WLE/IWMI 2013 World Water Week, Stockholm 1st September 2013

1. Innovative Partnerships for
Resource Recovery & Reuse (RRR)
WLE/IWMI
2013 World Water Week, Stockholm
1st September 2013

2. Agro-industrial waste - Energy
Wastewater – Water (irrigation,
aquaculture)
MSW, Faecal sludge - Nutrients (ag. production)
Innovative RRR initiatives – to close water,
nutrient and energy cycle loop

3. Beyond ecological benefits.…
• RRR offers significant
opportunities for cost-
recovery for the
sanitation sector esp. in
low-income countries
• Business opportunities
that can attract private
capital and leverage
donor investments
Game-changing processes that can completely
alter the current sanitation-agricultural landscape
with the implementation of sustainable
business models and innovative
cross-sectorial partnerships

4. Stages of Business Life Cycle
Time
Phase I –
Start-Up
Output
Phase II – Business
Development
Phase III – Up- and Out-
Scaling

5. Phase I – Start-Up
Time
Output
 Challenges
• Buy-in of business concept by investors: capital
investment
• Access to inputs
• Development of suitable technology
• No proven market
• Regulatory environment
 Solution strategies and partnerships
• Finance (donors, govt, fin. inst.) – model
demonstration, info.
• Inputs suppliers
• Technology:
• Business partners – technology transfer
• Research institutes – innovation
• Market strategy/entry – product awareness
• Regulatory envt: incentives (tax breaks, subsidies)
Proof of concept
New period of growth
New markets and dist.
channels
Larger market share
New revenue streams

6.  Organizational type: PPP
 Idea: Devt. and testing of innovative tech.
for wastewater treatment
(domestic/industrial); avert pollution of
water bodies
 Value offer: Potable treated water, filleted
retail packaged fish, animal feeds
 Business model: value-driven & cost-driven
end-sales
 Scale: 70.000 m3/day
Case of Terraqua Barranca: Phyto-remediative
wastewater treatment & fish production

7.  Buy-in of business concept by multiple entities
 Cost of investment: $22 M
 Investors (IADB through govt, equity–pilot phase/ 60% of capital reqts);
rural campesinos invest land, municipality supply of ww
 Returns/ownership: 75% - Terraqua, 15% - municipality,
10% - campesinos
 Develop market niche via established distributors
 Driving factors: Water scarcity, abundant ww polluting water bodies,
land availability and conducive ownership structures.
Municipality WSP
Rural
Campesinos
Government
WW
Land
Terraqua
Finance Expertise,
finance
Export
market
Domestic
market
Fish
Clean
water
$
$
$ Licensed
Wholesaler/
distributor

8. Time
Output
 Revenues increasing
 New market opportunities
 Smooth running of business
process – stabilization
 Competition is surfacing
 Fine-tuning business model
Phase II – Business Development
 Challenges
• Increasing competition
- Input procurement
- Output market
 Solution strategies and
partnerships
• Input procurement:
- Incentives for consistent supply
- Logistics – transportation
• Output market:
- Existing and established partner
distribution systems – access
new markets
• Research: Tailor products to market
needs ; fine-tune technology
Fine-tuning business model results in
growth and stability ; exploration of
up- and out-scaling initiatives

9. Case of EcoFuel Africa, Uganda
 Organization type: Private company
 Idea: Alternative fuel sources to avert
deforestation and burning of agro-
waste
 Value offer: Produce cheap and clean
cooking fuel (briquettes)
 Business model: Value-driven, micro-
franchising scheme
 Scale: 1000tons/yr
 Form of financing: No subsidies, private
equity, seed grant
 Driving factors: unavailability of
firewood, abundance of waste, low-cost
& simple technologies
 Increasing and stable sales and profits,
however competition is growing
(local & intl).

10. Households Institutions
Briquette & Stoves
Briquette & Stoves
Transport
Training $
Logistics
company
EcoFuel
AfricaFarmers,
Agricultural
residue
producers
Research &
Development
Distributor
Input
Expertise
$
Training, installation of stoves
$
$
$
Compost $
Partnerships to mitigate competition effects:
1. Input procurement and delivery
• sources ag. residue from various farmers
• outsource collection
2. Fine-tune technology: increase industrial capacity (research partners -Makerere
Univ.)
3. Output market : outsource distribution and marketing; sale of complementary
goods

11. Phase III: Up- and Out-Scaling
Time
Output
 Challenges
• Adaptation of business model
o Entry into new markets
o Adaption of tech. to context
• Funds and resource mobilization
(R&D, pilots, infrast., land…)
• Market information
• Regulatory environment
Choice of entity
New period of growth
New markets and dist.
channels
Larger market share
New revenue streams
Increased
impact/beneficiaries

12. Phase III: Up- and Out-Scaling
Time
Output
Solution strategies and partnerships
 Funds:
• Devt. partners, local fin. inst. – proven concept,
lower investment risk, impact
 Resource mobilization: public, private
• Land, access to waste..
• Technical support for H/E mitigation measures
 Market info: Private marketing companies, ag.
prod. org.
 Regulatory envt: policy makers
• Formulate and enact policy measures – interest
rates, tax breaks, subsidies – market entry;
single window clearances for H/E & business
licenses
 Research partners:
• Cutting-edge tech. new pdt. devt; pilot
 Model adaptation: Licensing agencies – brand,
distribution and marketing partners
Choice of entity
New period of growth
New markets and dist.
channels
Larger market share
New revenue streams
Increased
impact/beneficiaries

13. Case of Waste Concern, Bangladesh
• Organizational type: Research-based
NGO
• Value offer: Address waste challenge
by transforming MSW into high
quality and safe compost
• Business model: Decentralized
community private-public partnership
model
• Scale: 1 – 5 tons/day of waste
processed
• Driving factors: low-cost and labor-
intensive tech. and prod. processes,
huge demand for compost, strong
community ownership, inst. support
• Plans: Replication for impact –
increased beneficiaries, CDM process

14. Private sector CommunityPublic sector
Compost
Donor
(supply of funds)
Community-based organizations
allowed to operate, monitor
collection activities
DCC, PWD
(allocation of land)
Waste Concern
$
Fertilizer
company
$
CBO
CBO
CBO
Buy compost, enrich and sell to
farmers
Technical
assistance
Compost
$
MoEF
$
Land
Carbon Emission
Reduction market
Carbon
credit
$
Decentralized multi-partnership community based model

15. Strategic partnerships
Adaptation of business model: 4 management models
• Mucpl. owned – mucpl. Operated, Mucpl. owned – comm. operated,
Mucpl. owned – priv. operated, priv. owned – priv. operated
 Fund and resource mobilization
• Cost of investment: $50K to $100K; self-sustaining after 3 years –
private sector, intl devt agencies, local govt
• Physical resources: land (MoEF, local govt); marketing (private
sector), laboratory testing and quality assurance of pdt (academia)
 Community ownership: Motivated community participation through
model demonstration; proven concept, benefits
 Market: entry – private sector (fertilizer companies); new markts –
carbon credits
 Regulatory environment: Formulated and enacted 27 policies , incl.
single window clearances for H/E & business licenses

16. Summary – Partnerships as solution strategies for
RRR businesses
Business
Phase
Type of
challenges
Description of challenges Solutions requiring strategic
partnerships
Phase I
and III
Funds and
resource
mobilization
 Lack of financial resources for
pilot projects
 Lack of adequate funds for R&D
 Lack of access to credit
facilities
 Scarcity of resources
Model demonstration and supply
of information - investor buy-in;
diversified revenue streams;
piggyback on existing relationships
with high-level officials.
Phase I, II
and III
Market
Information
 Lack of information about
related product market
 No market niche
Product awareness, private
marketing company partnerships,
product innovation.
Phase I
and III
Knowledge
and skills
 Lack of proper understanding
from concerned govt. agencies
and communities
 Negative attitude of govt.
agencies
Model demonstration;
Education/ awareness building
campaigns
Phase I
and III
Regulatory
environment
 Greater no. of permits required
than usual no. for general
projects
 Limited incentives to catalyze
business development
Formulate and enact policies (e.g.
interest rates, tax breaks, subsidies
– market entry; single window
clearances for H/E & business
licenses

17. Conclusions
1.Strategic partnerships are imperative for
business development in the RRR sector.
2.What is required and can work is highly location,
context and business phase dependent.
3.Much more research needed to understand
nature of partnerships to enable up-scaling
specific to RRR subsectors (i.e. nutrient, energy
and water).

18. Thank you.
Miriam Otoo, Krishna Rao,
Jasper Buijs and Pay Drechsel
m.otoo@cgiar.org
http://wle.cgiar.org/rrr
IWMI, Colombo

19. Innovative Partnerships for
Resource Recovery & Reuse (RRR)
WLE/IWMI
2013 World Water Week, Stockholm
1st September 2013