Advizzo is absolutely delighted to have been awarded additional funding to complete a behavioural change project in partnership with AEGA, one of the biggest water companies in Brazil, that had been disrupted by Covid-19. The 24-month project was due to be completed in June 2020, but when Covid struck and customer and utility company behaviour shifted dramatically, our trials and results were seriously affected. The additional grant will enable us to complete the trials and obtain statistically significant results in terms of customer debt reduction and fraud reduction, and water-saving for customers in Brazil – and potentially develop a prototype for a viable product for the global utility market.
The Newton Fund develops science and innovation partnerships that promote the economic development and welfare of collaborating countries. The original grant was funding a project that would enable Advizzo to demonstrate that a behavioural and data science approach combined with a cloud-based customer engagement software solution could help tackle four important areas affecting Brazilian household’s : access to clean water; customer debt; fraud propensity; and household water consumption. You can read more about the original grant and the Proof of Concept (PoC) project on how Advizzo has helped solve access to clean water in Brazil
Whilst our project’s objectives remain unchanged, there’s no getting away from the fact that when the global pandemic arrived, consumer behaviour changed in ways and at a scale that could not have been foreseen. This significantly affected the results of the Proof of Concept (PoC) as we had no experience or knowledge of ‘new’ behaviour patterns and our approach had to be altered.
The additional funding will enable Advizzo to continue the PoC for another 6 months under the ‘new normal’. We’ll bring all the Covid-19 challenges and learning into the program, which we hope will enable us to develop demonstrable results and benefits for our Brazilian utility partner AEGEA.
“This project is extremely significant to us, because for the first time we are applying principles that we know work on reducing water and energy consumption, but this time we are extending our program into the realm of reducing customer debt and fraud – something we hope will unlock additional opportunities for us with our existing clients and prospects, both in the UK and overseas.”
Julien Lancha, CCO, Advizzo