Sanergy: A market based approach

Sanitation success in urban settlements has proven hard to obtain.  With high population and building densities as well as many settlements being illegal implementation of sanitation services that are effective has had limited success. For most people in these informal settlements access to toilets is relatively low and the majority of people use communal toilets, however the cleaning and maintenance of these toilets is often too low and therefore the spread of disease is more common. In light of this, there is the need for innovation and new practices in the sanitation sector. Kenya is a great example of how a market based approach can benefit communities in Africa, especially in these informal settlements.

In Kenya a start-up called Sanergy is providing an innovative solution to Africa’s sanitation problems. The company implements cheap, low maintenance sanitation centres. Sanergy’s uniqueness lies in taking a systems approach covering the whole sanitation value chain (Auerbach, 2016).  The company offers local people in informal settlements the opportunity to buy and run a franchise, allowing them to sell and build toilets and sanitation centers at a very low cost. Sanergy is proving to be one of Kenya’s cleanest and most safe option for sanitation. Waste is collected daily, where it is then treated and can be reused and sold to farmers as fertilizers. The full value chain of Sanergy is shown in figure 1.

Figure 1 : Sanergy Value Chain

Economic incentives to franchise owners and workers through pay means daily cleaning and regular maintenance is keeping Nairobi’s Sanergy toilets clean, reducing the risk of contracting diarrheal illnesses.

Sanergy’s impact is substantial in informal settlements in Kenya and accounts for nearly 40,000 daily uses. Toilets are cleaned by Sanergy employees every day and have safely removed thousands of tones of waste. Sanergy also presents an economic opportunity for people living in informal settlements, providing jobs and helping start new businesses. Multiplier effects have come into play in informal settlement as these jobs provide an income which has created demand for other goods and services. 805 jobs provided by Sanergy has led to a further creation of 157 jobs for people in neighboring areas. A sustainable sanitation service has not only provided health benefits, but also has helped achieved economic growth within these informal settlements.

Sanergy is a perfect example of how market based approaches can be used to improve sanitation. Sanergy is a mid-point between a centralised and decentralised wastewater treatment manager, by which all component of treating the waste is carried out by the business from the toilets, treating waste and its reuse as fertilizer (O’Keefe et al, 2015).

This project has seen great success in Nairobi, Kenya and Kampala, Uganda. The key to its success will lie in the ability of projects such as Sanergy to scale up. By providing economic incentives, franchise owners at Sanergy are likely to grow and therefore provide services to more people in informal settlements, reducing health risks associated with other communal latrines available.

This blog has looked at a market based approach that has been successful in supplying thousands of people in informal settlements with sanitary conditions. However, the key to its success has been its engagement with local communities and in a sustainable way which pairs health with economic development, by creating demand within communities with a good business model that provides regular maintenance, care and cleaning. Sanergy can be deemed both successful and sustainable regarding to Montgomery, Bartram and Elimelech (2009) as it applies the key components of sustainability.