Kenya: Waste-to-value venture lands equity investment
Project transforms human waste into solid fuel briquettes for use in industrial heating.
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The Private Infrastructure Development Group (PIDG) has announced a $3.3 million equity investment to finance the expansion of Sanivation’s waste-to-value offering in Kenya.
Sanivation, in partnership with Nakuru County, established a pilot project in 2018, transforming human waste into solid fuel briquettes for use in industrial heating. PIDG’s investment – made through its project development solution, InfraCo – will support the construction of the Naivasha Treatment Plant expansion, enabling Sanivation to significantly expand its briquette production and waste management capacity. PIDG has provided a further $500,000 grant to the project, through its technical assistance solution.
CEO and co-founder of Sanivation, Emily Woods said, “This investment marks a turning point, not just for Sanivation, but for how sanitation infrastructure can be delivered across Kenya and the region. With PIDG’s support, we’re scaling a model that transforms waste into clean energy, enabling financial sustainability while safeguarding our environment and empowering our communities.”
Sanivation treats collected faecal sludge, combining it with waste products from local sawmills and agricultural industries. The process produces solid fuel briquettes which can burn for longer, and more efficiently, than traditional firewood. Sanivation’s briquettes reduce the cost of energy for industrial customers by 10-30%.
By treating waste equivalent to that produced by 100,000 to 130,000 households, Sanivation will reduce pressure on existing wastewater treatment facilities and will prevent pollution of land around Lake Naivasha, and of the lake itself.
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