The South African Sanitation Technology Enterprise Programme (SASTEP) is a national system of innovation platform that seeks to fast-track the adoption of innovative and emerging sanitation technologies in South Africa through fostering local manufacturing and commercialization. The core strategy of the programme is to support and empower sanitation innovators (technology partners) and sanitation entrepreneurs (commercial partners). The SASTEP approach is hinged on the formation of collaborative partnership with sanitation innovators and entrepreneurs to ensure the translation of suitable and appropriate sanitation technologies to the marketplace.
The programme was created by the Water Research Commission (WRC) in partnership with the Department of Science and Innovation (DSI), and the Bill and Melinda Foundation (BMGF) and with the support of the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS).
The programme is an operation vehicle of the WRC’s transformational vision SANiTi: Sanitation Transformation Initiative.
Vision
“Upon conclusion of SASTEP, a rejuvenated South African sanitation industry should have emerged that not only creates jobs and contributes to the GDP but also is a global leader in the application of alternative sanitation technologies that provides everyone in South Africa with access to dignified sanitation that minimizes pollution, beneficiates wastes, and promotes health, safety and water security.”
Objectives
- Develop a demonstration platform to support both local & international sanitation technologies,
- Integrate the emerging sanitation industry into existing national economic development and investment framework,
- Facilitate and enable the uptake of new sanitation technologies and solutions with the aim of achieving at least 1% share of the sanitation market,
- Support commercial partners to manufacture locally through matchmaking with investors and local manufacturing capacity,
- Champion the proliferation of new sanitation technologies through policy advocacy, support and promoting successes,
- Promote gender equality through all programme initiatives and interventions,
- Document the business and service models that emerges from the localization and industrialization interventions.
The Team
