Issue #3. Rethinking Marketing: How Don U’wawele is Disrupting Traditional Marketing With an Eco-Friendly Advertising Solution.

In 2023, Don U’wawele joined Stanbic Bank as part of its incubator program, a platform dedicated to nurturing and empowering small and medium enterprises (SMEs) across Uganda.

Through his role, Don became deeply immersed in the world of entrepreneurship, engaging with a diverse array of businesses at various stages of growth.

 The incubator served as a hub for innovation and collaboration, offering participants access to mentorship, technical training, and critical resources to help them overcome challenges and scale their operations sustainably. 

This environment not only allowed Don to witness the transformative impact of the program but also positioned him as a key contributor to fostering economic growth through enterprise development.

During his time at the incubator, Don interacted with entrepreneurs from industries ranging from agriculture to technology, each bringing unique ideas and solutions to the table. 

These interactions provided him with valuable insights into the hurdles faced by SMEs, including limited access to funding, markets, and business management skills. Despite a plethora of challenges, there is one key challenge that stuck with Don. 

 “Many of these businesses spent a significant part of their revenue on marketing,” he tells ClimateOS Africa as we kick off our conversation. “But traditional marketing is no longer efficient”. 

“Businesses need to see value from their marketing efforts, and this was lacking with traditional marketing channels. If you are spending money as a marketeer, you need to be able to realise some key gains,” he adds. 

Don’s work was cut out. He wanted to find the best way to market to anyone. To achieve this, he began to think of billboards that were not static but could reach various people in various locations, and this is how he ended up with MyWater. 

MyWater is a Ugandan startup that innovatively transforms Tetra Pak containers into unique marketing real estate, making ads meaningful while promoting water conservation and sustainability. 

How it works is simple. MyWater fills tetra paks with drinkable natural water. It then distributes this water free of charge. The tetra pak has four sides, and each side bears an ad for a partner. The ad comes with a QR code that one can scan, which helps MyWater’s accountability to the advertisers. 

Last year, MyWater ran its first pilot of its product. “I managed to raise $3,000 from my shareholders for this pilot. We had eight clients that included SafeBoda, Jumia, FlexiPay by Stanbic Bank, Next Media and FoodHub by Cafe Javas among others. From the pilot itself, we made tens of thousands of dollars in revenue. “

Apart from bringing in some revenue, the pilot was also successful on other fronts. “We were able to prove that our tech works. We were able to track the locations of the tetra paks, and the people who scanned the QR Codes were able to get their rewards from our partners. We ended up reaching 2,600 people from just 600 tetra packs, with a conversion rate of 33%.” 

Don's decision to use tetra paks was a smart decision. “The advertisement space on round plastic bottles is limited. But with a tetra pak, we can sell advertisement space on four different sides. As a business, this gives us the power to generate more revenue. In Uganda, tetra paks are usually associated with milk and other drinks like Splash, but not water.”

Using tetra paks was a rare case of business goals, meeting environmental goals. Sustainability is a key aspect of MyWater. “No business should make profits at the expense of the environment, and at MyWater, this principle drives everything we do. This is why we decided to use tetra paks over plastic bottles.” 

Tetra Paks are significantly better for the environment than plastic bottles in terms of carbon emissions and resource efficiency. Producing Tetra Pak requires far less energy compared to plastic bottles, with studies showing that a one-liter Tetra Pak carton has a carbon footprint of 77-103 g CO2e/liter, while a PET plastic bottle's footprint is around 350 g CO2e/liter. 

Additionally, Tetra Paks are lighter to transport and can be shipped flat when empty, allowing for more efficient logistics and reduced transportation emissions. Their regular shape also maximizes space during shipping, further minimizing their environmental impact145.

Plastic bottles, on the other hand, contribute heavily to pollution and degrade with each recycling cycle, limiting their reusability. 

While Tetra Paks contain some plastic elements, they are made primarily from renewable materials like paperboard sourced from managed forests, which absorb carbon dioxide during tree growth. This makes them more sustainable over their life cycle. 

Furthermore, Tetra Paks require less water to produce, only 200 ml for a 500 ml carton compared to 1-2 liters for a plastic bottle, making them a more eco-friendly choice overall. 

However, Tetra Paks do not easily decompose in natural environments due to their multi-layered structure, which combines paperboard, plastic, and aluminum, requiring specialized recycling processes to break them down effectively. 

Don recognizes this. “As we move forward, we are committed to recycling our tetra paks. We can save so much money if we can recycle these tetra paks by collecting, cleaning, refilling them with water and putting ads on them before redistributing them again. I think that will be our next stage in building an eco-friendly company,” he concludes. 

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