Denis Opudo
According to a report by the UNICEF and World Health Organization (WHO), inadequate sanitation is the second largest cause of diseases globally. The poor sanitation is caused by lack of infrastructure and inadequate resources. Lack of physical space is also a cause of poor sanitation. Above 2.5 billion people globally cannot access basic sanitation services. This leads to consumption of contaminated food and water. Sanergy has tried to work out on solving the sanitation problems in Africa since the launch in 2003.
The company was founded by Lindsay Stradley and David Auerbach in 2003. Its main goal is to offer affordable and accessible sanitation across Africa. The company ensures healthy living. It manufactures and installs affordable and accessible sanitation all over Africa. It operates a viable business by building and selling of its own brand of sanitation facilities. The brand is named Fresh Life.
Sanergy works mainly within the informal settlements. These are the places with sanitation as their main problem. The areas are affected by overflowing pit latrines. Therefore the company works on solving that with other sanitation problems too. Sanergy spearheads the collection of waste and turns them into useful products. The products might include insect-based animal feeds, renewable energy and organic fertilizers. The startup started by manufacturing of the insect-animal feeds from the waste materials. It uses a group of black soldier flies whose larvae eat organic waste. The larvae are thereafter boiled and dried in the sun. This is done so as to remove pathogens and develop an ingredient for animal feed rich in proteins. Moreover, the company treats and uses again urine. It also collects biogas from various wastes to develop sources of renewable energy.
The co-founders both attended the Yale school. They also worked in various sectors that gave them a platform to their decision. Stradley worked in the education sector as well as with the Google. She graduated at Yale with a Phi Beta Kappa honors. She then joined Teach for America where she jointly started a charter high school in New Orleans. This came after the effect of Hurricane Katrina in the region. On the other hand, Auerbach has worked and taught in Mexico and China. Moreover, he worked in poverty reduction initiative at the Clinton Global Initiative. He is currently working on business development and raising capital for the company. He is also nurturing and building partnership and international relation for the company.
During the President Peter Salovey six-day tour in Ghana and Kenya, he paid Senegy Company a visit in Nairobi Kenya. The president alongside the Yale staff applauded the initiative by the Lindsay and David. He said the move will help solve problems caused by poor sanitation.
