Naivasha, Kenya: The Private Infrastructure Development Group (PIDG) has today announced a USD 3.3m equity investment to finance the expansion of Sanivation Ltd.’s innovative 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 (NTPx), enabling Sanivation to significantly expand its briquette production and waste management capacity. PIDG has provided a further USD 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 per cent.
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.
PIDG Head of Business Development (Africa) for InfraCo, Omar Jabri, said “Sanivation presents an exciting investment for PIDG in the waste-to-value space. By demonstrating the importance of adopting a circular economy approach to waste treatment across Kenya and the wider region, we anticipate that the Naivasha Treatment Plant expansion will attract future private sector finance into this emerging sector. PIDG is committed to supporting sustainable economic development whilst urgently addressing the impacts of climate change and nature loss. By reducing costs for industrial customers whilst decreasing pollution of the local environment, Sanivation dovetails well with our strategy.”
Operations are expected to commence at the expanded Naivasha Treatment Plant in 2027.
For more information contact:
Lorna McNae, Senior Communications Manager
