Presented by IWMI's Josiane Nikieme at the 4th International Faecal Sludge Management (FSM4) Conference, held in Chennai, India, February 19-23, 2017.

1. INNOVATIVE BUSINESS
MODELS FOR SCALING-UP
RESOURCE RECOVERY FROM
FECAL SLUDGE
J. Nikiema, O. Cofie and K. Felgenhauer

2. WORKSHOP 4
Innovative Business Models For Scaling-up
Resource Recovery From Fecal Sludge

3. •
https://esa.un.org/unpd/wup/Publication
s/Files/WUP2014-Report.pdf
Global growth of cities

4. • Post harvest waste (1/3 of the world’s food)
– The estimated value of global food waste is $1 trillion per
annum!
– 250 km3 of water is used to produce this wasted food,
equivalent to the annual water discharge of the Volta River
• Large volumes of waste discharged into the environment without
proper treatment
• N and P cycles have to be better
managed as we reached our planetary
boundaries

5. 5
http://www.ipcc.ch/p
df/assessment-
report/ar5/wg1/WG1
AR5_SPM_FINAL.pdf
Obvious correlation between the carbon dioxide levels in the air and
the temperature increase

6. 6
http://www.ipcc.ch/pdf/assessment-
report/ar5/wg1/WG1AR5_SPM_FINAL.pdf

7. • To reduce the environmental
burden
• To recover value from what is
otherwise lost.

8. Source: Sobsey, 2006
0
20
ORGANICS
kg COD/ (Person·year)
12.3
3.6
14.1
VOLUME
Liter / (Person·year)
500 L 50 L
0
6
NUTRIENT CONTENT
kg N,P,K / (Person·year)
N
P
K
0.8
5.3
1.0
GREYWATER URINE FECES

9. FECAL SLUDGE
AND/OR EXCRETA
DisposalFood optionsEnergy options

10. Incineration Pyrolysis Gasification Fermentation
Biogas
ENERGY OPTIONS
Pyrolytic gas
HEAT
Biochar AlcoholsSyngas
GASOLINEELECTRICITY
Anaerobic digestion
DIESEL
Bio-Oil
NOTE: Some of these processes
were only tested at pilot scale

11. FISH /
POULTRY
Biochar
Protein
Compost
CROPS AND IMPROVED
SOIL HEALTH
FOOD OPTIONS
And more…

12. DISPOSAL OPTIONS
Safe land
application
Treatment plant
Plants,
Microalgae
BIODIESEL
Safe
Irrigation
FOOD AND FODDER ANIMAL FEED

14. 0
0.5
1
1.5
2
2.5
3
3.5
4
4.5
Sheshegu Tuu-tengle Sheshegu Tuu-tengle
YieldinMT/ha
Control
Farm 1
Farm 2
Farm 3
MAIZE
SORGHUM
($/ha) Users Non-users
Total fixed costs 191 137
Total variable
costs
314 323
Revenues 919 606
Net Income 414 146
IMPACT ON INCOME AT KROBO, GHANA
IMPACT ON CROP YIELDS
INFORMAL LAND APPLICATION OF FS

15. Across the developing world, only 10% of
wastewater and fecal sludge gets treated

16. PAST RRR EXPERIENCE
• Most initiatives aimed at RRR have been
characterized in low-income countries by:
- High dependence on subsidies;
- Limited up-scaling potential.
• Fundamental gaps in:
- Business planning and management
strategies, market knowledge
- Economic aspects and institutional
linkages
• Result: more failures than successes.

17. LIMITED IMPACTS ACHIEVED
• Many projects
– Only few able to process some metric tonnes of waste daily
An accelerator is needed to address the pressing and growing needs

18. 6.3 By 2030, improve water quality
by reducing pollution, eliminating
dumping and (…), halving the
proportion of untreated waste
water, and increasing recycling and
safe reuse by x% globally.

19. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fil
e:China;_a_woman_carrying_buckets_o
f_night-soil._Wellcome_L0056427.jpg
• China, in 1871: A
woman carrying buckets
of night soil

20. RRR WORKS IN THE INDUSTRIAL SECTOR
• E.g. water reuse
– Direct reuse within a business
– Direct reuse between
businesses
– Treat and reuse (recycling)

23. • The work on the IC for RRR sector by IWMI measured via four
criteria:
Source: Gebrezgabher. et al. 2016
Most important criterion
for Ghana

25. WHAT IS A BUSINESS MODEL?

26. Customer
Segments
Customer
Relationships
Value
Proposition
Key Activities
Key
Resources
Key Partners
Cost
Structure
Revenue Streams
Channels

27. Customer
Segments
Customer
Relationships
Value
Proposition
Key Activities
Key
Resources
Key Partners
Cost
Structure
Revenue Streams
Channels
Proposition1
Proposition2
……….
Segment 1
Segment 2
……….
Revenue Stream 1
Revenue Stream 2

28. Wastewater fuelling fish export business

29. Wastewater Input: Wastewater from a complex of 3 000 p.e.
Value-added products: Carp Species, co-crops
Public acceptability: High. Constant demand for fish
Capital requirements: USD 100 000 plus existing 4 lagoons
Labour requirements: 4 persons for 1 hour/day -7 days/week
Output: 7.5 tonnes of carps at an average price of USD 3/kg
Gain: 4 part time jobs, inexpensive source of fish and cleaner environment
Viability indicators: payback period 6 years, gross margin 20%
Business case

30. Key Partners
• Wastewater
producers
• Expertise /
R&D provider
• Central
government
• Farmers
• External
financier(s)
Key Activities
• Treat wastewater
• Grow duckweed, co-crops
& fish
• Quality control
• Fish processing &
packaging
• Marketing & sales of fish
and co-crops
Value Propositions
• Provide quality
processed &
packaged fish for
domestic & export
markets.
• Provide cost effective
wastewater
treatment
• Provide highest
standard treated
water
Customer
Relationship
Customer Segments
• Municipality
(wastewater
producer)
• Municipality (water
consumer)
• Domestic whole
sellers & retail for
processed &
packaged fish
• Export processed &
packaged fish
markets
Key Resources
• Tanks and ponds
• Expertise duckweed
• Capital
• Partnerships with lagoon -
& wastewater provider
• Marketing & sales force
• Packaging & storage
• Quality control
mechanism
Channels
• Marketing
channels, local
and export
Cost Structure
• Capital investment
• O&M, including fingerlings
• Debt repay & equity value
• Marketing & sales with retailers and whole sellers
• Packaging & storage
Revenue Streams
• Sale of processed & packaged fish to domestic
whole sellers and retail
• Whole sale of processed & packaged fish to
export markets
• Potable water sales (potential)
• Wastewater handling fee

31. Value Propositions
•Provide quality processed &
packaged fish for domestic &
export markets.
•Provide cost effective
wastewater treatment
•Provide highest standard
treated water
Customer Segments
•Municipality (wastewater
producer)
•Municipality (water consumer)
•Domestic whole sellers & retail
for processed & packaged fish
•Export processed & packaged
fish markets
Revenue Streams
• Sale of processed & packaged fish to
domestic whole sellers and retail
• Whole sale of processed & packaged
fish to export markets
• Potable water sales (potential)
• Wastewater handling fee

33. We aim to create impact through different lines of action research,
including:
i. developing and testing scalable RRR business models;
ii. assessing and mitigating risks from RRR for public health and the
environment;
iii. supporting public and private entities with innovative
approaches for RRR;
iv. improving rural-urban linkages and resource allocations while
minimizing the negative urban footprint on the peri-urban
environment.

34. www.iwmi.org