A pan-African industrial player positioning itself in the supply of essential services in Africa, the Eranove Group reaffirmed its contribution to the development of access to water and sanitation on the African continent on the occasion of the World Forum of water which was held from March 21 to 26, 2022, in Dakar, Senegal
Accompanied by its subsidiaries operating in the water sector SDE (Senegal), SODECI (Ivory Coast), Orelo (Gabon) and Omilaye (Benin), the Managing Director of the Industrial Group Marc Albérola highlighted the development of the group’s African expertise through training, empowerment, innovation and the digitization of key processes with regard to the challenges of financing, good governance, management and security of drinking water and sanitation networks in Africa. As a reminder, Eranove provides a public service to more than 1.4 million customers (drinking water) and 700,000 sanitation customers. It produces and distributes more than 300 million m3 of drinking water each year.
Marc Albérola, CEO of Eranove
“The challenges of sanitation and access to water necessarily place a pan-African industrial group like Eranove at the forefront of African challenges in terms of sustainable and responsible development. Our participation in the World Water Forum was therefore natural and we are happy to have been able to develop synergies with the various players in the ecosystem present at the Forum, in line with our commitments in favor of universal access to water. drinking water on the continent through the implementation of African know-how», declared Mr. Marc Albérola, CEO of Eranove.
The Eranove Group’s participation in the 9th edition of the World Water Forum is in keeping with its commitment and its contributions to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) on the African continent. In this regard, Vincent Gnalla, Central Technical Director of SODECI, spoke during the session on “the role of private operators in the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG)6”, namely: “Guarantee universal and equitable access to drinking water, hygiene and sanitation by 2030, in particular for vulnerable populations”.
As a private operator, Eranove contributes to achieving this objective through four of its subsidiaries: the Senegalese Waters (SDE), the Water Distribution Company of Côte d’Ivoire, (SODECI), the company Orelo in Gabon and the company Omilayé in Benin.
SDE ensured the operation and management of the public drinking water service in urban areas in Senegal from 1996 to 2020 through a leasing contract with the State of Senegal and now has the task of managing the public service of water in rural areas (SDE-R).
Since 1960 in Côte d’Ivoire, SODECI has produced, transported and distributed drinking water in the country’s urban areas (1.4 million customers). Since 1999, the company has also been entrusted by the State with the management of rainwater and sanitation services in the Abidjan conurbation. Still in Côte d’Ivoire, in accordance with the recommendations of the United Nations Regarding vulnerable populations, Eranove and the State are implementing the “Water for All” program with the aim of increasing the rate of access to drinking water for low-income Ivorian households. Since 2017, several thousand inhabitants have been able to have low-cost access to the public drinking water service.
As for the Orelo project, it is the result of a concession agreement signed in October 2018 by the Gabonese Republic, the FGIS (Gabonese Fund for Strategic Investments) and the Eranove Group for the financing, design, construction, operation and maintenance of a new drinking water production unit with a production capacity of 140,000 m3 per day in the Komo-Kango department. This project will improve the supply of drinking water to Libreville and its surroundings by increasing the production capacity corresponding to the consumption of more than 700,000 inhabitants, in order to meet the constantly growing demand of the population.
In Benin, the Omilaye subsidiary will manage, with a leasing contract, the public service for the production, transport and distribution of drinking water in rural areas in order to implement the government program for universal and affordable access. drinking water in Benin.
« It goes without saying that water is an essential resource for the life, development and resilience of human societies, while 413 million people do not have access to safe water, according to the world Bank. Therefore, it is the joint responsibility of the African public and private sectors to collaborate in order to allow sustainable access to as many people as possible. This is the will of the Eranove Group and we thank the African authorities for their confidence in us, in the pursuit of this mission. », concluded Mr. Ahmadou Bakayoko, Director of Operations of the Group and Managing Director of SODECI.
The Eranove Group has established itself as a major player in the water sector in Africa thanks to a unique model combining African roots, expertise across the entire water business value chain and a strong commitment to the management of services essential to life within the framework of balanced and effective partnerships.
Who is the Eranove Group?
The pan-African industrial group Eranove is a major player in the management of public services and the production of electricity and drinking water. With a head office in Paris, the Eranove Group has been present in Côte d’Ivoire for several decades (SODECI, CIE, CIPREL, Awale, Smart Energy), in Senegal (SDE) since 1996 and is developing in Mali, Togo, Gabon, Madagascar, Ivory Coast, Benin, Senegal and the Democratic Republic of Congo. With a turnover of 615 million euros, 306 million m3 of drinking water produced, an electrical production capacity operated of 1,250 MW and more than 1,000 MW under development, the Eranove Group employs more than 7,800 employees, whose skills and know-how it brings together to serve 2.9 million customers for electricity and 1.4 million for water (2020 figures).
A responsible player, the Group is committed through its subsidiaries to all CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) issues and to ISO 9001, ISO 45001 safety and ISO 140001 environment certification for its businesses.