• PIDG backs Sanivation’s Naivasha facility through equity and technical support.
• Expansion will boost waste treatment and fuel briquette production by 2027.
• Project targets lower energy costs and reduced pollution around Lake Naivasha.

The Private Infrastructure Development Group (PIDG) announced yesterday it has made a $3.3 million equity investment to support the expansion of a waste-to-energy facility operated by Sanivation in Naivasha, Kenya.

The investment is being made through InfraCo, PIDG’s project development arm, and is complemented by a $500,000 technical assistance grant. The funds will finance the expansion of the Naivasha Treatment Plant, developed in partnership with Nakuru County, to increase waste processing capacity and the production of fuel briquettes. The expanded facility is expected to come on stream in 2027.

Sanivation processes fecal sludge, which it blends with residues from local sawmills and agricultural value chains. The process produces solid fuel briquettes that are used as a substitute for firewood in industrial boilers. According to the company, the briquettes allow industrial clients to cut energy costs by between 10% and 30%.

Once expanded, the Naivasha facility is expected to treat waste volumes equivalent to those generated by 100,000 to 130,000 households, while reducing soil pollution and pressure on Lake Naivasha.

“Sanivation presents an exciting investment for PIDG in the waste-to-value space. By demonstrating the importance of adopting a circular economy approach to waste treatment across Kenya and the wider region, we anticipate that the Naivasha Treatment Plant expansion will attract future private sector finance into this emerging sector,” said Omar Jabri, PIDG InfraCo’s Africa business development lead.

Across Africa, waste-to-energy solutions are gaining traction through a range of models, including biogas produced from agro-industrial waste and electricity generation from municipal waste.

In South Africa, anaerobic digestion plants are already converting organic effluents into biogas and industrial energy, while in West Africa, a waste-to-energy power plant project aims to inject electricity into the grid. The PIDG-backed project in Kenya fits into this broader continental trend, while positioning itself in a segment that remains relatively underdeveloped.

Abdoullah Diop