Creating Viable and Sustainable Sanitation Enterprises: A Retrospective Analysis of Rural Sanitation Enterprises in Cambodia

The USAID WASHPaLS Desk Review on scaling market-based sanitation (MBS) highlighted the opportunity for an intervener to address barriers at all three levels of the market system―the core sanitation market; the business environment; and the broader context. The review identified multiple questions for further exploration based on areas with inadequate evidence.

In complement to the Desk Review, WASHPaLS developed in-depth case studies of mature market-based sanitation (MBS) programs in Cambodia, as well as India (state of Bihar) and Nigeria to help MBS program implementers gain a better, more nuanced understanding of the factors influencing the viability and sustainability of enterprises.

This report examines the experiences of sanitation enterprises that were supported by WaterSHED’s Hands-Off Sanitation Marketing intervention in Cambodia.

In the context of WaterSHED’s program in Cambodia, the case study identified key methods used to increase gross profits, such as increasing the share of a customer’s wallet by selling them additional or more expensive products, actively adding customers, and managing costs. By offering customers more choice and the convenience of procuring all sanitation components from one place, enterprises increased revenue and the profit earned per customer.

Analyses revealed that most sanitation enterprises that received support from WaterSHED’s programming were sustainable, in part because of the Hands-Off commitment to avoid creating financial or operational dependencies on non-market support. The program brokered linkages among different actors in the market system by encouraging direct interactions from the start.