By YANGE IKYAA
As stakeholders continue to find ways of harnessing the identified investment opportunities that in the Nigerian Water Sanitation and Hygiene sector, which are estimated at $21 billion, the Nigerian ministry of water resources, in partnership with the private sector, has began linking young Nigerians and their startups to these business opportunities by leveraging the WASH Open Innovation Fair.
The minister of water resources, Suleiman Adamu, who was the key note speaker at the WASH Open Innovation Fair 2023, with the theme: “Innovating for Sustainable Growth in the WASH Sector,” held April 27 at Radisson Blu Hotel in Lagos, stated that the fair was a celebration of innovative solutions to the challenges of open defecation and the promotion of access to safe water and hygiene facilities in Nigeria.
During the event, there was also cheque presentation to five (5) Winners of the WASH Hackathon. According to reports, the cumulative amount won and received by the five to participants stood at N17. 5 million.
Adamu pointed out that, “undeniably, the Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene Sector offers immense opportunities for investment, job creation, and poverty reduction, thereby indicating that it was the recognition of this potential that spurred the Nigerian government into commiting significant resources to the sector, not only because of its intrinsic benefits but also because of its concomitant benefits to many other sectors. He added that “despite the substantial investments in the sector, it is generally acknowledged that much more needs to be done to improve access to clean Water, Sanitation and Hygiene for our citizens”.
The minister further noted that during the World Toilet Summit hosted by Nigeria last year, stakeholders identified investment opportunities that were estimated at $21 billion in the country’s WASH sector. He maintained that this represents a significant opportunity that should drive innovation and investment in the sector. “We must therefore leverage this and other opportunities to integrate creative solutions that will contribute to the resolution of identified challenges and stimulate more investment, encourage innovation and build capacity in the sector,” he further advised.
Adamu emphasized that the WASH Open Innovation Fair 2023 provided an excellent platform for entrepreneurs and innovators to showcase their ideas, products, and services designed to address the challenges of open defecation and enhance access to safe water and hygiene facilities through innovative solutions, and that the solutions identified at “this” meeting will help strengthen the national initiatives such as the Partnership For Expanded Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (PEWASH), which was launched as a national collaborative instrument to mobilize resources and harness the efforts of the federal and state governments towards improving access to Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene in rural areas.
The minister stated that the leadership of the present administration in Nigeria has consistently demonstrated the required strong political commitment to WASH issues, and that through this initiative, the country is poised to join the pantheon of those countries that have developed local and innovative solutions in addressing the challenges of their respective WASH sectors.
