| Title | Independent water entrepreneurs in Latin America : the other private sector in water services |
| Publication Type | Miscellaneous |
| Year of Publication | 2003 |
| Authors | Solo, TM |
| Pagination | 31 p. : 4 boxes, 3 tab. |
| Date Published | 2003-05-01 |
| Publisher | World Bank |
| Place Published | Washington, DC, USA |
| Keywords | argentina, bolivia, colombia, efficiency, guatemala, low-income communities, paraguay, peru, policies, private sector, sdipol, small-scale activities, water supply charges, water vendors |
| Abstract | This report outlines the findings of a study of small scale providers in Paraguay, Argentina, Colombia, Guatemala, Peru and Bolivia carried out by the Water and Sanitation Program (WSP) in 1999. It highlights the important role that small scale service providers play in the delivery of services to underserved, primarily poor, households in urban areas, but also calls for policy makers to establish conducive policies and regulatory frameworks to support them. In each city, ten to twenty independent water providers were selected for a rapid survey of the services they provided and key performance and price indicators. Similar indicators were obtained for the municipal utility. Five to ten independent providers were then interviewed in depth, but without obtaining detailed financial statements or conducting user surveys. Based on the partial evidence available, the reports discusses the importance of the services supplied by small scale providers, their effectiveness and efficiency, the obstacles they face, their strategies for competing in the market and coping with business and regulatory risk, and the policies needed to improve their performance and benefit consumers they serve. |
| Custom 1 | 202.2, 261 |
