At a time when the Kenyan government is stepping up its efforts to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 6 (SDG 6), which focuses on water and health security for the population by 2030, Kenyan start-up INNO-Neat Energy Solutions wants to do its bit. The company has designed "SafiSolar", a solar water filter that makes water drinkable, with the potential to serve around 250 households.
INNO-Neat Energy Solutions created the “SafiSolar” solar water filter to be adapted to rural areas. For the founder and CEO of the Kenyan start-up, Godfrey Katiambo, poor rural populations are facing more serious water shortages because of the unequal distribution of the resource, as well as the implementation of water projects. In Kenya, Godfrey Katiambo’s solution aims to reduce this imbalance in the supply of drinking water by making surface water potable.
Specifically, the INNO-Neat Energy Solutions water filter eliminates contaminants such as bacteria, viruses and heavy metals, making the water safe to drink. “Unlike traditional methods such as boiling water or using chlorine tablets, our solution requires only a one-off investment and offers a sustainable, cost-effective and easy-to-maintain approach,” explains founder and CEO Godfrey Katiambo. The facility is powered by solar energy to overcome the problem of power cuts.
Nearly 250 households served by each water filter
INNO-NEAT has already developed and successfully deployed three “SafiSolar” prototypes with women’s groups in western Kenya. Each installation supplies an average of 5 m3 of drinking water a day to around 250 households. This innovation has also earned the young company, founded in 2022, a place among the 10 finalists in the 2023 Ecosystem Restoration Africa programme. This initiative, managed by Village Capital, targets low-income rural communities in urgent need of drinking water.
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“Over the next few years, we aim to strengthen our impact by expanding to other communities in Kenya and beyond. This expansion will be facilitated by strategic partnerships, increased production and ongoing innovation to make our solution even more effective and accessible”, Godfrey Katiambo explained to our colleagues at Disrupt Africa on 2 November 2023.
Inès Magoum
