Four young entrepreneurs announced as nominees for special Sarphati Sanitation award 2015
During the opening ceremony of the Amsterdam International Water Week on 2 November, the winner of the special Sarphati Sanitation Award for young entrepreneurs will be announced.
The four nominees are Indian network organisation Finish society, Indian toilet operator Samagra, Kenyan supplier of menstrual pads ZanaAfrica and Ghanaian company SafiSana for treatment of toilet and organic waste from slums.
The nominees have been selected for their innovative solutions to solve the worldwide sanitation problem. They are considered inspirational examples of how the challenge of providing proper sanitation for everyone can be tackled - goal #6 of the Sustainable development goals - simply by taking a business approach.
Dr. Kamal Kar will receive the 2015 Sarphati award for a lifetime achievement.
New second prize
This year also a second prize will be awarded, the Sarphati Sanitation Award for a lifetime achievement to give poor people access to saniation.
The winner of this award is already known, as a jury has voted - unanimously - for Dr. Kamal Kar, founder of the Community led total sanitation (CLTS) Foundation.
His foundation helped create a paradigm shift that has positively influenced the behavior of millions of people.
In thousands of villages throughout Asia, Africa and Latin America, people have started building their own toilets and helping their peers to do the same, in order to make entire communities free of open defecation.
2013 award ceremony when Amsterdam mayor Eberhard van der Laan (second from right) handed out the award to Becky Auerbach of Sanergy (middle).
About the biennial Sarphati Sanitation Award
In 2013, World Waternet, Netherlands Water Partnership (NWP) and Aqua for All initiated the biennial Sarphati Sanitation Award (SSA) to honor the outstanding contribution of individuals or organizations to the global sanitation challenge through entrepreneurship.
The Sarphati Sanitation Award for lifetime achievement was handed out for the first time in 2013 to Kenyan-based Sanergy for their development of a low-cost toilet. Sanergy received a cheque of 50.000 euro.
This year, Bosman Water Management and New Venture Fund have joined the sponsorship team, enabling the awarding of a second prize for young entrepreneurs.
The Sarphati Sanitation Awards are named after Dr. Samuel Sarphati, an industrious entrepreneur and health practitioner who started a profitable business in the 19th century to free Amsterdam of human waste by transporting it out of the city and to be used as fertilizer for crops such as wheat, which was in turn supplied to a low-cost bread factory. His initiatives
greatly improved the quality of life of poor people in the city.
This news item was originally published on the website of Aqua for All.
More information
Sarphati Sanitation Award
Facebook Sarphati Award
Amsterdam International Water Week 2015
Sarphati sanitation award
Aqua for All
The Hague, the Netherlands
+31 70 351 97 25
www.aquaforall.org
In 2013 Sanergy won the Sarphati sanitation award. Co-founder David Auerbach explains the impact of this for his organisation.