Impact investing: Irrisol Engineering

Made Blue invests in Irrisol Engineering

1 September 2026 — Reading time: 4 min

Providing everyone with access to clean drinking water and sanitation requires more than infrastructure alone. It also requires local businesses that can build, manage and maintain WASH services for the long term.

That is why Made Blue Foundation provides financing to promising entrepreneurs in the water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) sector. By helping local solutions grow, we accelerate access to clean drinking water for everyone.

One of the businesses we invest in is Irrisol Engineering in Uganda, founded in 2017 by water and irrigation engineer Joash Bwambale. Irrisol is a social enterprise that develops sustainable water and irrigation solutions for remote rural communities.

The challenge in Uganda

Access to safe water is essential for health and economic development. However, Uganda’s national water utilities primarily serve urban and peri-urban areas, leaving millions of people in rural areas—around 70% of the population—with insufficient access to clean water. This contributes to waterborne diseases, school dropouts and lower productivity. It limits household incomes and the broader development of remote communities.

Due to limited government investment in rural water supply, water systems in these areas are often developed through grants and donations. However, long-term funding and professional management for operations, maintenance and repairs often fall short. As a result, a significant share of water infrastructure stops functioning properly over time. It is estimated that, at any given time, one in four rural water points in Africa is non-functional, partly due to a lack of commercial incentives for repairs.

The solution with Irrisol

Irrisol addresses this challenge by making essential water infrastructure commercially available to remote communities that currently lack adequate access. The company designs and installs standalone solar-powered water systems for rural schools, hospitals, businesses and households. It also develops irrigation solutions for smallholder farmers.

Irrisol uses flexible payment models to make clean water more affordable for everyone. Households and institutions can pay for their own water systems through a pay-as-you-go model, while communities pay for water through shared water-as-a-service networks. Payments can also be adapted to farmers’ seasonal incomes. This helps keep water affordable while providing Irrisol with a stable revenue stream.

The impact goes beyond access to clean water alone. Better access to water contributes to improved health, school attendance and agricultural productivity, while creating new economic opportunities for farmers, women and young people.

Why we’re investing in Irrisol

The installation of smart, solar-powered water networks requires significant upfront investment. Local WASH enterprises often struggle to access financing for these types of investments through traditional channels. Made Blue helps bridge this financing gap because Irrisol has several strong foundations for making rural water supply not only socially impactful, but also financially sustainable.

Irrisol is not starting from scratch. With 14 operational water networks, 330 household connections and more than 400 irrigation systems installed, the company has demonstrated its ability to implement its solutions in practice and shown that there is demand.

Its water networks are managed with long-term financial sustainability in mind. Before developing a system, Irrisol assesses whether the water source is sufficient and sustainable. Once operational, water consumption is measured per connection and users pay based on their usage, including through mobile payments. This allows Irrisol to closely monitor the water it supplies, reduce water losses and lost revenue, and process payments more efficiently.

Its hybrid business model also provides a strong foundation for growth. Irrisol combines direct revenues from installing water, solar and irrigation systems with recurring revenues from water sales and maintenance. By connecting more households directly in addition to operating public water points, Irrisol can increase the volume of water sold and, in turn, the revenue generated by each network. Over time, these revenues can help cover operations and maintenance and potentially finance further expansion.

Finally, Irrisol’s strong local roots are another important reason to invest. Founder and water and irrigation engineer Joash Bwambale and his team combine technical expertise with an in-depth understanding of local communities and governance structures in Uganda—knowledge that is essential when scaling water services in remote areas. This combination of technical expertise and local knowledge gives Irrisol a strong foundation for further growth.

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