Dear Ivolat: please still introduce yourself to the group, we ask this of anyone who makes their first posting. 1-2 sentences are sufficient, just so that we know who we are talking to.

Dear Christoph,

I am able to fulfill your wish! I received this summary a few days ago from Anthony Guadagni. (Anthony is based in the US, did his MSc in Urban Management in Berlin and has helped us in an expertly fashion to edit our UDDT technology review). I had asked Anthony to post it himself but seems like he hasn't gotten around to it yet. So here is his summary (below also as pdf) - thanks Anthony!):

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Summary: The Business of Sanitation Seminar
Hosted by the Global Water Challenge and
School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University

On September 11, 2012, sanitation and hygiene specialists from around the world gathered in Washington, DC for the Global Water Challenge (GWC) and Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies’ (SAIS) ‘Business of Sanitation’ seminar. The event brought together a distinguished set of panelists and development professionals with the goal of ‘shedding light on how multi-national corporations and the local private sector are changing the sanitation landscape.’ The seminar was broken into three sessions to reflect various aspects of the sanitation challenge, each of which are briefly described below.


Forum I: ‘Framing the Market for Sanitation’

Panelists: Mr. Ned Breslin, Water for People
Dr. Ashley Murray, Waste Enterprisers Ltd.
Mr. Michael Kubzansky, Monitor Group
Mr. Russell Sturm, International Finance Corporation

The panelists discussed the inherent challenges in attracting investment in sanitation at the consumer level. Discussion focused on the granularity of the sanitation market and the need for a more comprehensive understanding of different market segments in order to create financially sustainable sanitation businesses. The shortcomings of conventional sanitation interventions were brought to the forefront, including an inadequate valuation of the ‘back-end users’ of treated excreta and the undue emphasis on toilet construction rather than market creation.

Mr. Breslin discussed his work enabling service providers in Malawi. While enterprising sanitation service providers have been identified in various contexts throughout the country, these providers tend to be a disorganized, highly independent group. Limited access to and the high-cost of capital have largely prevented individual service providers from growing their businesses. Water for People’s current initiatives attempt to provide affordable credit to established service providers to bring sanitation services to a wider consumer base. Further information on Water for People’s sanitation initiatives can be found at www.waterforpeople.org.

Dr. Murray discussed her innovative Waste Enterprisers business model, currently in late-development stages in Accra, Ghana. Dr. Murray emphasized that poor sanitation coverage generally results from undeveloped services – collection, transport and treatment – not lacking sanitation hardware. Rather than build toilets, Waste Enterprisers will create industrial fuel from faecal sludge in a large-scale treatment facility, the sale of which will cover the cost of service provision to the roughly one million expected users. Additional information on Waste Enterprisers’ sanitation strategy can be found at www.waste-enterprisers.com.


Forum II: ‘Creating the Demand for Sanitation’

Panelists: Mr. Mark Guy, PATH
Ms. Kaida Liang, WaterSHED - Asia
Dr. Christine Moe, The Center for Global Safe Water, Emory University

The panelists discussed the government’s role in creating demand for sanitation, and noted the potentially positive and negative impacts of government involvement. While government action can be a means of introducing standards of acceptability to the sanitation sector, regulation of a currently uncontrolled industry may pose significant barriers to entry into the sanitation market. The importance of aesthetics were highlighted, as creating an appealing toilet design has been linked to sentiments of prestige and increased social status and has been found to generate consumer interest at the household level. Several panelists noted that the presence of subsidized sanitation interventions has often been found to undermine and complicate the sanitation market, as potential users are less likely to pay market rates for sanitation hardware if they believe subsidized hardware may be available to them in the future.

Ms. Liang discussed her work in training local sanitation enterprisers in Cambodia. Ms. Liang detailed several sanitation marketing campaigns launched by WaterSHED, and noted that, in general, more provocative advertisements have been found to be most effective in stimulating interest in sanitation. Ms. Liang noted that while most literature focuses on the ‘affordability’ of sanitation hardware, ‘purchase priority’ is likely a more important determinant with regards to the installation of sanitation systems. More information on WaterSHED’s sanitation and hygiene outreach can be found at www.watershedasia.org.

Mr. Guy discussed his experiences with PATH’s ‘Safe Water Project’ initiated 2006. The ‘Safe Water Project’ works with established local manufacturers and distributors to increase access to point-of-source water filtration and purification systems in the informal settlements of Chennai, India. Mr. Guy noted that most water and sanitation interventions focus on ‘awareness creation’ with local populations; however, increased awareness will not necessarily result in a household investment in water or sanitation hardware and services. Instead, market-based approaches should incorporate innovative models for ‘demand creation’ to stimulate user investment. Further information regarding PATH’s sanitation and public health programs can be found at www.path.org.


Forum III: ‘Meeting the Demand for Sanitation’

Panelists: Mr. Cordell Jacks, iDE
Dr. Jim McHale, American Standard
Ms. Lindsay Stradley, Sanergy

The panelists discussed creating consistently high-performing sanitation hardware solutions as a prerequisite to successful sanitation businesses. It was noted that poorly manufactured hardware has consistently undermined sanitation initiatives, as individuals who have invested in failed sanitation systems are hesitant to invest a second time. The panelists discussed the brand name appeal of certain sanitation fixtures in the western world, and how this has not been effectively recreated in developing countries. Such branding may be a powerful instrument for generating demand for a specific sanitation service or solution.

Mr. Jacks discussed his experiences working with market-ready sanitation systems in Cambodia. While their initial focus leaned towards system affordability, iDE eventually determined that consumers valued toilet aesthetics more than anticipated. Modifications to iDE’s ‘Easy Latrine’ allowed for a more polished product that provided the same basic functionality, while demanding a higher user cost. However, this ‘high-end’ toilet design has substantially outsold the more basic model. Mr. Jacks and Dr. McHale also discussed the joint efforts of American Standard and iDE to develop a marketable squat pan in Bangladesh. Additional information regarding iDE’s innovative toilet designs can be found at www.ideorg.org.

Ms. Stradley discussed Sanergy’s pioneering sanitation business model in Nairobi, Kenya. Sanergy has created a dry sanitation system that is franchised to local entrepreneurs, who operate the single stall toilets based on user fees. The initial investment in the so-called ‘Fresh Life’ toilet covers the cost of hardware installation and emptying the urine and faeces collection containers. Individual ‘Fresh Life’ owners have reported earnings of approximately $1,000 annually. Sanergy is also attempting to market the treated excreta as bio-fertilizer to offset operational costs. Further information regarding Sanergy’s business strategy can be found at www.saner.gy.
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Regards,
Elisabeth

Dear Ivolat,
it´s 6!! hours .... I am quite interested but how can I avoid to watch 6 hours?.
It would be great if you (or somebody who attended) are able to point out some highlights
Maybe...speaker x in 2:15:00 is very interesting ... or giving a short description something as
Speaker A 1:12:00 - 1:30:00 presentation about... and so on. That would be very very helpful as it is impossible to watch without indications.
Thank you
Christoph

Here is a link to the The Business of Sanitation Event hosted by the Global Water Challenge and the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies on Sept 10th 2012.


webcast.jhu.edu/mediasite/SilverlightPla...02b6e5c341aeedcce31d

Enjoy