Year: 2017

Where: Kenya

What: Beth Koigi’s journey to solving one of the world’s most pressing challenges began in Kimende, a small town in Kenya’s Kiambu County. Growing up in a region where clean water was a scarce and precious resource, she witnessed firsthand the daily struggles faced by families who lacked access to safe drinking water. These experiences planted the seeds for what would later become a groundbreaking venture in water innovation.

In 2017, at just 33 years old, Koigi co-founded Majik Water alongside Canadian environmental scientist Anastasia Kaschenko and Oxford economist Clare Sewell. Their mission was ambitious: to make clean drinking water accessible to communities living in some of the world’s most arid regions. Drawing inspiration from the untapped potential of atmospheric water generation, the team developed a solar-powered device capable of pulling moisture from the air, condensing it into liquid form, and filtering it for safe consumption. The result was as close to magic as science gets—hence the name, Majik Water.

But Koigi’s story isn’t just about technological innovation. After earning her bachelor’s degree in community development and a master’s in project planning and management, Koigi cut her teeth on smaller initiatives like the Aqua Clean Initiative, which she founded in 2013. Her work caught the attention of global organizations, and by 2018, she was a recipient of the prestigious Young Water Fellowship. Majik Water itself garnered international recognition, winning the EDF Pulse Award Africa in 2017 and earning Koigi a spot as a finalist for the Royal Academy of Engineering Africa Prize in 2019.

For Koigi, Majik Water isn’t merely a business—it’s a movement to decentralize water access in the most vulnerable communities. She continues to work to improve livelihoods and create resilient communities.

Sources:

Websites:

We are a social enterprise. Majik Water. (n.d.). https://majikwater.co/about-majik/

Worland, J. (2024, May 16). Kenyan entrepreneur works to generate clean water from Air. Time. https://time.com/collection/next-generation-leaders/6973246/beth-koigi/