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Sanergy: Tackling Sanitation in Kenyan Slums SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution

Case Study Description of Sanergy: Tackling Sanitation in Kenyan Slums


This case centers on Sanergy, a five-plus-year-old hybrid organization, that has become a high profile, high growth, social enterprise, known initially for its Fresh Life toilets deployed in the Mukuru and Mathare slums of Nairobi, Kenya. Sanergy's co-founders launched their social startup out of the 2011 MIT 100K business plan challenge and quickly received national attention in the press. By 2013, the firm had raised a "Series A" equity round from Acumen, Eleos Investment Management (Eleos) and Novastar, the team had also begun its operations in Kenya to more rapidly build-out both sides of its business: (1) in its non-profit business, deploying Fresh Life Toilets to improving access to hygienic sanitation in Nairobi's informal settlements sanitation business, largely using a franchisee model; and (2) in its for-profit fertilizer business, with its Evergrow Organic Fertilizer, produced by Farm Star, sold to small- and medium-sized farmers in need of rich soil supplements. This case examines both Sanergy's hybrid business model and "sustainable sanitation value chain" in detail and explores the challenges the social enterprise entity will face as it continues to scale up both businesses and seeks to reach the breakeven point by 2018.

Authors :: Jennifer Walske, Laura D. Tyson

Topics :: Leadership & Managing People

Tags :: Mergers & acquisitions, Social enterprise, Sustainability, SWOT Analysis, SWOT Matrix, TOWS, Weighted SWOT Analysis

Swot Analysis of "Sanergy: Tackling Sanitation in Kenyan Slums" written by Jennifer Walske, Laura D. Tyson includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Sanitation Eleos facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Sanergy: Tackling Sanitation in Kenyan Slums case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Mergers & acquisitions, Social enterprise, Sustainability and Leadership & Managing People.


Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Sanergy: Tackling Sanitation in Kenyan Slums casestudy better are - – digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, wage bills are increasing, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, increasing transportation and logistics costs, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, etc



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Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Sanergy: Tackling Sanitation in Kenyan Slums


SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Sanergy: Tackling Sanitation in Kenyan Slums case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Sanitation Eleos, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Sanitation Eleos operates in.

According to Harvard Business Review, 75% of the managers use SWOT analysis for various purposes such as – evaluating current scenario, strategic planning, new venture feasibility, personal growth goals, new market entry, Go To market strategies, portfolio management and strategic trade-off assessment, organizational restructuring, etc.




SWOT Objectives / Importance of SWOT Analysis and SWOT Matrix


SWOT analysis of Sanergy: Tackling Sanitation in Kenyan Slums can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Sanergy: Tackling Sanitation in Kenyan Slums case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Sanitation Eleos
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Leadership & Managing People field.
4. Making a Leadership & Managing People topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Sanitation Eleos




Strengths Sanergy: Tackling Sanitation in Kenyan Slums | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The strengths of Sanitation Eleos in Sanergy: Tackling Sanitation in Kenyan Slums Harvard Business Review case study are -

Highly skilled collaborators

– Sanitation Eleos has highly efficient outsourcing and offshoring strategy. It has resulted in greater operational flexibility and bringing down the costs in highly price sensitive segment. Secondly the value chain collaborators of the firm in Sanergy: Tackling Sanitation in Kenyan Slums HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.

Diverse revenue streams

– Sanitation Eleos is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Sanergy: Tackling Sanitation in Kenyan Slums case study a diverse revenue stream that has helped it to survive disruptions such as global pandemic in Covid-19, financial disruption of 2008, and supply chain disruption of 2021.

Cross disciplinary teams

– Horizontal connected teams at the Sanitation Eleos are driving operational speed, building greater agility, and keeping the organization nimble to compete with new competitors. It helps are organization to ideate new ideas, and execute them swiftly in the marketplace.

Operational resilience

– The operational resilience strategy in the Sanergy: Tackling Sanitation in Kenyan Slums Harvard Business Review case study comprises – understanding the underlying the factors in the industry, building diversified operations across different geographies so that disruption in one part of the world doesn’t impact the overall performance of the firm, and integrating the various business operations and processes through its digital transformation drive.

Sustainable margins compare to other players in Leadership & Managing People industry

– Sanergy: Tackling Sanitation in Kenyan Slums firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Sanitation Eleos to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Sanitation Eleos to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.

Training and development

– Sanitation Eleos has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Sanergy: Tackling Sanitation in Kenyan Slums Harvard Business Review case study by analyzing – employees retention, in-house promotion, loyalty, new venture initiation, lack of conflict, and high level of both employees and customer engagement.

Low bargaining power of suppliers

– Suppliers of Sanitation Eleos in the sector have low bargaining power. Sanergy: Tackling Sanitation in Kenyan Slums has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Sanitation Eleos to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.

Successful track record of launching new products

– Sanitation Eleos has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Sanitation Eleos has effective processes in place that helps in exploring new product needs, doing quick pilot testing, and then launching the products quickly using its extensive distribution network.

Ability to recruit top talent

– Sanitation Eleos is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Sanergy: Tackling Sanitation in Kenyan Slums are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.

Strong track record of project management

– Sanitation Eleos is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.

Analytics focus

– Sanitation Eleos is putting a lot of focus on utilizing the power of analytics in business decision making. This has put it among the leading players in the industry. The technology infrastructure suggested by Jennifer Walske, Laura D. Tyson can also help it to harness the power of analytics for – marketing optimization, demand forecasting, customer relationship management, inventory management, information sharing across the value chain etc.

Superior customer experience

– The customer experience strategy of Sanitation Eleos in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.






Weaknesses Sanergy: Tackling Sanitation in Kenyan Slums | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The weaknesses of Sanergy: Tackling Sanitation in Kenyan Slums are -

Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy

– From the instances in the HBR case study Sanergy: Tackling Sanitation in Kenyan Slums, it seems that the employees of Sanitation Eleos don’t have comprehensive understanding of the firm’s strategy. This is reflected in number of promotional campaigns over the last few years that had mixed messaging and competing priorities. Some of the strategic activities and services promoted in the promotional campaigns were not consistent with the organization’s strategy.

High dependence on star products

– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Sanergy: Tackling Sanitation in Kenyan Slums HBR case study still accounts for major business revenue. This dependence on star products in has resulted into insufficient focus on developing new products, even though Sanitation Eleos has relatively successful track record of launching new products.

Low market penetration in new markets

– Outside its home market of Sanitation Eleos, firm in the HBR case study Sanergy: Tackling Sanitation in Kenyan Slums needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.

Skills based hiring

– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Sanitation Eleos has created an environment where the organization is dominated by functional specialists rather than management generalist. This has resulted into product oriented approach rather than marketing oriented approach or consumers oriented approach.

High dependence on existing supply chain

– The disruption in the global supply chains because of the Covid-19 pandemic and blockage of the Suez Canal illustrated the fragile nature of Sanitation Eleos supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Sanergy: Tackling Sanitation in Kenyan Slums, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Sanitation Eleos vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.

High operating costs

– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Sanergy: Tackling Sanitation in Kenyan Slums has high operating costs in the. This can be harder to sustain given the new emerging competition from nimble players who are using technology to attract Sanitation Eleos 's lucrative customers.

Need for greater diversity

– Sanitation Eleos has taken concrete steps on diversity, equity, and inclusion. But the efforts so far has resulted in limited success. It needs to expand the recruitment and selection process to hire more people from the minorities and underprivileged background.

Interest costs

– Compare to the competition, Sanitation Eleos has borrowed money from the capital market at higher rates. It needs to restructure the interest payment and costs so that it can compete better and improve profitability.

Workers concerns about automation

– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Sanitation Eleos needs to come up with a strategy to reduce the workers concern regarding automation. Without a clear strategy, it could lead to disruption and uncertainty within the organization.

High cash cycle compare to competitors

Sanitation Eleos has a high cash cycle compare to other players in the industry. It needs to shorten the cash cycle by 12% to be more competitive in the marketplace, reduce inventory costs, and be more profitable.

Products dominated business model

– Even though Sanitation Eleos has some of the most successful products in the industry, this business model has made each new product launch extremely critical for continuous financial growth of the organization. firm in the HBR case study - Sanergy: Tackling Sanitation in Kenyan Slums should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.




Opportunities Sanergy: Tackling Sanitation in Kenyan Slums | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis


The opportunities highlighted in the Harvard Business Review case study Sanergy: Tackling Sanitation in Kenyan Slums are -

Reconfiguring business model

– The expansion of digital payment system, the bringing down of international transactions costs using Bitcoin and other blockchain based currencies, etc can help Sanitation Eleos to reconfigure its entire business model. For example it can used blockchain based technologies to reduce piracy of its products in the big markets such as China. Secondly it can use the popularity of e-commerce in various developing markets to build a Direct to Customer business model rather than the current Channel Heavy distribution network.

Reforming the budgeting process

- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Sanitation Eleos can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.

Learning at scale

– Online learning technologies has now opened space for Sanitation Eleos to conduct training and development for its employees across the world. This will result in not only reducing the cost of training but also help employees in different part of the world to integrate with the headquarter work culture, ethos, and standards.

Lowering marketing communication costs

– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Sanitation Eleos in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Leadership & Managing People segment, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.

Redefining models of collaboration and team work

– As explained in the weaknesses section, Sanitation Eleos is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Sanergy: Tackling Sanitation in Kenyan Slums case study suggests that firm can utilize new technology to build more coordinated teams and streamline operations and communications using tools such as CAD, Zoom, etc.

Manufacturing automation

– Sanitation Eleos can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Leadership & Managing People segment. It can use CAD and 3D printing to build a quick prototype and pilot testing products. It can leverage automation using machine learning and artificial intelligence to do faster production at lowers costs, and it can leverage the growth in satellite and tracking technologies to improve inventory management, transportation, and shipping.

Identify volunteer opportunities

– Covid-19 has impacted working population in two ways – it has led to people soul searching about their professional choices, resulting in mass resignation. Secondly it has encouraged people to do things that they are passionate about. This has opened opportunities for businesses to build volunteer oriented socially driven projects. Sanitation Eleos can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.

Increase in government spending

– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Sanitation Eleos can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Sanitation Eleos operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Leadership & Managing People sector.

Loyalty marketing

– Sanitation Eleos has focused on building a highly responsive customer relationship management platform. This platform is built on in-house data and driven by analytics and artificial intelligence. The customer analytics can help the organization to fine tune its loyalty marketing efforts, increase the wallet share of the organization, reduce wastage on mainstream advertising spending, build better pricing strategies using personalization, etc.

Creating value in data economy

– The success of analytics program of Sanitation Eleos has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Sanitation Eleos to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Sanergy: Tackling Sanitation in Kenyan Slums case study. Sanitation Eleos can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.

Developing new processes and practices

– Sanitation Eleos can develop new processes and procedures in Leadership & Managing People industry using technology such as automation using artificial intelligence, real time transportation and products tracking, 3D modeling for concept development and new products pilot testing etc.

Using analytics as competitive advantage

– Sanitation Eleos has spent a significant amount of money and effort to integrate analytics and machine learning into its operations in the sector. This continuous investment in analytics has enabled, as illustrated in the Harvard case study Sanergy: Tackling Sanitation in Kenyan Slums - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Sanitation Eleos to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.

Low interest rates

– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Sanitation Eleos can still utilize the low interest rates to borrow money for capital investment. Secondly it can also use the increase of government spending in infrastructure projects to get new business.




Threats Sanergy: Tackling Sanitation in Kenyan Slums External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis


The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Sanergy: Tackling Sanitation in Kenyan Slums are -

Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution

– Sanitation Eleos has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Leadership & Managing People industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Sanitation Eleos needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Leadership & Managing People sector. According to Mckinsey study top managers believe that the adoption of technology in operations, communications is 20-25 times faster than what they planned in the beginning of 2019.

Environmental challenges

– Sanitation Eleos needs to have a robust strategy against the disruptions arising from climate change and energy requirements. EU has identified it as key priority area and spending 30% of its 880 billion Euros European post Covid-19 recovery funds on green technology. Sanitation Eleos can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry.

Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins

– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Sanitation Eleos can face downward pressure on margins from increasing competition from international players. The international players have stable revenue in their home market and can use those resources to penetrate prominent markets illustrated in HBR case study Sanergy: Tackling Sanitation in Kenyan Slums .

Capital market disruption

– During the Covid-19, Dow Jones has touched record high. The valuations of a number of companies are way beyond their existing business model potential. This can lead to capital market correction which can put a number of suppliers, collaborators, value chain partners in great financial difficulty. It will directly impact the business of Sanitation Eleos.

Trade war between China and United States

– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Sanitation Eleos in the Leadership & Managing People industry. The Leadership & Managing People industry is already at various protected from local competition in China, with the rise of trade war the protection levels may go up. This presents a clear threat of current business model in Chinese market.

Barriers of entry lowering

– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Sanitation Eleos with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.

Consumer confidence and its impact on Sanitation Eleos demand

– There is a high probability of declining consumer confidence, given – high inflammation rate, rise of gig economy, lower job stability, increasing cost of living, higher interest rates, and aging demography. All the factors contribute to people saving higher rate of their income, resulting in lower consumer demand in the industry and other sectors.

High level of anxiety and lack of motivation

– the Great Resignation in United States is the sign of broader dissatisfaction among the workforce in United States. Sanitation Eleos needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Leadership & Managing People industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.

Aging population

– As the populations of most advanced economies are aging, it will lead to high social security costs, higher savings among population, and lower demand for goods and services in the economy. The household savings in US, France, UK, Germany, and Japan are growing faster than predicted because of uncertainty caused by pandemic.

Learning curve for new practices

– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Sanergy: Tackling Sanitation in Kenyan Slums, Sanitation Eleos may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Leadership & Managing People .

New competition

– After the dotcom bust of 2001, financial crisis of 2008-09, the business formation in US economy had declined. But in 2020 alone, there are more than 1.5 million new business applications in United States. This can lead to greater competition for Sanitation Eleos in the Leadership & Managing People sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.

Stagnating economy with rate increase

– Sanitation Eleos can face lack of demand in the market place because of Fed actions to reduce inflation. This can lead to sluggish growth in the economy, lower demands, lower investments, higher borrowing costs, and consolidation in the field.

Shortening product life cycle

– it is one of the major threat that Sanitation Eleos is facing in Leadership & Managing People sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.




Weighted SWOT Analysis of Sanergy: Tackling Sanitation in Kenyan Slums Template, Example


Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers in the HBR case study Sanergy: Tackling Sanitation in Kenyan Slums needs to zero down on the relative importance of each factor mentioned in the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants. We can provide the relative importance to each factor by assigning relative weights. Weighted SWOT analysis process is a three stage process –

First stage for doing weighted SWOT analysis of the case study Sanergy: Tackling Sanitation in Kenyan Slums is to rank the strengths and weaknesses of the organization. This will help you to assess the most important strengths and weaknesses of the firm and which one of the strengths and weaknesses mentioned in the initial lists are marginal and can be left out.

Second stage for conducting weighted SWOT analysis of the Harvard case study Sanergy: Tackling Sanitation in Kenyan Slums is to give probabilities to the external strategic factors thus better understanding the opportunities and threats arising out of macro environment changes and developments.

Third stage of constructing weighted SWOT analysis of Sanergy: Tackling Sanitation in Kenyan Slums is to provide strategic recommendations includes – joining likelihood of external strategic factors such as opportunities and threats to the internal strategic factors – strengths and weaknesses. You should start with external factors as they will provide the direction of the overall industry. Secondly by joining probabilities with internal strategic factors can help the company not only strategic fit but also the most probably strategic trade-off that Sanitation Eleos needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.



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