The private sector in Côte d’Ivoire is playing a pioneering role in offering high-quality and affordable sanitation products and services to meet the needs of customers in the local sanitation market. However, scaling sales of sanitation products and creating a sustainable market still remains a significant challenge.

To support the market and improve the operational reliability of providers and suppliers of sanitation services and products, the USAID MuniWASH Activity (MuniWASH) trained a dozen sanitation Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in Abidjan on an innovative business approach called RACE (Result = Attitude + Competence + Effort). This approach is based on the concept that positive outcomes result from a combination of the right attitude, competence, and effort.

MuniWASH organized this training from September 30 to October 1, 2022, for MSMEs and MuniWASH’ s field monitoring assistants. Field monitoring assistants will play the crucial role of providing coaching, field supervision to MSMEs and data collection.
Through this training, MuniWASH is building the capacity of business managers by providing them with a unique selling technique they can utilize to more easily persuade customers to buy their products and services. The entrepreneurs who participated in the training learned that the purpose of sales conversations is not merely to convince customers to buy, but rather to increase customers’ knowledge about the decision to buy. 

According to RACE, there are three essential steps for increased sales results — attitude, competence, and effort. First, the MSME should identify the household's sanitation problems and estimate the medium to long term cost/deterioration of the household sanitation situation should the problems remain unresolved. Second, the MSME should present a detailed solution to the household. Finally, the MSME should emphasize the value of the solution, including the price and cost benefit. 

"This commercial approach touches the sensitivity of the client household" testified Mr. Ossoro, head of a sanitation company in Gagnoa. "Today, my vision of things has changed in terms of prospecting. By following this method, I will be better at convincing my customers," he said. 

Through role-playing and practical sales conversation exercises, all training-participants successfully performed sales methods by following the three essential steps. MuniWASH will continue coaching the MSMEs through its s field monitoring assistants to help the business owners recruit, train, and employ their own sales agents to create customer demand. The president of the on-site sanitation professional association, Réseau des Entrepreneurs en Assainissement Autonome de la Côte d'Ivoire (REAACI), aims to disseminate this practice to all its members.

"We need to be able to pass on these very rewarding techniques to other members who have not participated," said Alpha Baldé. 

At the end of the training, the participants felt they had a good understanding of sales skills and methods. This innovative approach should allow them to increase their sales substantially – by about50 percent or more. 

Author: 
Safaa Fakorede 
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Group photo of USAID Côte d'Ivoire Acting Representative Candace Buzzard with municipal gender focal points

Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire, October 27: The USAID West Africa Municipal Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (MuniWASH) Activity and the Direction Générale de la Décentralisation et du Développement Local (DGDDL) organized a capacity building workshop on fundamental gender concepts, which was attended by USAID/Côte d'Ivoire Acting Country Representative, Ms. Candace Buzzard.

Supported by the Gender and Equity Directorate of the Ministry of Women's Affairs, the workshop trained approximately 20 participants, including nine women, who wanted to better understand the role gender plays in the local development context.

These participants included local elected officials and heads of municipal services from the eight targeted municipalities of USAID’s MuniWASH Activity in Côte d'Ivoire. 

During the workshop, participants learned about definitions of gender, stereotypes, biases, and the roles society ascribes to men and women in family, community, and professional settings.

According to Yaya Sanogo, a local elected official of the Municipality of Abobo, ''Analyzing the daily work of women allowed me to understand that they are the ones who get up early, go to bed the latest and work much more than men''.

That is why one of the facilitators, Ms. Leticia Ackun, Gender Specialist at the African Water Association, encouraged the participants to “better consider the practical needs and strategic interests of men and women in the implementation of community based projects  .” 

The participants of the training are now appointed as gender focal points within their respective municipalities and will be in charge of promoting gender at the local level under the coordination of the DGDDL gender unit. These focal points will therefore carry out awareness activities targeting the entire municipal council and advocate for deliberate consideration of gender in the organizational and operational management of the municipality.  

Ms. Buzzard assured that USAID will continue to “support national institutions in the fight against gender inequalities, especially in the WASH sector.”

The USAID MuniWASH Activity, in collaboration with the DGDDL, will increase non-formal learning opportunities for participants by regularly providing them with gender mainstreaming resources to help them carry out their work at the local level.

These could include the national gender promotion strategy, the new law on marriage in Côte d'Ivoire and laws against gender-based violence .

MuniWASH is implemented by Tetra Tech in Benin and Côte d'Ivoire in close collaboration with the African Water Association.

Author
Olivier Konan
Communication Specialist 
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MICRO, SMALL, AND MEDIUM ENTERPRISES (MSMEs) AND INNOVATIVE PRACTICES FOR THE PROMOTION OF ON-SITE SANITATION IN BENIN

In Benin, MuniWASH has developed a capacity building program for micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs), also referred to as private sanitation service providers, who promote the sanitation products branded as "Mimin toilets”  (meaning “clean toilets” in the Fon language).

These MSMEs, which are grouped under the National Union of Sanitation Entrepreneurs, the umbrella organization that promotes the WC Mimin products, benefited from capacity building sessions on management and commercial techniques organized by MuniWASH. 

The MSMEs are adjusting their activities to try to acquire a bigger share of the household sanitation market. By increasing the number of exhibition sites, offering after-sales services, and conducting social marketing campaigns, the MSMEs have become more active in their markets. These business activities allow them to build up savings that they can leverage to gain access to substantial lines of credit, which would enable them to diversify and expand their services.

Click on the file below to download  👇👇👇👇


Authors 
Mamadou Ouattara
Knowledge Sharing and Learning Advisor 
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Stéphène Quenum 
Entreprise Support and Business Performance Advisor 
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Thank you Paresh for you interest in this post. MuniWASH develop a Learning Note to have a better understanding of this tool. Please find here attached the documents.

You can also use this link to browse online www.globalwaters.org/resources/assets/ca...Xq950wAuwkfa5RW4GVdE

Olivier Konan 
Communication Specialist 
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Dear MuniWASH team,
In your post dated 14th December, you mention using the ISI (Institutional Strengthening Index) tool for capacity assessment. The video and the note mention self-assessment for the following functions

1. Planning, coordination and cooperation 
2. service delivery 
3. Administration and financial management 
4. Human resource management 
5. Monitoring and use of data

It'd  be great if you could please share some more details. What are the parameters for all these functions that the institutions assess their performance? 

Regards
paresh

MICRO, SMALL, AND MEDIUM ENTERPRISES (MSMEs) AND INNOVATIVE PRACTICES FOR THE PROMOTION OF ON-SITE SANITATION IN BENIN

In Benin, MuniWASH has developed a capacity building program for micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs), also referred to as private sanitation service providers, who promote the sanitation products branded as "Mimin toilets”  (meaning “clean toilets” in the Fon language).

These MSMEs, which are grouped under the National Union of Sanitation Entrepreneurs, the umbrella organization that promotes the WC Mimin products, benefited from capacity building sessions on management and commercial techniques organized by MuniWASH. 

The MSMEs are adjusting their activities to try to acquire a bigger share of the household sanitation market. By increasing the number of exhibition sites, offering after-sales services, and conducting social marketing campaigns, the MSMEs have become more active in their markets. These business activities allow them to build up savings that they can leverage to gain access to substantial lines of credit, which would enable them to diversify and expand their services.

Click on the file below to download  👇👇👇👇

Authors 
Mamadou Ouattara
Knowledge Sharing and Learning Advisor 
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Stéphène Quenum 
Entreprise Support and Business Performance Advisor 
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PERFORMANCE OF PRIVATE SANITATION SERVICE PROVIDERS IN BENIN AND CÔTE D'IVOIRE
 
SUMMARY
The Municipal Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (MuniWASH) Activity in West Africa is providing technical support to improve the governance and management of municipal water and sanitation services in 16 municipalities in Benin and Côte d'Ivoire. Funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), MuniWASH is also collaborating with the African Water Association (AfWA) as a learning partner to capture lessons and help guide urban WASH programming.

As part of this support, USAID MuniWASH facilitated a self-assessment of ninety-three private sanitation service providers in March 2022, largely composed of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), operating in the 16 municipalities. The two principal types of MSMEs include providers of sanitation products, largely manufacturing and construction companies, and providers of sanitation services, or sludge-emptying companies. The Enterprise Capacity Building Tool (ECBT) was used to assess the performance of service providers in the functional areas of a) Administration; b) Human resources management; c) Production and services; d) Supply, inventory management, and logistics; e) Marketing; and f) Accounting and financial management.

The results of the self-evaluations showed that the sanitation MSMEs had significant gaps to fill in the identified functional areas. Higher performance was noted in marketing; supply, inventory management, and logistics; and production and services, while there were considerable shortcomings in the remaining areas of administration; human resources management; and accounting and financial management.    

Click on the file below to download  👇👇👇👇

Authors 
Mamadou Ouattara
Knowledge Sharing and Learning Advisor 
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Mariame Koné
Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning Manager
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BOOSTING THE ON-SITE SANITATION MARKET IN CÔTE D'IVOIRE

SUMMARY
Located in West Africa, Côte d'Ivoire has a population of over twenty-four million, of which it is estimated that about thirteen million  people have universal access to basic sanitation.

Immense challenges remain to increase access, due to a combination of low-quality sanitation products, limited technical capacity, and coordination challenges between different actors involved in the local regulation and delivery of sanitation products and services.

With its partner municipalities, the USAID-funded Municipal Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (MuniWASH), an Activity implemented in partnership with the African Water Association (AfWA), has developed a combined approach to create the conditions to promote a strong and sustainable market for sanitation products and services in Côte d'Ivoire.

Click on the file below to download  👇👇👇👇

Authors 
Olivier Konan
Communication Specialist 
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Ousmane Sow
Sanitation Market Advisor
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EXAMINATION OF DRINKING WATER SUPPLY AND SANITATION PRACTICES OF POOR AND UNDERSERVED POPULATIONS IN BENIN AND COTE D’IVOIRE 
 
SUMMARY
In October 2021, the USAID-funded Municipal Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (MuniWASH) Activity finalized a household survey in 16 municipalities in Benin and Côte d'Ivoire. The goal of this study was to better understand water and sanitation issues at the household level, particularly among poor and underserved (P&U) populations. Through a quantitative and qualitative data collection effort, MuniWASH analyzed the needs and the expectations of these populations.

Despite their low-income status, the study revealed there is a willingness and ability among P&U populations to pay for desired WASH services. Therefore, development interventions for these populations should focus on contextualized solutions to leverage this willingness to pay for services. Examples include the implementation of a tailored communication approach for behavior change and the promotion of low-cost sanitation technology and water supply options tailored to their living environment and needs.

Intervention areas should include a strong involvement at the municipal level where public and private sector actors and civil society organizations work closely in implementing activities that contribute to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Click on the file below to download  👇👇👇👇

Authors 
Mamadou Ouattara
Knowledge Sharing and Learning Advisor 
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Mariame Koné
Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning Manager
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Achille Tokin
Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning Manager

We are pleased to share with you the new learning note produced by MuniWASH  on the topic : Côte d’Ivoire: Quantified assessment of sanitation needs in the target municipalities of the MuniWASH Activity in Côte d’Ivoire for efficient planning of interventions
Clik here to read and download 

We are pleased to share with you the new learning note produced by MuniWASH  on Capacity assessment, a key step in the process of improving the organizational performance of municipalities.

Summary 
TheUSAID-funded Municipal Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Project in West Africa (MuniWASH) is providing technical support to improve the governance and management of municipal water and sanitation services in 16 target municipalities in Benin1 and Côte d'Ivoire2. To serve as a reference framework for the municipal capacity building program, the USAID MuniWASH project
provides these target municipalities with a governance tool called the Institutional Strengthening Index (ISI). 

This toolis deployed in a three-step process as follow:

1. The municipalities self-assess their performance in providing Water and Sanitation services to their constituents.
2. Based onthe findings of these self-assessments, the municipalities develop strategic Institutional Strengthening Plans (ISPs) to fill the capacity gaps identified.
3. Finally,the municipalities implement the ISPs for improved service performance.

During theassessment phase conducted in FY2021, the ISI identified deficiencies at the organizational and regulatory levels and in planning, citizen engagement, data management, and others. This learning note presents lessons learned during the initial application of the ISI in partner municipalities.

Author
Olivier Konan
Communication Specialist
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Click here  to read and download

MuniWASH has been using its InstitutionalStrengthening Index (ISI) tool to strengthen the capacities of operators and  municipalities to improve access to water and sanitation services in Benin, help municipalities support their local private sector, and mobilize support from other key actors.
This video provides an overview of  ISI tool by highlighting the methodology of creating Institutional Strengthening Plans, their implementation and progress, challenges faced by municipalities, and the next steps for the municipalities.

Authors
Yadjide, Adissoda
Deputy Chief of Party 
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Marcel Adjamaidotome  Cossi
Country Manager Benin / Gouvernance Advisor 
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Olivier Konan 
Communication Specialist 
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