Our Story
1. Executive Summary,
Forever Sanitation Ltd (FSS) is a company that was started by Mr. John Businge in May 2013. The company is venturing into pit emptying initially piloting with the Gulper technology. The company will start the Gulping business using one (1) gulper operating in Nakulabye, Kasubi, Bwaise, Kawaala, Namungoona and Makerere-Kikoni areas for the first three months. FSS will be managed by Mr. John Businge himself, who has a good understanding of the opportunity, having worked for a rival gulping company before. The company has had regular Gulper and sanitation trainings from the Marketing team at Water for People – Uganda
1.1. Vision;
• Access to reliable, affordable and clean pit emptying services to every household in Kampala district.
1.2. Mission;
To provide access to reliable, affordable, hygienic and clean pit-emptying services to every household in Kampala district and beyond.
1.3. Core Values;
The following are the core values that will direct the growth and development of Forever Sanitation Solutions Ltd.
• Maintain clean and hygienic pit emptying service delivery.
• Integrity.
• Maintain highly effective customer care values.
• Passion and commitment in what we do.
1.4. Goals / Objectives.
To ensure that every household in Kampala district gets access to a reliable, clean and hygienic yet affordable pit emptying service at all times.
1.4.1. Short term Objectives;
To serve at least 80 customers by the end of 2013.
To have emptied at least 480 barrels of sludge, at an average of 6 barrels per customer by the end of 2013.
Achieved sales of Ush 14,400,000 by the end of 2013.
Have a vibrant, skilled and committed management team in place.
1.4.2. Long Term objectives;
To roll out sales to cover the entire Kampala districts and the surrounding districts of Wakiso particularly Nansana township.
Acquiring a pick-up truck through financing from commercial banks.
2. General Description of the Business.
Forever Sanitation Ltd was started in May 2013, by the sole proprietor, Mr. John Businge, who received business training about the gulper pit emptying opportunity being promoted by Water for People –Uganda through its Sanitation Marketers. This Business opportunity is about the service of emptying pit latrines using the Gulper, hand-powered equipment that can be used in high-density areas that are not accessible to mechanized vacuum tankers (Cesspool).
2.1. Service offered by Forever Sanitation Ltd.
A latrine is a pit dug into the ground into which people ease themselves – depositing a mixture of urine and faeces. Over time, the pit fills up and at some point must either be closed (and another pit constructed) or be emptied. What people are buying is the removal of all or part of the contents of their latrine so that it may continue to be used, extending the life of the latrine and increasing the return on the initial capital investment made in building it. Therefore Forever Sanitation Ltd will be providing pit emptying services using the manual device known as the Gulper.
2.2. The Industry;
In Uganda in general and Kampala in particular, the pit-emptying service providers are regulated by National Water & Sewerage Corporation (NWSC) – who manage the sludge dumping facilities, Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) and National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) who set the standards and permits for handling and transportation of sludge. The current pit-emptying facilities are estimated at 43- 6 tones-cesspool vehicles which can empty about 400 tones a day yet the demand could be over 2,000 tones implying that over 80% of the total demand is uncovered for. Besides, most of the slum areas cannot be accessed by the cesspool truck thus the need for maneuverable pit-emptying measures to access the congested households without access roads/pathways. Further to that a household could have a maximum of 1 tonne of sludge hence a 6 tonne vehicle could be under-utilized if they are not many customers to fill up the full-tonnage. Each trip costs about Shs100,000/= irrespective of whether they truck-capacity if fully utilized. It is in view of the above that the gulper-technology innovation comes in handy and use of smaller-tonnage vehicles becomes more cost-effective both to the client and service provider.
3. Market Plan.
3.1. Market Analysis.
According to the 2012 market study by business advisory firm Captiva, potential market size for Pit Emptying for Kampala and its environs is US$6.1 million per annum. Demand for Pit Emptying services outstrips supply by 378 cubic meters of septage a day. Kampala and its environs therefore require an additional thirty five 6-ton cesspool trucks over and above the existing 43 trucks to meet the demand for pit emptying services. It is noteworthy these will only serve a segment that can be accessed by the tankers and households willing to pay in excess of UGX 100,000 per trip. The market currently lacks alternative technology for the segments that cannot afford the tankers or are inaccessible by the tankers. In some cases it is both factors. A study by Captiva has showed that the cost of entry in the business is between UGX 1,000,000-1,500,000, that is if the business already owns a pick-up truck.
3.2. Sales Projections.
PERIOD 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017
Number of Barrels 720 1200 1800 2400 3000
Number of Households 120 200 300 400 500
Projected Gross Sales 21,600,000/= 36,000,000/= 54,000,000/= 72,000,000/= 90,000,000/=
Gross Expenditure 18,788,000/= 16,872,000/= 24,330,000/= 30,600,000/= 36,144,000/=
Projected Profits 2,812,000/= 19,128,000/= 29,670,000/= 41,400,000/= 53,856,000/=
Loan Repayment - 12,000,000/= 12,000,000/= 12,000,000/= -
Net Profit Ratio 13% 53% 55% 58% 60%
3.3. Target Market
Virtually all customers will be householders or landlords in the high-density areas. Most latrines are owned by house-owners – including owner-occupiers and landlords (on behalf of their tenants). It is rare for tenants to pay for pit emptying.
Pit emptying is an on-site service provided to a householder at home. It is normally done during daylight hours. The service can offer to empty as much or as little as the customer requires or as the household budget will allow. The unique selling point of the gulper is that it can be used in places that are inaccessible to commercial vacuum tankers. When pits are water logged they are like septic tanks and are easy for gulping.
Where the house (and the latrine) is close to the road the pit can be emptied by a powered vacuum tanker. However, these cannot operate effectively more than 30 metres away from the vehicle so another approach is needed for pits not accessible by a tanker. The Gulper is ideal for emptying latrines that are constructed in areas where houses are clustered and have no planned road network - only foot paths. This is because the operator can easily carry the Gulper on his shoulders.
3.4. Buying Behavior.
In the provision of pit emptying services in Kampala district, our prospective customers are classified into:
• Household customers in the informal-settlement (Slums), low lying areas of for example; Bwaise, Kasubi, Katanga, Namungoona, Kawaala, Nansana etc who pay cash for each barrel filled up with sludge from the latrine. The customers in this segment often have their pit full at least every 4 months in the year, due to the characteristic period flooding, and a high water table nature of these areas.
• Institutions like schools, public latrines and other establishments which are often filled up by the high rate of users.
3.5. Competitive Environment.
Competition in the pit emptying business is mainly made up of cesspool emptier and fellow gulper pit emptying businesses. According to the analysis made by Forever Sanitation Ltd, the competition in the gulper pit emptying business is likely to be strong because of the low cost of entry into the gulper business. This will most likely drive down the market price for every barrel emptied.
NAME ADVANTAGES DISADVANTAGES
Fellow gulper emptying businesses. Low capital required for business entry.
Accessibility
Affordability of the service due to pay per barrel emptied.
Ability to empty pits full of rubbish. Manual emptying process tends to be tedious and dirty.
Periodic breakdown of the technology.
Relativity new business model and technology.
Limited volumes of sludge carried per trip due to use of barrels.
Capacity of the sludge emptied is limited due to technological constraints.
Cesspool Emptier Automated emptying process ensures efficiency.
Already in business.
Ability to carry bigger volumes of sludge per trip.
Ability to empty entire pit latrine. Poor accessibility to some customers.
Highly expensive service.
Cannot empty pits full of rubbish.
3.6. Competitive Analysis.
We will use the competitive analysis table below to compare Forever Sanitation Ltd with our competitors. The parameters (factors) to be used will include; Price, quality, service, reliability, stability, expertise, company reputation, advertising and location
Factor Forever Sanitation Strength Weakness Competitor A (Fellow Gulping Businesses) Competitor B (Cesspool Emptier)
Price Charge per barrel. Affordable since customer only pays per volume emptied. The margins tend to be low. Affordable since customer only pays per volume emptied. Charges per tonnage of truck and the margin tend to be higher hence the service expensive.
Quality Always try to operate under hygienic conditions. Wash every pit after emptying. Manual operations mean that sludge spills during emptying. Manual operations mean that sludge spills during emptying. Automated operations ensure high degree of hygiene meaning almost no spillage.
Service Can empty only up to the effectiveness of the technology. Can be delivered anywhere.
Does not empty entire pit due to technological constraints. Can empty almost every pit latrine, but the exercise does not
