CNN interview with Ludwick Marishane

CNN INTERVIEW

CNN's African Start-Up caught up with Marishane to speak about DryBath, his plans for the future and why he doesn't shower on the last weekend of September every year

CNN: How would you describe DryBath to someone who's never used it before?

Ludwick Marishane: DryBath is a bath-substituting gel, designed to replace the need for soap, water and skin lotion. DryBath provides its users with a fun and convenient alternative to traditional bathing and showering, a precious tool for helping people to lower the excessive water use that is leading to a looming global water crisis.

CNN: What are DryBath's ingredients?

Ludwick Marishane : It is a proprietary blend of cleansers and moisturizers that make it a uniquely viscous blend of bioflavonoids, natural emollients, and fruit acids to cleanse the skin, while preventing dryness, irritation and body odour.

CNN: Can you talk about your company's social goals?

Ludwick Marishane: As it stands, there are almost two billion people in the world without adequate access to water and sanitation, all while people in urban societies consume an average of 80 litres of water every time they bathe/shower. It is our goal for DryBath, and other products like it, to change the way society practices personal hygiene, and to provide cheap personal hygiene alternatives to the poor. We know we cannot do this on our own, and we request any and all help that anyone can provide.The easiest way to provide assistance to our cause is by participating in our annual "DryBath No-Bathing Weekend" -- this is our strategy to allow the public to participate in helping us skip one million or more bathes/showers by skipping them for a whole weekend in September.

CNN: What are the challenges you've faced so far?

Ludwick Marishane: The challenges our business has been facing in recent years is pricing, we have constantly been struggling to produce and distribute the product at prices that are affordable for people in water-insecure communities . As a startup, we have had to create a parallel product (DryBath Premium) for the urban market - campers/hikers, parents with kids, shared/public-shower users, etc.

CNN: Which entrepreneurs do you most admire? And what advice would you give to those aspiring to start their own business?

Ludwick Marishane: I admire the everyday entrepreneurs , those who sell fruits from their stall at the corner, have a great barbershop/salon, use their car as a taxi cab, etc. They don't do it for any glory or adoration, they just wake up every day to get the job done while still dealing with the risk of not breaking even each month.I urge all aspiring entrepreneurs to have this approach to business, because it's what every great business ,big or small succeeds on.