Nairobi Water and Sewerage Company is emerging as a leading example of how Geographic Information System (GIS) technology and digital innovation can transform the management and delivery of essential public services.

The utility was recently recognised with the prestigious GIS Excellence Award, also referred to as the Customer Success Award, by Esri Eastern Africa during the East Africa Water Utilities Transformation Forum in Mombasa. The recognition celebrates Nairobi Water’s outstanding use of geospatial intelligence and digital technologies to improve infrastructure management, field operations, customer service, billing efficiency, and decision-making.

To officially present the award, a high-level delegation from Esri Eastern Africa, led by Esri Inc. Managing Director Dean Angelides, paid a courtesy visit to Nairobi Water. The delegation met with the utility’s leadership and technical teams, including Managing Director Martin Nang’ole, Ag. ICT Director Jimmy Thuo, Corporate Affairs and Liaison Manager James Karanja, Ag. Database Manager Sam Obilo, Survey Coordinator Kimani Stanley, GIS Officers Marvin Musumba and Lucy Mamai, and GIS Assistant Paul Wachira.

The award places Nairobi Water among a select group of utilities and organisations using GIS and digital technologies to address complex operational challenges and improve service delivery.

For Nairobi Water, the recognition comes at a time when cities across Africa are facing rapid urbanisation, ageing infrastructure, increasing demand for reliable water services, and growing pressure to improve efficiency while reducing operational costs.

Over the past several years, the utility has invested strategically in enterprise GIS and digital technologies, fundamentally changing the way it manages customer information and its extensive water and sewerage infrastructure. Through comprehensive digital mapping initiatives, thousands of customer connections have been mapped alongside critical infrastructure, including water pipelines, sewer lines, valves, reservoirs, and other assets.

This has provided engineers, planners, and decision-makers with a clearer and more accurate view of the city’s water distribution network. With access to spatial information, teams can plan more effectively, monitor infrastructure, prioritise investments, and respond more quickly to operational incidents. One of the most significant developments has been the integration of GIS with Nairobi Water’s Meter Reading System. Using spatial intelligence, meter readers can navigate directly to customer locations, reducing the time spent searching for properties and improving the accuracy and coverage of meter-reading operations. The integration has helped improve field efficiency and accountability while supporting revenue assurance through more reliable billing data.

GIS has also become a critical tool for network management, asset planning, maintenance, and infrastructure expansion. By bringing together location-based information and operational data, the utility is better positioned to make informed decisions, deploy resources precisely, and manage its growing infrastructure more effectively.

The organisation’s digital transformation has also placed a strong focus on improving the customer experience. Through its Customer Complaint Management System, customers can log complaints, track their progress, and receive updates throughout the resolution process. When integrated with GIS, complaints can be geographically referenced, enabling operational teams to identify affected areas, prioritise responses, and deploy resources more efficiently.

The utility has also introduced a Customer Contracting Portal, which allows customers to initiate and track applications for new water and sewerage connections digitally. The platform reduces paperwork, improves transparency, and helps shorten service delivery timelines. These digital platforms are helping Nairobi Water become more responsive and accessible while improving visibility across its operations.

“This recognition is not just about technology, it’s a testament to our unwavering commitment to serving Nairobi better. We are increasingly embracing smart technologies to improve operational efficiency,” said Nairobi Water Managing Director Martin Nang’ole. He added that the company’s investments in GIS, smart technologies, data analytics, and digital platforms are helping ensure that decisions are driven by real-time information, resources are deployed with precision, and customers are kept informed and empowered.

Esri Inc. Managing Director Dean Angelides said GIS has become indispensable in modern water utility management. “Applying GIS and spatial technologies allows water utilities to plan more accurately, maintain systems faster, and monitor infrastructure to ensure operational efficiency and long-term sustainability,” he said.

For years, water utilities across Africa and around the world have grappled with challenges such as inaccurate customer data, difficulties tracking assets, inefficient field operations, revenue leakages, and delayed responses to service disruptions. Nairobi Water’s sustained investment in GIS and digital tools is helping the utility confront these challenges and evolve into a more modern, data-driven organisation.

The GIS Excellence Award therefore represents more than recognition of a technology project. It reflects Nairobi Water’s broader transformation into a smarter utility; one that uses data, location intelligence, and digital platforms to improve how it plans, operates, responds, and serves its customers.

As the company continues to expand its digital capabilities and explore emerging technologies, innovation remains central to its service delivery mandate. For Nairobi Water, the award is not the end of the journey, but a milestone in a longer-term ambition to build a more efficient, resilient, and customer-focused water utility for Nairobi.

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