Comments on: Innovative “Sanitation as a Business” Model: CCS in Nairobi, Kenya http://blogs.washplus.org/innovation/2011/08/innovative-sanitation-as-a-business-model-ccs-in-nairobi-kenya/ Good ideas get better when shared! Fri, 20 Nov 2015 12:09:27 +0000 hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=4.4.4 By: Justin DeKoszmovszky http://blogs.washplus.org/innovation/2011/08/innovative-sanitation-as-a-business-model-ccs-in-nairobi-kenya/#comment-10 Tue, 13 Sep 2011 10:29:51 +0000 http://blogs.washplus.org/innovation/?p=328#comment-10 Thank you for following CCS and for the comment, Sarah.

CCS does not limit entrepreneurs from entering the market but CCS is setting a high standard and working hard to raise consumer expectations. The ongoing provision of cleaning products is not subsidized and is in fact a profit center for CCS. The challenge, and the reason CCS is a non-profit social enterprise, is that the support we found to be necessary to seed the market, support the entrepreneurs and ensure quality costs more than CCS can make selling product. But these are also the source of the social impact and success. Therefore we are partnering with the social sector to “monetize” the social benefits CCS creates to pay for those support activities.

We have a Facebook page (while our website is being developed) so, if it is convenient, please follow CCS there. [http://www.facebook.com/pages/CCS-Community-Cleaning-Services/232942230059181] Hope to see you there!

Best,
Justin [CCS co-founder].

]]> By: Sarah http://blogs.washplus.org/innovation/2011/08/innovative-sanitation-as-a-business-model-ccs-in-nairobi-kenya/#comment-6 Wed, 24 Aug 2011 16:58:04 +0000 http://blogs.washplus.org/innovation/?p=328#comment-6 This model is an impressive one, and one that I’ve been following. I question the method of providing all uniforms and initial cleaning supplies. I’ve seen that method used to start businesses, only to find that there is no repurchase of supplies after the initial supplies run out. CCS seems to be getting around that–great!–but does it mean that no new entrepreneurs enter the market without receiving CCS training? One of the questions that I had when I first read about this group is that SC Johnson was continuing to supply cleaning supplies at below-market prices. I don’t know if that’s still the case. If it is, I worry that once that subsidy stops–and it will eventually whether it’s a year from now or 10 years from now–will the entrepreneurs be able to continue to purchase supplies? Do the economics of the business allow it to remain successful even if the inputs are greater?

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