Enterprise growth
Tailored acceleration, strategic support and investment readiness for WASH businesses.
Scaling WASH enterprise and innovation
Kisumu, Kenya · East AfricaPractical ideas. Stronger enterprises. Better WASH outcomes.
Opero brings engineering, market insight and enterprise support together to help water, sanitation and hygiene solutions move from promising ideas to lasting impact.
About Opero
Meet the team
Built for the realities of East African WASH markets
Opero Services is a Kenyan engineering, business development and market research firm specializing in scaling water, sanitation and hygiene technologies and enterprises.
We work from ideation to commercialization, helping teams understand their markets, test practical technologies, strengthen business models and build solutions that can grow.
What we do
Three disciplines. One path to scale.
Opero connects technical design, business growth and local market evidence, because durable WASH impact rarely comes from one discipline alone.
Market intelligence
Research and analytics that turn local market realities into confident decisions.
Technology innovation
Design, testing and commercialization support for practical sanitation technologies.
Proven impact
Progress measured in practical outcomes.
Opero combines technology development with enterprise support, helping WASH solutions move from field testing towards commercial scale and stronger service delivery.
- 6WASH technologies designed, tested and improved
- 1WASH technology commercialized
- 35WASH enterprises in tailored accelerator programmes
- $3M+Raised for WASH enterprises in Kenya
Sustainable development
WASH progress strengthens whole communities.
Opero's work contributes to clean water and sanitation, decent work and collaboration across the development ecosystem.
Expand access to clean water, safe sanitation and hygiene services.
Help WASH enterprises create dignified work and sustainable growth.
Build partnerships that connect local expertise with shared action.
Selected work
Designed in context. Tested in practice.
A selection of technologies, service models and training programmes developed with operators, enterprises and implementation partners.
Pit-emptying innovation
PuPu Pump
Up to 3,000 L in 20–30 minutes
A portable push-pull sanitation pump that helps service providers empty hard-to-reach pit latrines more safely and efficiently.
- Portable design for dense and hard-to-reach areas
- Moves sludge through closed hoses into a storage tank
- Field-tested with East African service providers
Humanitarian sanitation
Saniforce Fecal Sludge Treatment Unit
115 m³ treated during the published pilot
A self-sustaining treatment unit combining anaerobic digestion and thermal disinfection for humanitarian and decentralized settings.
- Biogas-powered thermal disinfection
- Designed for infrastructure-constrained settings
- Piloted at the Kisumu WASH Technology Hub
Nature-based sanitation
Vetiver Green Latrine
Published pilot construction cost: USD 185
A cost-conscious sanitation system using a sealed pan, barrel-based containment and vetiver grass to help treat effluent.
- Designed for rural and peri-urban settings
- Reduces reliance on conventional septic infrastructure
- Developed from the Santech Hackathon
Circular sanitation
DungBeetle Anaerobic Digesters
116+ active reactors in published results
Modular anaerobic digesters adapted for sanitation, producing useful biogas while treating waste for households and institutions.
- Prefabricated and modular
- Supports decentralized treatment
- Creates clean energy through biogas
Waterless sanitation
Honey Dipper
100% on-site treatment concept
A waterless toilet concept designed to dehydrate and treat waste on site, reducing dependence on sewer and transport infrastructure.
- No water required for operation
- On-site treatment and collection
- Designed for water-constrained communities
Skills and service delivery
Sanitation Training
3 pit-emptying technologies covered
Hands-on pit-emptying training at the Kisumu WASH Technology Hub using the PuPu Pump, Gulper and PitVaq.
- Practical equipment training
- Safety, dignity and service-quality focus
- For sanitation operators and service providers
From the field
See WASH innovation in practice.
Follow Opero's teams, partners and sanitation service providers as they test practical technologies and apply them in real operating environments.
Our team
Different disciplines, shared purpose.
Engineers, researchers, project leaders, operators and communicators working together to solve complex WASH challenges.
Wycliffe Odongo
Technician
Resources
Field notes, evidence and practical learning.
Explore project updates, case studies, newsletters and the PuPu Pump Digest.
PuPu Pump Digest: Tackling Trash
Practical lessons on trash, thick sludge and equipment care during pit-latrine emptying.
Read more
January 2025 Update
A recap of Opero's late-2024 work across humanitarian treatment, green sanitation, enterprise support and PuPu Pump commercialization.
Read morePuPu Pump testing and commercialisation
Field testing and commercialisation of a portable pit-emptying technology with sanitation service providers in East Africa.
Read moreWorking together
Collaboration is part of the method.
Opero has worked alongside funders, technical partners and distribution networks across East Africa and beyond.
Get in touch
Tell us what you’re working on.
Whether you’re growing a sanitation business, planning market research, testing a technology in the field or looking for hands-on training, we work with partners across Kenya and the wider African region. Send a message and we’ll connect you with the right people.