 just a celebrity, but he is literally one of the world's water experts. So there's a difference between having a celebrity show up and talk with people in government or investors. But when you have a celebrity who's like so grounded in this and really is one of the world's water experts, that has a lot of gravitas. Well, so I mean, just in terms of proving this model again and again and again, it just goes to credibility for our organization going into some of these meetings. As Bill Clinton said to us a few years ago, he said, just keep running those numbers up. Just keep running them up. You know? But he was right. You're suddenly doing that. Well, yeah, but he was right. I mean, that just builds credibility and it makes it much easier to go raise funds for something like this, for water equity. When, look, people ultimately, in my experience, people really respond to things that work. And if they, you know, and I think the one takeaway that we would want everybody to have here today is that this problem is absolutely solvable. And I can't say that enough. This problem is absolutely solvable and it's solvable in our lifetime. It just, it's going to take a comprehensive effort from all of us and governments included. But, you know, there's no mystery to this. We do know how to solve it. You know, we were talking about the role that the government can play what the social sector is doing. But what about the corporate sector and the role that you see the corporate sector playing, Gary, because you have strategic alliances in different parts of the world that you operate through. What's the experience been there and what is the ask of the corporate sector? Well, we've been really fortunate. I think largely because of the market-driven aspect of the model that we've really connected with corporate foundations. You know, the PepsiCo Foundation was a very early investor in water credit in India. And their support alone has allowed us to reach 1.6 million people in India. The Ikea Foundation, another really strong supporter of water credit. Caterpillar Foundation, Inditex, and many others, have been willing to come on board with this kind of social entrepreneurial approach and back it. And so- Does it go beyond the realm of corporate social responsibility? It does. It does. I think it's, if we look at another relationship that we're doing with Stellaratois to engage consumers, right? And having people understand that a purchase that they make can contribute to somebody getting safe water. And so that's something that brands and corporations have a natural in and they know how to talk to audiences. And if we can collaborate with them on the powerful messages that we see and make that happen, then that kind of democratization, again, whether it's making a donation to water.org or making a purchase or making it alone when that platform is ready, there's lots of ways that corporations and water.org and water equity can partner. And I think that's the key. This is all about partnerships, whether it be with the governments, whether it be with our corporate supporters or whether it be with individuals. One of the things I'm really excited to see with this Stella deal where it goes is they have a few different ways you can give. They have these chalices that are these beautiful glass chalices that are designed by artists in the countries in which we're operating. So you can buy those chalices and then, but you can also do things like go into a pub in the UK or America and buy a pint of Stella and that one pint of Stella, they will guarantee bringing someone in the developing world clean water for a month. So I'm curious to see, and I ask them- It feels good about drinking yourselves to death. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. You don't have to order 50 of them, I mean. That's not so bad though. Yeah, that might not be so bad. But no, but I mean, if I were a college kid or 25 years old and was said, well, I can have my favorite beer and I'm also doing, it's a really, I'm really interested to see. Were you really thinking that we're 25? Well, no, well, here's the thing. I think this generation, the millennials are. All right, yeah. And both anecdotally, and then also, I mean, we were talking to Stella earlier and they were saying it's quantifiable, right? Because this generation coming up is tuned into stuff like this in a way that Generation X, my generation, was totally tuned out. What were you thinking of at 25? I was just thinking about my acting career, I think, in writing screenplays. But what's exciting is to look at this younger generation coming behind us because they really do get it. And if our corporate partners can show an increase in their bottom line by an activation like this, that's really great news for all of us because we'll be able to bring more brands into this and really kind of turbocharge our work. That would be wonderful. Since you're talking about turbocharging and you just gave us the Stella example, is this B2C engagement going to be something that you want to focus on over the next few years to really scale things up? Definitely, yeah. I mean, I think anything we can do to scale this up and as President Clinton says, run the numbers up. That's what we'll be focused on. How important is it going to be for individual brands to collaborate with you in order for you to get the kind of scale that you require? Well, I think that's just it. I mean, in the conversations that we had with Stella, it's like we want to expand this type of partnership and get more partners. This is an all hands on deck kind of global crisis that we need to solve. So it is, corporations have really evolved over the last couple of decades or so to play kind of an outsized role in the, even in the, on the global stage, right? 30 years ago, governments would have dominated conversations like this and now corporations are coming into it. And I think that the corporate social responsibility that's incumbent upon them to look at issues through this framework, whether it be because they know that they have consumers in these countries and it's important to them to help people there meet these basic needs or whether it is something that can also, their stewardship and support of issues like this can help the bottom line. So I think we have to rally them to reach the more democratized audience. And so people can still make donations to kind of jumpstart these innovations and markets. And then hopefully we can even work with some of these brands to figure out how to democratize the loan program so people can make loans and maybe we can tie that in with some brand partners. So Matt, is the focus going to continue to be over the next few years really on democratizing or addressing this challenge through access to finance? Or are you also looking at other innovations specifically using technology to provide access to water? Well, we'll keep doing what we've been doing really successfully with these financial models. But then, but without a doubt we're always looking for the next thing. So it's a two-pronged approach. What could be the next big idea? That's always the question, you know what I mean? And so we have a whole new Ventures Fund where part of what we do is take these ideas and pilot them and see what actually works. We kind of, very much like water credit, had we not tested it in the real world and put real resources behind it, it would have just been a theory. So as of now, we know that there's this low-hanging fruit where there's this appetite, there's this demand for these loans. So we're just trying to get as many of these loans out as we can because that's a very tangible way to run the numbers out. Yeah, and I think that the new Ventures Fund that you referenced, I mean that new Ventures Fund is a pool of philanthropic capital that we've raised that help us to do R&D basically. You just don't think of NGOs as having an R&D fund. And yet we, many NGOs need that, if not all, I mean corporates have that. And so we wouldn't have been able to discover some of these insights, have some of these insights and shape the solutions unless we had that support. And I think that as we move forward, that's gonna continue to be our innovation engine. I mean, a great example of that that we're tapping into with water equity and water credit is like, what if we wanted to go beyond microfinance? We don't necessarily believe that we're gonna get water to everybody through microfinance institutions. There are lots of other enterprises out there that are struggling, that are trying to serve the base of the pyramid needs of water and sanitation either through designing and bringing to market low cost toilets, the supply chains for the pipes and the other infrastructure that needs to go in and people selling and manufacturing water filters to treat water. So with water equity, that fund will actually have a 10% carve out of that 50 million that will be for these frontier investments so that we can test providing capital to these other types of enterprises that are serving the base of the pyramid needs. And that's kind of what's next, I think, for us. Any exciting pilot projects that you wanna run us? Well, I was just in Cambodia just a few weeks ago and I met some of these private water utilities. They get these concessions from the government to supply water to these areas that are more outlying and people that are really committed to serving the needs of the poor there that are starved for capital. So they have the water treatment plant, they have some infrastructure but they wanna spread the infrastructure out to more users but they're so capital constrained. I mean, I've talked to utilities in Africa that were paying 33% for capital. Imagine a utility in the US issuing a bond for 33%. You just can't make it happen. So we're looking at these small utilities and again, they're regulated by the government. They have to charge fair rates but if we can get them the capital that they need they could double the number of people living in poverty that could get access to a water connection. What about the infrastructure deficit and a lot of these countries that you work in, countries like India, Cambodia, et cetera. There is that infrastructure deficit which is the big elephant in the room that you have to deal with. You're trying to address the access to finance problem but do you see the infrastructure deficit as being the big stumbling block? Well look, there are some people for whom only a subsidy driven model will work. But our argument is that it's not this entire pyramid that everybody, that there's market segmentation that there, and there's a huge swath that you can reach with this finance model, right? But if you go to rural Ethiopia and yeah, I mean, there's, nobody's gonna put pipes out there, you know? And for some people, we would just argue a much smaller percent of that at the basic economic period, a subsidy driven model would really be your only solution. So Gary, how do you address that? If no one wants to go down to Ethiopia and put pipes down, how do you in that sense get to the 663 million people? Yeah, because we, I mean, our vision is that we can be the generation that solves the water crisis. And that means everyone. I think when you kind of unpack the economic pyramid, you recognize that there's, you know, literally hundreds of millions of people who could get their solution through things like finance, but then there's the extreme poor and that's where the subsidy model comes in. It is the responsibility of governments to provide that infrastructure even if it is in extremely rural areas. Now, that's not piped water to every house, but it's a well-maintained safe water pump that's covered that people can then walk a reasonable distance to get access to water. So I think that there are a variety of solutions that allow us to get this done, but the concept is we've gotta get past this conventional wisdom that's gonna take charity to solve it for everyone. If we can take the funds that would have otherwise been directed to those who could afford to pay, you know, those philanthropic funds could be redirected from there to people who really need that subsidy. Then I think it's gonna be a much more solvable problem. You know, so for people sitting in this room, if they wanna get involved, if they wanna contribute in some way, what would you say, Matt, you know, what should they be doing? What should they be thinking of? Besides starting to drink Stella beer. Yes, besides starting to drink, I'm gonna grab one right after this, by the way. Well, you can always go to water.org and make a donation, you know, and follow our work. And I mean, I can say as somebody who's been doing this for a little while that it is one of the most complex and fascinating problems facing our world and it's really, really interesting. And so you can just maybe start doing a deeper dive at our website and start learning more about it. I can only promise you it's endlessly fascinating, but that would be a good place to start. Gary? Yeah, I think, you know, becoming more aware of this issue, you know, like Matt says, it certainly, we still need philanthropic support in order to correct these market failures and discover the new innovation. So we'd like people to donate to water.org so we can discover the next big thing. But then also once we get our platform up, I think engaging by making a loan and kind of following how that has impact and sharing it with other people. That's one of the things that I hope that platform can do. You know, I can imagine once we get that up, somebody could gift, you know, their family or friend for the holidays alone, you know, that then they can track. And you know, our market research and our hope is that once people do that, even though they have the opportunity to take their money out after that first loan and get repaid, that they'll continue to reinvest it and help more people get access to water. What's the average loan size just so that everyone can plan their holiday gifting ideas? It's about $217 now. $217. Roughly. Roughly, okay. Okay. All right, I'm gonna throw this open for questions. I can see lots of hands here. Yes, the lady in the... Yes, right, thank you. I'm Ms. Mariana Hilad. I'm a global shaper from the Cordoba Hub in Argentina. And I wanted to ask you about the role of youth. We talk briefly about the role of government and corporate sector and about the Stella Challenge, which I can accept. You've got a lot of people accepting the Stella Challenge badge. Yeah, I have two of the glasses back home. So I wanted to ask you, if you think that the involvement of youth in the solution, not just buying beer, but actually the solution, it's important to solving this problem. And if so, if Water.org does have a strategy to actually involve youth in these communities to work on water access projects, thank you. Thank you. Great question. Yeah, that next generation is absolutely critical to us. And I mean, just look at how empowered you guys are to shape the behavior of these corporations, not only your respective governments, but also these corporations. I mean, you've got these big corporations like paying attention to their consumer base. And if their consumer base lets them know that these issues are important to them, you'll activate that corporation and it'll be this kind of virtuous circle where the corporation, where say someone like Stella Artois, we want their bottom line to be affected. We really hope that their customer base goes, you know what, I like to go to the pub on Friday night and I was gonna order, but I'm gonna order this type of beer because this is actually gonna make a difference in somebody's life. And so I think you have a huge amount, wield a huge amount of power and everybody's watching what you guys do. Yeah, and I think the shapers, the social entrepreneurs that are here, I'm a swab social entrepreneur in a school, social entrepreneur. So I completely get the power of ideas that are out there among those communities. And I think never has it been easier to kind of activate around an idea. And I think for us, we want, first of all, we see a lot of individuals that are already coming into solving this problem, either through organizations that they create or working in some of these partners that we work with around the country and the nationals of those countries that work in these microfinance institutions that are open to new ideas. The hopefully the shapers and the entrepreneurs and others who are starting these enterprises that maybe need capital from water equity and could be funded with an investment in that way. So I think that's critical. I mean, we're in the business of ideas. I mean, water equity is an innovation of water.org and it's gonna be a spin-off into its own entity. And so we value those kinds of game-changing ideas. Gary, I'm glad that you talked about social entrepreneurship and we've been partnering in India with the Schwab Foundation for the social entrepreneur awards for the last 15 odd years now. And as someone who's been doing this now for 25 years, you've been a social entrepreneur, what is the message that you would like to give to other young entrepreneurs who are looking at social entrepreneurship specifically? I think what I would say is that really, if you feel drawn to an issue and you feel like you have a key insight, then I think that's the first step. I think, and it has to be your passion, the saying that I love, it's your life should be about finding the intersection of your greatest passion and the world's greatest need. So there hasn't been a social entrepreneur yet who succeeded, who didn't have great passion about the issue that they're working on. But that's not enough. You have to really test your idea to the insight that you have to make sure that somebody else isn't doing it, right? Don't be afraid to grab on to others that maybe have pioneered something that you can come in and kind of nudge one way or the other. You don't necessarily have to create an organization whole cloth. Water credit's a great example of that. Yeah, yeah, water credit is just nudging a system that's already there and that can be hugely beneficial. And I think that once you get that insight, then you have to build the evidence base to debunk the conventional wisdom so that you can then have that evidence base to go find the funding to scale up because all social entrepreneurs need that access to capital as well to scale their ideas. What's been the hardest part of being a social entrepreneur? It's been the hardest. I don't know. It's, I would probably have to say not being certain of the future that you envision. And I think one of my greatest fears was that I might give up, right? And that, but I didn't, you know? And I think it's you're inherently an optimist because if you had told me it was gonna take as long to get to where I am today, I might not have started but I was always convincing myself that it happened much faster. I mean, 25 years, I think we have the global water crisis solved by now, right? But it's a humbling experience to see that not everybody is gonna see in the same way the insight in the change that you're trying to bring about but if you believe deeply enough and you decide to keep pushing. More questions? Yes, go ahead. Hi, I'm JD Bunsell. I'm a global shaper from Chandigarh in India and I'm involved in the electrification of the remotest villages in the Himalayas. People who have never seen what a light bulb is, we provide them energy access using solar micro grids. My question to you is, where do you see the innovation in clean drinking water technology coming from? Is it a more push from the governments or is it the private sector or nobody cares about the innovation? Well, we hope somebody does care about the innovation. Go ahead. Well, I have no doubt that there are going to be technologies that emerge and there'll be game changers in this and I'm not averse to technology. I have three engineering degrees myself, right? But what I find is that the innovations that need to happen and need to be more around finance at this point, right? Because there's already water being treated somewhere and especially in the urban and peri-urban areas and getting into pipes and that technology hasn't changed a whole lot in the last 100 years. But we get people coming to us all the time that have the silver bullet idea of the technology and largely we find that when you do the numbers on it, it's still too expensive to really serve the base of the pyramid where we're looking at. That doesn't mean that we're going to be indifferent to this. We'll continue to look at those and see if there are ones that can truly be game changers. But for now, it really seems to be leveling the playing field for the poor getting them access to the same water supply system that the middle class and the wealthy have in these areas. Yes, sir, go ahead. My name is Alou Ashim Daniel, a global shaper from Abu Jhabi, Nigeria. And my question is what role does education play in maintaining this access? Because from my experience, taps, water filters, even toilets, they break down. So what role does water does all play in ensuring that this access lasts the lifetime? Great question, because I think the statistic is that half of all water projects worldwide fail. And I remember, whoop, geez, he's been speaking of wasting water. I remember being in Ethiopia with Gary seven years ago or eight years ago. And there was, we were in this very rural area and there was a hand dug well that the water literally was the color of chocolate milk. It was just so dirty and these children were filling up these two liter bottles to take them to school. And it was very hard to watch, because you knew there was very high degree certainty that they were gonna get sick, but they needed to have water to survive. And about 20 meters from this hand dug well that this whole village was using, there was this state-of-the-art hand pump that was just gathering dust. And it had come from an Indian NGO and it was probably a $10,000 pump, but as in many of these cases, it had been put in and left. And so when it broke down or needed some part, obviously there was no hardware store around with this part. So it just kind of went to seed and just sat there. And so you see a lot of that, a lot of these, this direct impact programming that isn't really quite thought out and doesn't really get enough community buy-in from the community it's meant to serve. And a big part of that is educating the people who are gonna run it on how to use it and how to fix it. And that's just something you see over and over again is this issue of kind of really well-intended efforts that kind of aren't thought through all the way. Yeah, and I think that it's that collaboration between the community itself who has to be equipped to be able to do that basic maintenance, but then also backstop by government that where more expensive repairs are needed. So again, it's a bottom-up and top-down that everybody has that goal of maintaining the infrastructure once it's in place. I think the important thing also about water credit and the fact that we're taking this market-driven approach and that so many of these infrastructure projects are just gifted to people without consulting them about, is this the toilet that they want? Is this the hand pump that's best for them? Does this best meet their needs? Do they want just a latrine with some bamboo wrapper around it for privacy? Or do they want an improved toilet with concrete blocks and are they willing to pay for that? So the key with water credit is that nobody is gonna take out a loan for a water sanitation solution that's not right for them. So it almost makes this inherently sustainable, the fact that people are getting the solutions that they want, they're invested in it, they'll maintain it, and then they also can also stage this. A lot of people will take out a loan for a simple toilet and then they'll come back and take out another loan to have a bathing area next to it. So it allows them, and this is so important, it allows them the dignity and the power to be able to get the solutions that are gonna best meet their needs. And I think that goes a long way towards the sustainability issue that the sector faces. So they're customizing their solutions themselves. I have two minutes for the last question. I give that side two chances, so yes, go ahead. Hi, good afternoon, my name's Carla Delantar. I'm a global shapers from the Swab in the Philippines. So I run a non-profit as well. I'm the country director for Waze Through Water, so we provide access to clean drinking water in the most remote locations in the Philippines. So where we've been talking points on technological advances, we're talking about the proof of concept, it's already working. So with our mission to actually providing access to clean drinking water all around the world, my question is how does this delay if climate change is a big issue nowadays? Oh. How does it? You've got 30 seconds. How does it... How it relates to climate change, is the question? Yeah, yeah. Well, it's yet to be fully seen. I think that any time that you have, with climate change, you're gonna have shifting weather patterns and you're gonna have too much precipitation in one place and not enough in another and that's gonna cause dislocations in all kinds of ways. I think flooding that's going to contaminate wells, when you get all this runoff with fecal matter around, that contaminates wells, rising sea levels going to cause wells that would otherwise produce fresh water to be producing salt water for people. So it really is going to run the gamut. I think what we can be most certain of is that it's going to disproportionately affect the poor, because they're the ones that always seem to not have the resources to cope with these things. And I think that kind of brings me back around to just what we're seeing, I think, emerging in this annual meeting is how important income disparity is and we have to wake up to that. The New York Times article yesterday, the sixth wealthiest people, now controlling half of the world's wealth are more than equaling the bottom half. Equaling the bottom half. Equaling the bottom half, yeah. But to me, there's no greater manifestation of that than water, right? Because if you are poor, nothing else matters except getting water today. And nothing else exemplifies that disparity more than us having access to water without even thinking about it and this bottom half not having it at all. And to me, this is what income disparity is all about and why we need to tackle it. And again, knowing that it's inherently solvable. Okay, Levi, thank you very much for your optimism and thank you very much for waging this battle for 25 years. Matt Damon, you've inspired everyone in this room to go out there and get a stellar. But what about proceeds from the next Matt Damon movie? Can we see proceeds being used? Can we see proceeds being used to try and solve this crisis? Well, that you have to take up with the studio. I don't know how receptive they'll be to that. But no, the consumers have a lot of power with what they spend their movie tickets on too. So yeah, who knows, maybe there's a way to bake it into some of that too. Matt Damon, Gary, Levi, thank you very much for joining us here. Thank you very much, I appreciate it. Thank you, all right. All right.