Edwin Broni-Mensah
As a student of Applied Maths at the University of Manchester back in 2009, Edwin Broni-Mensah used to like nothing more than getting away from the books and into the fresh air for some fitness. 
His energetic regime meant he drank lots of water, but he resented having to keep buying new bottles and wished he could just pop into a local cafe for a refill.
“But, there was this stigma with asking for tap water," he says. "I felt awkward and I found myself continually buying new bottles,” he recalls. “It seemed crazy when there is a clean, free supply from the tap. And, I felt especially bad when millions of people around the world have no access to clean water.”
The predicament led him to create a social enterprise called Give Me Tap. The idea was simple – a person buys a one-off £7 branded aluminium bottle from his company, and participating restaurants and cafes will fill that person’s bottle up with free water whenever they like.
As well as helping to reduce pollution and waste, the company gives 70% of its profits to water projects in the developing world.
Currently, Give Me Tap is supporting the All4One Namibia Water Project, which is drilling a borehole to deliver clean water to 1,200 people in the Namibian Kalihari area. As well as providing drinking water, it will enable local people to irrigate vegetable farms.
Cafe committment
For cafes and restaurants in the UK, signing up to Give Me Tap shows they are committed to supporting these social and environmental goals. They may be losing out on bottled water sales, but Edwin says only a few have declined to take part and the majority immediately “get” where he’s coming from.
Today, just over a year after it launched in Manchester, more than 40 restaurants and cafés across the city have agreed to sign up to Give Me Tap. Edwin is now in the process of expanding the business to London and there are even plans for soft trials in France, the Netherlands and Ireland. He is also working on a new iPhone app which will allow people to see the location of their nearest free tap.
“My ambition is that you will never be more than a few minutes' walk from a cafe which will happily refill your water bottle for free,” says the 25-year-old.
A string of awards and prizes have helped Edwin get his social business off the ground and organise his expansion plans. It all began early in 2010 when UnLtd, the foundation for social entrepreneurs, awarded him start-up funding of £2,900. A further £1,000 soon followed – thanks to winning Shell's LiveWIRE Grand Idea programme. He subsequently secured his biggest pot of funding - a total of £15,000 from the Arthur Guinness Fund.
The tap team
As well as financial support, these awards have brought Edwin into contact with a wealth of experienced social entrepreneurs. He currently works with a development manager, a business mentor, a branding coach and PR specialists.
“I’m the only person working full-time on this at the moment, but I have fantastic support,” says Edwin. “And as well my mentors, there are four people volunteering their time.”
He can also point to a flurry of personal accolades. Edwin was cited as one of the top 50 'brightest and boldest' and 'ones to watch for 2011' in the North of England by the Institute of Public Policy and Research (IPPR). He has also been named as the most outstanding black student in Britain by Future Leaders magazine.
Now his course has finished, Edwin is devoting all his energy to Give Me Tap. With the support of his team, his is aim is to cease being a sole trader, and become a registered company, with a foundation arm attached for the business to pay money into.
He is entrepreneurial and ambitious in equal amounts and has powerful goals for his enterprise over the coming years. “My target is to help 10,000 people to access water in the next year and by 2015, I want to have helped one million people get more access.” And, with such a sellable idea, why not aim high?
Connect
www.givemetap.co.uk