A new gold rush is upon us, and its colour is brown:
Global & local businesses jump into the Sanitation Economy
Toilet Board Coalition announces new commercial and investment partnerships for , and new members with the joint vision to accelerate the Sanitation Economy.
New business to business and investment partnerships mark the graduation of the 2018 Toilet Accelerator cohort
- The accelerator graduates who are now entering commercial partnerships with Toilet Board Coalition Members are: Tiger Toilets, partnering with LIXIL Corporation; Ti Bus, partnering with Firmenich; GARV Toilets, partnering with Unilever; and Biomass Controls, partnering with USAID and Kimberly-Clark.
New partners jump into the Sanitation Economy – New Toilet Board Coalition members announced
- The new partners joining the Toilet Board Coalition are: The Asian Development Bank; Water.org; Water for People; and BORDA (The Bremen Overseas Research and Development).
The Toilet Board Coalition (TBC), the world’s first business-led platform focused on bringing business solutions to the global sanitation crisis, has announced the graduation of the 2018 cohort of innovative sanitation economy businesses from its Toilet Accelerator.
Supported by the mentorship of multinational corporations, the programme focuses on business-to-business partnerships, and access to finance, with a joint vision to accelerate the Sanitation Economy.
Partnering with mentor companies including Unilever, Kimberly Clark, LIXIL, Veolia and Firmenich, the Sanitation Economy companies have received over the last 12 months business support on the development of their product or service, as well as on how to achieve sustainable growth while positively impacting people with poor access to sanitation.
2.3 billion people currently live without access to a safe toilet. The social and public health consequences of this sanitation crisis are catastrophic, but less understood are the business opportunities that addressing this challenge presents.
The Toilet Board Coalition is a private sector led platform that is building the Sanitation Economy – a robust marketplace of products and services, renewable resource flows, data and information that could transform future cities, communities, and businesses. The sanitation economy is smart, sustainable, innovative, cost saving and revenue generating.
The 2018 Toilet Accelerator cohort ends in partnership!
The Toilet Accelerator is delighted to announce further commercial partnerships and investment opportunities for the graduating class of 2018 Toilet Accelerator businesses.
- Tiger Toilets: Pioneering vermidigester technology (worms that safely dispose of human waste), Tiger Toilets provide a safe, effective and affordable sanitation solution for low-income families, in rural and urban settings.
Tiger Toilets have been working with Toilet Accelerator Steering Committee member and mentor company LIXIL Corporation to refine product development for current operations in India. LIXIL Corporation and Tiger Toilets will continue their collaboration on developing this new technology once the accelerator programme ends.
Daigo Ishiyama, Director of Product Design for LIXIL’s Sustainable Sanitation Initiatives and Toilet Accelerator mentor said: “Working with Tiger Toilets through the Toilet Accelerator has been great for LIXIL. They have developed an innovative vermicomposting technology that uses tiger worms to generate compost from human waste. We offer corporate know-how of new product development, marketing, distribution and achieving large scale reach and impact.
“As a designer, I’m driven to develop products and ideas that solve problems. My tools are expertise of hydrodynamics and latest computer programs to design the most efficient toilets. Tiger Toilets team work with worms – it’s a totally different game. But what is the same is that we are both passionate problem solvers, and I think that’s why we click so well. We’re trying to harness innovations to devise a more comprehensive solution to the sanitation crisis, looking at the problem from different angles using different tools. This has been a fascinating experience. Now we’re working out how to continue this relationship beyond the completion of the accelerator program.”
- Ti Bus: The Ti Bus is a one-stop answer for all women looking for safe clean toilets, health and hygiene products, creating a multipurpose resource for women. They are created by refurbishing old buses into integrated sanitation hubs – connected hygiene centres for women.
The TI Buses contain western toilets, Indian squat toilets, shower cubicles, taps with water saving technology, panic buttons, digital feedback systems, disposal bins for sanitary towels and trained female attendants.
Ti Bus will continue its partnership with Swiss fragrance and flavour company Firmenich, who will work with the company on scalable opportunities in India within the next five years.
Ulka Sadalkar, Director of Ti Bus, said: “The Toilet Accelerator program has been hugely beneficial for our business, Ti Bus. We’ve had unparalleled access to the knowledge and insights of some of the world’s leading companies, who have helped us develop a strong consumer marketing approach and transformed our business model. We now have a greater understanding of who our customers are, how they behave and how best to engage them.
“Thanks to the support of the Toilet Accelerator, we’re reaching more women and children with safe sanitation and complementary services. Toilet access is a huge problem for us in India. Almost half of the population have nowhere safe to go to the bathroom. The Toilet Accelerator program is catalyzing necessary evolution in business and wider society. We are proud to be part of this pioneering initiative.”
- GARV Toilets: GARV Toilets provide smart public sanitation solutions through portable toilet cabins equipped with radio-frequency identification (RFID) and Internet of Things (IoT) sensors. The pre-fabricated modular enclosures are solar powered, using sensor based flushing systems to clean the toilet floor and lavatory pan, pre-and-post every usage.
A new partnership with consumer goods company has been confirmed via the 2018 Unilever Young Entrepreneurs Award.
- Biomass Controls: Biomass Controls produce low-cost, portable bio-refineries that process human waste, turning it into valuable commercial products including, water, thermal energy and biochar.
The Toilet Accelerator is pleased to announce that Biomass Controls is continuing its partnership with USAID, to support access to potential investment vehicles, and Kimberly-Clark on menstrual hygiene management.
New Toilet Board Coalition members
The Toilet Board Coalition is delighted to welcome three new members to its growing list of partners.
- Asian Development Bank: Renews its partnership with the Toilet Board Coalition for another 3-years as a Steering Committee member to help scale proven Sanitation Economy business models via the Toilet Accelerator in Asia. ADB is a regional development bank that aims for an Asia and Pacific free from poverty. ADB’s mission is to help its developing member countries reduce poverty and improve the quality of life of their people through inclusive economic growth, environmentally sustainable growth, and regional integration.
- Water.org: Water.org joins the TBC’s Partnership Council of expert advisors. water.org is a non-profit that aims to develop market-driven financial solutions to the global water crisis. Co-founded by actor Matt Damon, it brings expertise in water and sanitation financing mechanisms for entrepreneurs and households.
- Water for People: Joins the TBC’s Partnership Council of expert advisors. Born out of the American Water Works Association (AWWA), Water For People was established in 1991 to bring drinkable and potable water to those who need it the most. It brings expertise in working in low income communities to catalyse entrepreneurship and support new business models.
- BORDA – joins the TBC’s Partnership Council of expert advisors. The Bremen Overseas Research and Development Association (BORDA) is a non-profit international development organisation that promotes and implements DEWATS (decentralised wastewater treatment systems) in many countries in Asia and Africa. BORDA brings expertise in innovative sanitation waste management, faecal sludge management, and Circular Sanitation approaches for low-income markets.
Cheryl Hicks, Executive Director and CEO of the Toilet Board Coalition, said:
“The ultimate aim of the Toilet Board Coalition is to bring business solutions to one of the world’s most urgent crises. And in doing so, establishing an economy where the provision of sanitation services transforms from an unaffordable public cost, to an untapped business opportunity.”
“We are so excited to see this rapid shift in the business community, taking bold actions to accelerate the Sanitation Economy.”
About the Toilet Board Coalition
The TBC, founded in 2014, is a global business platform enabling private sector engagement, connecting large and small companies, and amplifying business opportunities across the emergent sanitation sector; smart, sustainable business solutions to achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 6, ’Sanitation for all’.
“We believe that the business opportunities of the decade lie within the Sanitation Economy; there is a fortune in our toilets!” says the TBC’s Executive Director, Cheryl Hicks. “Future sanitation systems hold the promise of a robust marketplace of solutions for sectors beyond toilets and waste management, like agriculture, food, water, energy, health and more.”
In 2016 the TBC launched the Toilet Accelerator program to support entrepreneurs in low-income markets to scale commercially sustainable sanitation business models. Its inquiries into Sanitation in the Circular Economy and the Digitisation of Sanitation have led to new evidence and insights into Circular Sanitation Economy business models and pilot projects to demonstrate the 1st Smart Sanitation City — see 2017 reports, The Sanitation Economy in India and The Circular Sanitation Economy: New Pathways to Commercial and Societal Benefits Faster at Scale. www.toiletboard.org/knowledgecentre
The Toilet Board Coalition members include: Agence Française de Développement; Asian Development Bank; Brac; Confederation of India Industry; Firmenich; Kimberly-Clark; LIXIL Corporation; London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine; Population Services International (PSI); TATA TRUSTS; UKAID; UNICEF; Unilever; U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID); WaterAid; Water Research Commission (WRC); Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council (WSSCC); Water and Sanitation for the Urban Poor (WSUP); the World Bank.
For Toilet Board Coalition inquiries, please contact:
Alexandra Knezovich at the Toilet Board Coalition: knetzovich@toiletboard.org
For media inquiries, please contact:
Joshua Eyre or Henry Kirby at MullenLowe salt: toiletboardcoalition@mullenlowesalt.com / +44 (0) 208 870 6777