Oxfam is a global movement of people fighting inequality to end poverty and injustice. Across regions, from the local to the global, we work with people to bring change that lasts.

PURPOSE OF THIS CONTRACT

The primary objective of this consultancy is to answer one core question: How can these 11 water kiosks become investable?

To achieve this, the consultant will undertake structured field research and assessments across the target kiosk sites and develop robust, diversified, and sustainable business models tailored to local market conditions. The consultancy is expected to provide a clear and actionable pathway for transforming the water kiosks from traditional, donor-supported community projects into viable, investment-ready micro-enterprises capable of attracting external financing, generating reliable revenue streams, and sustaining safe water service delivery over the long term.

BACKGROUND AND CONTEXT

The Fostering Inclusive and Sustainable WASH in the Tonle Sap (FOWASH) project, co-financed by KOICA and Oxfam Hong Kong (OHK), aims to improve access to safe drinking water and sanitation in rural Cambodia. During Phase 1, the project successfully established 11 community-owned water kiosks across Siem Reap and Battambang provinces.

These kiosks are large-scale water treatment and bottling facilities, operating on a model similar to other innovators such as:

They draw water from drilled wells, treat it through a comprehensive multi-stage purification system (including Reverse Osmosis and UV disinfection), and produce 20-liter bottles of safe drinking water [1].

Currently, these kiosks are operational and generating revenue. However, the global WASH sector is shifting. Donors and impact investors are moving away from traditional grant-funded infrastructure that breaks down after a few years. The emerging standard—exemplified by organizations like Jibu in East Africa and 1001 Fontaines—is the "decentralized safe water enterprise" [2]. These are local water businesses that sell safe water, generate surplus revenue for maintenance and growth, and aim to become financially sustainable and ultimately investable through blended finance mechanisms [2].

The current FOWASH kiosk business model relies heavily on a single product (20L bottles) sold primarily to wholesale distributors. This leaves significant revenue opportunities untapped. Furthermore, our local NGO partner, HURREDO, is positioned to play a stronger role in supporting these kiosks as a network as they have been supporting the Kiosks over the last 3 years.

To ensure long-term financial viability and transition of these kiosks from grant-funded projects to an investable portfolio of rural water enterprises during FOWASH Phase 2, there is a critical need to upgrade their business models with an investment objective.

SCOPE OF WORK

The consultant will be responsible for the following key activities:

3.1. Revenue Diversification and Retail Strategy

• Product Diversification: Assess the market demand and technical requirements for introducing smaller bottle sizes (e.g., 500ml, 1L, 5L) to complement the existing 20L offering, responding directly to community demand.
• Retail Operations: Develop a strategy for utilizing the strategic locations of the kiosks to establish small, clean retail operations.
• Linked Products: Identify and evaluate complementary, non-polluting products (e.g., hygiene items, sanitation products) that can be sold alongside water to increase the average transaction value without generating dust, debris, or garbage around the kiosk.
• B2C Expansion: Design strategies to expand direct-to-household sales alongside the existing wholesale (B2B) model.

3.2. Investment Readiness and Financial Modeling

• Financial Restructuring: Analyze the current cost and revenue structures. Develop a financial model that demonstrates how the kiosks can generate sufficient surplus revenue to cover operating costs, repairs, and future growth [2].
• Blended Finance Pathway: Outline a pathway for how a portfolio of 11 (and eventually 50-100) rural water kiosks could attract blended finance or impact investment, drawing lessons from models like Jibu and Safe Water Enterprises [2].
• Financial Projections: Develop a financial projection model for a typical diversified water kiosk.

3.3. Governance, Management, and Network Support

• Franchise/Network Support Model: Define the role of the local NGO partner, HURREDO, in providing ongoing network support, quality assurance, and business coaching to the kiosks, moving toward a franchise-like support structure.
• Strengthening Local Governance: Evaluate the existing management structures (the 3-person entrepreneur teams and the 5-member Water Kiosk Committees) [3]. Propose strong, transparent governance mechanisms that ensure accountability and equitable profit distribution.
• Capacity Building Needs: Identify specific training needs for kiosk operators. Note: Training materials must be highly visual, simplified, and hands-on (85% practical), tailored for community members with limited formal education [4] [5].

3.4. Policy and Scaling Considerations (Nice to Have but not necessary)

• Policy Alignment: Ensure proposed business models align with Cambodia's National Strategy for Rural Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene. Identify opportunities for the project to influence local water sector policies, leveraging Oxfam's relationships with MRD and MISTI [6].
• Geographical Scalability: Design the business models with regional scalability in mind, considering how successful approaches could be replicated in other target markets such as Indonesia and Bangladesh [7].

4. Methodology

The consultant is expected to employ a mixed-methods approach, including:

• Desk Review: Review existing FOWASH project documents, financial reports, and literature on successful decentralized safe water enterprises (e.g., Jibu, 1001 Fontaines, Safe Water Enterprises) [2].
• Field Research: Conduct site visits to a representative sample of the 11 FOWASH water kiosks in Siem Reap and Battambang.
• Stakeholder Interviews: Conduct interviews with the entrepreneur teams, WKC members, HURREDO staff, current wholesale customers, potential household customers, and local authorities.
• Market Assessment: Conduct a rapid market assessment in the target communes to gauge demand for diversified water products and retail offerings.

DELIVERABLES

The consultant will deliver the following:

• Inception Report: Detailing the proposed methodology, work plan, and data collection tools (due 1 week after contract signing).
• Field Research and Market Assessment Report: Presenting the findings from the market analysis, governance assessment, and stakeholder consultations.
• Investment-Ready Business Model Framework: A comprehensive document outlining the proposed diversified business models, including financial projections, retail strategies, and the HURREDO network support structure.
• Simplified Business Plan Template: A highly visual, picture-based business plan template designed specifically for low-literacy community committee members to use for their annual planning.
• Final Presentation: A presentation of the findings and recommendations to the FOWASH project team, HURREDO, and key stakeholders.
• The consultancy is expected to require approximately 30 working days over a period of two months, which will start from 3 August till 30 September 2026.

Qualifications and experience

The ideal consultant (or team) should possess:

• Advanced degree in Business Administration, Finance, Economics, International Development, or a related field.
• Minimum of 7 years of experience in enterprise development, impact investing, or market systems development, preferably in the WASH sector.
• Familiarity with decentralized safe water enterprise models (e.g., Jibu, 1001 Fontaines).
• Proven experience working with community-based enterprises and developing simplified business tools for low-literacy groups.
• Strong understanding of the rural context and water sector in Cambodia.
• Excellent analytical, financial modeling, and report writing skills in English. Fluency in Khmer is highly desirable for field research.

PAYMENT SCHEDULE

This consultancy will be undertaken from August to September 2026.

PROFILE REQUIREMENTS

Clarifications

Any questions, remarks or requests for clarification can be sent up to 7 days before the submission deadline in writing to Mr. Ear Chong, Partnership and Program Quality Coordinator, Oxfam in Cambodia at chong.ear@oxfam.org;

Evaluation and award criteria

Incomplete applications will not be assessed; only quotations that meet the administrative criteria will be assessed.

Award decisions will be based on best value for money criteria covering both technical quality and price.

Only quotations with combined scores of at least 65 points (out of 85) for the technical award criteria (approach paper and CV) qualify for the financial evaluation.

For detailed information about Evaluation Criteria, please refer to the full Terms of Reference (link provided in Annexes)

Oxfam withholds the right to conduct interviews with one or more potential consultants before an award decision is made. Purpose of the interview is to seek further clarification on the submitted quotations and learn more about the background and previous experiences of the potential consultants and their teams.