So Pure, a growing Sierra Leonean business supplying customers with clean drinking water, has secured over US$2.5 million in new financing following technical assistance and investor facilitation support from Invest Salone, a UK-funded private sector development programme.
Founded in 2014, So Pure initially focused on 0.5-litre sachet water, but has since expanded its product range. In addition, it is producing recycled packaging from waste materials and has integrated its supply chain by establishing a state-of-the-art factory producing its own packaging materials and selling excess supply to competitors.
The company’s investment journey began in 2023, following a country visit by the Africa Resilience Investment Accelerator (ARIA), facilitated by Invest Salone. To lay the groundwork for future investment, Invest Salone worked with So Pure to provide targeted technical assistance aimed at strengthening the company’s business planning and financial management.
As part of this support, Invest Salone also facilitated introductions to potential financiers including Zvilo and Ecobank, generating active investor engagement.
In 2025, Invest Salone played a further role in enabling a transaction with Zvilo by co-financing the company’s due diligence process. This support, delivered through Invest Salone’s investment readiness technical assistance facility, helped unlock a US$250,000 working-capital facility, strengthening So Pure’s operational capacity.
Following this, So Pure leveraged the technical support and preparation to successfully pitch to Ecobank. The result was a major breakthrough – a US$2.3 million investment in 2025, secured to drive the company’s growth.
The investments have helped deliver measurable results. So Pure’s workforce increased from 200 jobs in 2023 to more than 400 in 2025, with women representing 40% of staff and youth employment reaching 85%. Production capacity has doubled from 30,000 bundles of sachet water per day to more than 60,000 bundles per day, while net profit margins increased from 10% to 20%.
The company’s new waste recycling model now processes 31 tonnes of plastic waste per month, contributing to reduced pollution and cleaner communities.
A spokesperson for So Pure said:
This investment is a major step forward for So Pure and for our mission to deliver safe, affordable drinking water to communities across Sierra Leone. The technical assistance and investor readiness support we received helped strengthen our systems and sharpen our growth strategy, and we are now in a stronger position to scale production, create jobs and expand into sustainable packaging and recycling.
Pooja Melwani, Invest Salone, said: “This investment marks a major milestone not only for So Pure, but also for Sierra Leone’s broader push to build a pipeline of investment-ready local enterprises. It demonstrates how structured technical assistance, combined with strategic investor matchmaking, can unlock substantial capital for promising businesses.”
“So Pure’s before-and-after journey reflects how early-stage gap identification, strong financial planning and credible investor engagement can transform a growing company into a serious contender for large-scale financing.”
Discover more about So Pure’s investment journey and the investment impact with these resources:
