EZPack: Deliver water where it is needed

In our new format “Why my Business matters” we are interviewing entrepreneurs who are conducting a Security Token Offering (STO) as a means to raise funds for their company. The goal is to learn about the businesses behing the STO, undestanding their product and business model

This week we are welcoming Alex Harel, CEO of EZPack,

on a mission to “deliver water where it is needed”

Enjoy the Interview.

What problem is EZPack addressing?

EZPack Water is addressing the need of water delivery both for emergency situations such as fighting wildfires, or contaminated municipal drinking water, or by providing new delivery solutions to the millions of people in urban areas throughout the developing world.

What is your solution to this problem?

To this end EZPack has developed a blockchain based Water App to facilitate water access for all. Our Water App is a secure and reliable pre-paid billing system. This App ensures the municipal providers are paid so that they can maintain their water supply. The App aslo includes also links to micro-financing tools, that the user can use to pay for the water credit

The system is first being deployed to 500,000 households in East Africa, and then can easily be rolled out in any city or village with cellular phone service. The system includes the following elements:

i) Wireless pre-paid water meters installed at every household.

ii) A cellphone app enabling the customer to order and pay for water on their cellphone account. The app has incorporated a water credit micro financing tool.

iii) Blockchain smart contract that will manage the payment and the water allocation.

iv) Water management system, for managing and analyzing the data for the water supplier.

In which stage of development is your product?

For the Water App the roll-out is progressing through ongoing collaboration with local water authorities to implement the first 500,000 homes. For the US based emergency service contracts, we continue to work through the procurement process with several state and federal agencies.

What is your business model, how do you make money?

EZPack® is paid on the emergency service delivery business with both a readiness retainer and for actual water delivery. The Water App is offered as a turn-key project, where we finance the project on 10-year contracts with a percentage of the water revenues. The percent is between 5–10%, depending on the project structure. For every 100,000 households, with average monthly consumption of $20, the yearly revenues are between $1.2–2.4 million, on an investment of $8 million (including the meters), which yields over the 10-year contract a profit of $14–16 million.

How big is the market you are addressing?

The market is very big, with the entire developing world as an addressable market. In sub-Sahara Africa alone there are 900 million people today and expected 50 percent more by 2050. Dated 2004 World Health Organization estimates only 16% of people in sub-Saharan Africa had access to drinking water through a household connection.

Who are your main competitors and what makes you better?

Currently no-one is offering wireless pre-paid water billing system based on blockchain.

Why did you choose doing an STO as a means to raise funds?

We believe Security Token Offerings through Inportal’s INPR protocol provide investors with transparency, security and liquidity. In particular, through the INPR protocol we are assured of:

i) compliance — smart contracts make it possible to write ownership and law directly into a token, the token can execute, regulate and govern itself, and can automate dividend payments and shareholder voting.

ii) liquidity –found through standardized trading contracts on Inportal’s liquidity venues including off-shore non-US exchanges.

iii) having an on-ledger capital stack has the added benefits of; reducing back office costs, simplifying accounting and auditing processes, reducing complexity and paperwork with managing securities, lowering issuance fees by removing the middleman investment banks from transactions.

How much money do you need to realize your project?

We have an immediate need to close on a $500,000 convertible bond offering as the first tranche of a total raise of $5 million.

Which successful entrepreneur/investor do you follow to improve your learning curve?

I learn from just about everyone I meet. You can meet entrepreneurs and investors in many occasions: road shows, pitch meetings, conferences, and business meetings etc. In every such event I meet people that I can learn from the experience and their wisdom.

What’s the best advice you’ve recently received?

The most important advice is to raise funds when you can and not when you need. For a start-up, the most important thing is cash-flow. If you have a good technology/product and good people to work with, eventually you will succeed. But you need to have the capital resources to do it.

Where do you see your company in 5 years?

I believe that within 5 years EZPack will either be a listed company or an acquisition target with an enterprise value approaching $100 million.

This will be achieved through EZPack’s scalable silos for growth:

i) the water storage, distribution and transportation products,

ii) our innovative proprietary solar water heating system, and,

iii) the pre-paid blockchain water App.

Thank you for the Interview!

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