Sanergy, a Kenyan social enterprise that makes affordable and hygienic sanitation accessible in the slums and Kenyan based Honey Care Africa (HCA) are among the finalists in the running to win the 2014 Nestlé Prize in Creating Shared Value (CSV). Nestlé announced three finalists all working across East Africa, who were shortlisted from 759 entries obtained from all over the world. The announcement was made yesterday at the 2014 World Water Week in Stockholm. Honey Care Africa was shortlisted for its project in South Sudan where it is helping locals generate additional income through honey production. “We plan to use the prize money to help 35,000 farmers in impoverished South Sudan become commercial beekeepers by 2017, allowing them to generate additional income through honey production,” said Ryan Marincowitz, Country Manager HCA in South Sudan. On its part, Sanergy promotes access to sanitation for the approximately 8 million slum residents in Kenya who are forced to rely on unsanitary options such as “flying toilets” and pit latrines that release untreated human waste into the environment. According to Sanergy co-founder, David Auerbach, the organization will use the money to reach more than 300,000 people and create 2,000 new jobs over five years. “We have opened 470 Fresh Life Toilets in the slums in Nairobi with over 20,000 residents now with access to affordable hygienic sanitation. We collect and treat over 7 tons of waste daily,” said David. The third finalist was MSABI, a Tanzanian not-for-profit organisation promoting access to safe water and sanitation for rural populations in the country. The three organizations will each win a share of the CHF 500,000 (approximately Kshs48million) from Nestlé. The overall winner will be announced at the annual Nestlé CSV Forum on the 9 October 2014. “The Nestlé Prize in Creating Shared Value is awarded every two years to help scale up or replicate business-oriented initiatives that address challenges in nutrition, water or rural development,” said Cornel Krummenacher, CEO of Nestlé Equatorial African Region (EAR). CSV is Nestlé’s approach to doing business – To build a business capable of both superior shareholder value and helping people improve their nutrition, health, and wellness. The overall aim of the Nestlé Prize in creating shared value is to reward the best examples of CSV initiatives worldwide and to encourage others to adopt this approach. The Prize is open to individuals, governmental and non-governmental organizations, academia and social enterprises. Africa Sand Dam Foundation (ASDF), a Kenyan organisation and its UK partner Excellent Development won the prize in 2012 that has enabled it construct modern water dams in the arid areas of Machakos County. Nominations for the 2016 Nestlé Prize in Creating Shared Value will be accepted from 9 October 2014 until 28 February 2015.
