Metering as a Service (MaaS) - A practical path to financial sustainability for African water utilities

Water utilities across Africa face growing pressures: ageing infrastructure, climate stress, urbanisation, and rising demand, while financial constraints limit modernisation. According to the United Nations, global water stress reached 18% in 2022, with some regions in North Africa and West Asia exceeding 75%. The World Bank projects water demand could rise 20–30% by 2050, making efficient, data-driven operations increasingly critical.

Smart metering is widely recognised as a solution to improve visibility into consumption, leakage, and billing. Yet adoption remains uneven, particularly in emerging markets, due to high upfront capital expenditure (CapEx). Many utilities remain trapped in a cycle of ageing infrastructure, operational inefficiency, and declining revenue.

In January 2026, Hangzhou LAISON Technology Co., Ltd. (LAISON) released its Metering as a Service (MaaS) White Paper 2026, introducing an innovative model that shifts from 'selling products' to 'delivering service outcomes'. 

Under this approach, utilities subscribe to a long-term service—typically 6–10 years—that includes smart meters, communication networks, data management platforms, installation, and ongoing operation. Payments are structured as operational expenditure (OpEx), often linked to system performance metrics such as meter connectivity or data availability.

This model delivers multiple benefits:

• Lower financial barriers: Utilities can modernise without incurring significant debt or upfront investment.
• Risk sharing: Service providers take on technology and lifecycle risks, ensuring high operational performance.
• Predictable costs: Long-term OpEx improves financial planning and creditworthiness.

Beyond finance, MaaS enables digital water operations. Smart meters using NB-IoT, LoRaWAN, or cellular IoT generate continuous consumption data, feeding cloud platforms that support leak detection, demand forecasting, and advanced analytics. Integration with mobile payment systems enhances revenue collection, particularly in regions where mobile transactions dominate, while reducing labour-intensive manual meter reading.

Successful MaaS deployments rely on an ecosystem approach: technology providers supply meters and platforms, telecom operators provide connectivity, financiers fund initial deployment, and local partners handle installation, maintenance, and customer engagement. This collaboration allows utilities to access expertise and resources that would otherwise be difficult to build internally.

Early results confirm the model’s effectiveness. In small communities in New Mexico, MaaS-based smart metering reduced Non-Revenue Water by 28%, improved billing collection from 65% to over 90%, and strengthened monthly cash flows—achieved without large upfront investment. Operators gained real-time data for proactive network management, demonstrating how MaaS can overcome traditional adoption barriers.

By combining technology, financing, and operational expertise into a single service framework, MaaS enables smart infrastructure deployment without the traditional CapEx burden, improves financial resilience, and accelerates digital transformation.

It could play a critical role in advancing the modernization of Africa’s water sector while supporting sustainable water management.

For further details or to request a copy of the MaaS White Paper 2026, please contact: [email protected]

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