What is Sanergy?
Providing quality sanitation facilities, efficient and effective waste collection services, and proper waste treatment in the slums of Kenya.
8 million people in the slums of Kenya, and 2.5 billion worldwide, lack access to adequate sanitation. High population density combined with the lack of basic access to clean water, sewage infrastructure, and resources makes the problem particularly acute in slums, with global slum population expected to double to 2 billion by 2030. Finally, the lack of proper waste removal and treatment options creates a tremendous source of environmental pollution.
Sanergy franchises a network of small-scale high-quality sanitation centers close to slumdwellers’ homes. The waste from these toilets is collected into sealed cartridges, rather than commonly used pits that are drained into waterways, and Sanergy collects the cartridges and provides clean, empty ones daily. The waste is removed from the community and brought to our central processing facility, where it is converted into organic fertilizer and electricity.
“Sanergy address the entire sanitation value chain. We make it profitable, and thus sustainable, to provide sanitation services in the slums.” – Joseph Atnafu, CTO of Sanergy
The long-term objective is to build and scale viable sanitation infrastructure in the slums of Kenya. Sanergy will bring dignified, hygienic, affordable, and convenient sanitation to 500,000 Kenyans in the next 5 years. At each step, Sanergy creates jobs and opportunity while simultaneously addressing serious social needs.
“At Sanergy we are working to permanently reduce the incidence of sanitation related disease in Kenya’s slums by making hygienic sanitation accessible, affordable, and sustainable.” – Joseph Atnafu, CTO of Sanergy
LAUNCH Innovator Sanergy is featured in USAID's Frontines publication.
Sanergy hosts a marketing event in a Kenyan community to generate demand for its low-cost, hygienic sanitation centers. The toilet facilities are proving to be one solution to the long-standing problem of sanitation in developing countries.