Combining supply and demand for last-mile delivery in Kenya

By Alex Njagi – Leader – Kenya, SATO

In Kenya, we are proud of our rural heritage. Our nation’s farmers and rural communities provide immense value to Kenya and people across Africa. However, due to market barriers – from awareness to accessibility – ensuring the provision of sanitation and hygiene solutions within the ‘last mile’ has proved challenging… until now.

Thanks to our successful partnership with Kenya’s Association of Grassroots Journalists and Vmart Hardware, two of our many fruitful partnerships in Kenya, we have successfully addressed the existing market barriers and helped create thriving rural markets. Here’s how we’ve done it.

At SATO, we leverage our global supply chains and experience working with partners – from local NGOs to retailers and plastic manufacturers – to address market challenges and ensure that our sanitation and hygiene solutions are available where customers are.

Over the last two years, we have partnered with the Association of Grassroots Journalists – an organisation that brings together the next generation of up-and-coming journalists – to create segments, talk shows, and bulletins highlighting the benefits of upgrading sanitation and hygiene and the current sanitation situation in Kenya, its challenges and the strides that different players in the sanitation space are making.

As a result, we’ve targeted 80+ grassroot radio stations across Kenya, each reaching directly to our intended audiences in remote areas. Five of these stations are part of a focused activation campaign, including jingles, talk shows and coordinated social media content to broaden our reach and community engagement. This initiative has already resulted in a total average listenership of 6.84 million people.

These initiatives were focussed in areas where our partners have a presence on the ground to act as a catalyst that could drive sales. For example, in Kilifi, through our partnership with UNICEF and the county government, we had already worked with community health promoters and helped train masons within its rural villages – building a strong foundation. Our radio campaign, which helped amplify the message of its benefits, reached deep into Kilifi’s rural communities to stimulate local demand.

Awareness building, while critical, is only one part of creating market-based sanitation – the demand must be met by supply. This is where partners like Vmart Hardware come in. Led by Rebecca Bosibori Omoi, Vmart originally distributed plumbing products to smaller, harder to access outlets around the Kisii district. Over the last year, Vmart has expanded its reach, distributing over 8,000 units across Kenya by recruiting new retail outlets, hardware partners and last mile retailers. Today, Vmart plays a key role in distributing SATO Pans and Stools, driving our trade development in even the most remote of areas.

Reflecting growing demand, stimulated in part by our work with the Association of Grassroots Journalists, Vmart today operates distribution networks across Kisii, Migori, Eldoret, and Nairobi. It also connects with our network of mason partners to help thousands of people purchase and install our innovative sanitation and hygiene solutions per month.

The combination of awareness building, improved supply, and unique, value-added products has delivered powerful results. It’s moved people away from open defecation or limited access to sanitation, unlocking health, social and economic value in the process. We see a significant opportunity to deepen our engagement with the Association of Grassroots Journalists and accelerate local demand.

By the end of this year, we are aiming to expand our relationship and mentorship programme to include all 80+ grassroots stations. This will help raise awareness immediately and increase the chances of tomorrow’s national news anchor advocating for better sanitation and hygiene, driving a generational shift that encourages more to invest in toilets and taps.

Our market-based approach, delivered in partnership with Vmart and the Association of Grassroots Journalists among many other partners and institutions, has created tangible value for local communities. We see it as a catalyst for change: a blueprint that can be rolled out across Kenya to accelerate the shift away from no or unimproved sanitation and create brighter futures every day for rural consumers.