums, mentors, the YSB team, as well as external partners and experts.

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Watch this space for more information coming soon!

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