Ecotact: Affordable Sanitation Services in Pleasant Surroundings in Kenya

Under the Ikotoilet project, Ecotact builds and operates high-quality, public, pay-per-use toilet and shower facilities on public land in urban centers with particular emphasis in the most disadvantaged areas such as urban slums.

Ecotact uses a Build-Operate-Transfer model of public-private partnership, entering into long-term contracts with municipalities to secure use of public lands.

Information on Partnerships:

  • Water and Sanitation for Urban Poor (WSUP) partnered with Ecotact to
    engage in research on sanitation in urban and peri‐urban areas.
  • Acumen Fund has invested in the construction of the Ikotoilets. The Global Water Challenge (GWC) is a coalition of multiple organizations that include the United Nations Foundation, Ashoka, UNICEF and the Coca Cola Company among others. GWC engages in advocacy with government and donor agencies on behalf of Ecotact. Funding from the World Bank has enabled replication of the Ikotoilets as well as construction of sanitation/abolition blocks within informal settlements. The European Union through the Netherlands Directorate‐ General of Development Cooperation (DGIS) has provided Ecotact with funding that has facilitated the partnership with Maji Na Ufanisi, an NGO concerned with water and development and Pamoja Trust, a charity concerned with homelessness and urban poverty.
  • Ecotact is in partnership with Roto Moulders Ltd, a local company specializing in plastic containers and related products to supply water tanks at a subsidized rate. These in turn are used to store harvested rain water. The UV Trojan East Africa company supports the provision of the ultraviolet (UV) drinking water fountain for the public in Ikotoilets, while Ecotact also has a contract with Tropical Promoters to provide the shoeshine infrastructure.

Further information


Categorisations

Partnership types

Doing business with the poor

Regions / countries / territories

Africa: Kenya

Global issues

Environment and climate change; Water and related ecosystems

Business sectors

Utilities