Malindi Water and Sewerage Company (MAWASCO)

Most residents of low-income communities use pit latrine toilets. These are served by informal pit latrine emptiers who empty the pits by hand and without personal protective equipment. The waste is often either buried in the community or dumped in a watercourse, where it pollutes the ground water with pathogens. 

Malindi Water and Sewerage Company (MAWASCO) has a mandate to deliver both water and sanitation services efficiently and affordably at a local level in Malindi town in Kilifi County, Kenya. As a pioneer, MAWASCO has been implementing market-based sanitation interventions so as to increase access to improved sanitation in line with its citywide inclusive sanitation plan (CWISP). 

TRANSFORM and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation co-funded MAWASCO to launch a paid service to empty pit latrines for low-income consumers. Through TRANSFORM, Unilever also provided project management and guidance on how to prototype the new service and understand its users. This included an introduction to Unilever’s 5 Levers of Change model, which was effective at guiding MAWASCO to encourage adoption of new behaviours. The 5 Levers of Change concept has remained embedded in the utility to help it design customer products. 

MAWASCO was able to test and launch the service, train pit emptiers and provide tools, transport and personal protective equipment. It also developed the value proposition, customer booking journey and marketing materials. EY teams provided business coaching to the utility teams on business, financial and change management.