Mosan

What Mosan does

Mosan GmbH is a Swiss-headquartered social enterprise (founded 2010, with operations since 2018) that designs, deploys, and operates a circular, off-grid household sanitation service for low-income and densely populated communities lacking sewerage infrastructure. Its integrated system comprises an award-winning waterless dry toilet with urine-feces separation, a regular collection and transport service, and a pyrolysis-based Transformation Center that converts excreta into pathogen-free biochar enriched with dehydrated urine nitrogen for use as organic fertilizer. The company's flagship deployment serves approximately 1,000 families in Santa Catarina Palopó at Lake Atitlán, Guatemala — a basin where 89% of wastewater otherwise flows untreated into the lake — while a subsidiary product line (Mosan Biochar for Reforestation) targets climate-positive tree planting in partnership with Vivamos Mejor.

The underlying technology combines container-based sanitation (CBS) recognized by the WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme with proprietary processes: a smell-prevention valve, low-tech pyrolysis equipment, and urine-dehydration-driven nutrient recovery, all validated by a 2021-2024 research partnership with ETH Zurich's Sustainable Agroecosystems Group demonstrating 60% root-weight increase in reforestation trials and 25% maize harvest improvement versus synthetic fertilizer. Mosan has co-developed its toilet with MIT d.lab and pilots were previously conducted in Kenya with Oxfam, GIZ, and WSUP.

Mosan earns revenue through monthly subscription-based sanitation service fees from households and through sales of biochar-based fertilizers to smallholder farmers and reforestation organizations; its GTM is community-led, co-creative, and dependent on a planned social-franchising model for regional expansion. The company is operationally lean (~11 team members), holds a registered industrial design for its toilet, and has been recognized by Forbes (Top 10 Swiss Startups, 2019), Dubai Expo Live (2020), Hans-Sauer Foundation, and Swiss Bluetec Bridge among others.

Name

Mosan

Legal name

Mosan GmbH

Website

https://mosan.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2010

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Mosan is a Swiss social enterprise operating a circular, off-grid dry sanitation service for low-income communities, using a waterless toilet, collection network, and pyrolysis process to convert human excreta into biochar fertilizer. Its flagship deployment serves ~1,000 families in Santa Catarina Palopó, Lake Atitlán, Guatemala.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Off-grid Circular Sanitation Services

NAICS

Solid Waste Collection (562111), Sewage Treatment Facilities (22132), Fertilizer and Compost Manufacturing (32531)

SIC

Sanitary Services (4950), Refuse Systems (4953)

akta.pro primary industry

Portable Toilet Rental & Servicing (BPALAMAF)

akta.pro secondary industries

Organic & Bio-based Fertilizers (Manure/Compost/Biochar) (IMAEAEAF), Compost Product Distribution, Retail & Landscape Supply (Bulk/Bagged) (BPALAEAI)

Keywords

• Container-based sanitation
• Ecological sanitation systems
• Biochar fertilizer production
• Circular waste management
• Off-grid dry toilets

Headquarters

HQ city

Sololá

HQ country

Guatemala

HQ region

Latin America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Sanitation Service Fees: Regular collection and sanitation service provided to households and communities. Service ensures users have fresh, clean toilets and includes transportation to transformation centers. Revenue generated from service fees paid by users.
2. Biochar-based Fertilizer Sales: Sale of biochar and biochar-based fertilizers produced from transformed human excreta to agricultural sector. Fertilizers sold to farmers for use in reforestation and crop cultivation (maize, coffee, etc.).

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Mosan provides a circular, off-grid sanitation service consisting of an award-winning transportable dry toilet with urine-feces separation, regular household collection and transport of waste to Transformation Centers, and a pyrolysis-based waste treatment process that converts human excreta into biochar-based fertilizers sold to the agricultural sector. The integrated offering also includes community awareness and capacity-building programs focused on Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) and a specialized Mosan Biochar for Reforestation sub-product used in tree-planting initiatives.

Product overview

Mosan offers a circular, off-grid dry sanitation service for densely populated settlements and challenging environments. The integrated system consists of the Mosan Toilet (a waterless, transportable dry toilet with urine-feces separation), Collection & Transport Service, Transformation via Pyrolysis (converting excreta into biochar), and Biochar-Based Fertilizers for agricultural reuse. Supporting services include Awareness & Capacity Building and participatory community co-creation. The company also offers a specialized Mosan Biochar for Reforestation sub-product. The system operates as a unified circular service rather than discrete purchasable software modules, with operations centered in Guatemala around Lake Atitlán.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Mosan Toilet An award-winning, waterless, transportable dry toilet with ergonomic and elegant design. It features clean separation of urine and feces into removable containers, a durable smell-prevention valve, and feces covered with dry materials (ash or sawdust). Designed through a participatory process with local communities for households lacking access to piped sewerage in low-income settlements.
• Collection & Transport Service Regular collection and transport service for households and areas covered by Mosan's community or public sanitation service. Ensures users always have a fresh and clean toilet and avoids greenhouse gas emissions from anaerobic decomposition on-site. The team handles transport of collected excreta to Mosan's Transformation Centers.
• Transformation (Pyrolysis) Process Pyrolysis-based waste treatment technology that converts human excreta and sewage sludge into biochar, a carbon-rich material with multiple soil benefits. Biochar is enriched with additional nutrients including human urine recovered through a dehydration process to restore nitrogen. Pathogens are eliminated through pyrolysis, making the output safe to handle.
• Biochar-Based Fertilizers Organic fertilizers produced from human excreta transformed via pyrolysis. The biochar-based products improve soil texture, nutrient retention, and pH, enhance water retention, decrease waterlogging, sequester CO2 through stable carbon soil addition, and support soil regeneration and farmers' resilience to climate change.
• Mosan Biochar for Reforestation Mosan biochar applied in reforestation efforts to increase tree survival rates and enhance adaptation to climate change by boosting moisture retention capacity. Applied to 5,000 trees across five hectares of land in partnership with Vivamos Mejor.
• Awareness & Capacity Building Program Program that promotes awareness on Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) to accelerate behavioral change through community involvement, educational events, and creative capacity building workshops. Part of Mosan's mission to enable local populations to participate in the innovation process.

Quantifiable outcome

• 60% increase in root weight for reforestation trees compared to chicken manure alone
• +7 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core and supporting.

• ETH Zurich - Sustainable Agroecosystems GroupcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021Research partnership 2021-2024 with Prof. Johan Six as group leader. Experts in carbon and nitrogen cycles, human livelihoods, and food security. Research focused on rigorous field trials of Mosan Biochar application in reforestation trees and maize crops. Findings showed 60% root weight increase and 25% harvest increase.
• Vivamos MejorcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2020Guatemalan NGO dedicated to agroecological practices and ecological restoration. Collaboration since 2020. Vivamos Mejor pioneers application of Mosan Biochar in reforestation efforts for 5,000 trees across 5 hectares. 3-year research partnership (2021-2024) with ETH Zurich and Mosan focused on biochar application in reforestation trees and maize crops. Vivamos Mejor reforests over 150 hectares annually in Lake Atitlán region.
• MIT d.labcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborated with MIT d.lab (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) to improve technological development of the toilet towards scale. Also collaboration with IDIN at MIT for support.
• GIZ (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEarly beginnings of Mosan idea in 2010 in Bangladesh when founder Mona Mijthab worked with GIZ. Ongoing collaboration and support. Pilot activities conducted with GIZ.
• OxfamsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerPilot activities of Mosan service conducted in cooperation with Oxfam in Kenya.
• WSUP (Water and Sanitation for the Urban Poor)supportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerPilot activities of Mosan service conducted in cooperation with WSUP in Kenya.
• CEWASsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerMosan is alumnus of CEWAS program - a water and sanitation business incubator.
• Creative HubsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerMosan is alumnus of Creative Hub program supporting social enterprises.
• EAWAG/SandecsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerEAWAG (Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology) through their Sandec department provides expertise and endorsement for Mosan approach. Philippe Reymond, Project Manager at EAWAG/Sandec, has provided positive commentary on Mosan solution.
• Seecon International GmbH/CewassupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerMichael Kropac, Senior Managing Partner at Seecon International GmbH/Cewas, has provided endorsement for Mosan solution in container-based sanitation systems.
• Swiss Development Cooperation - Swiss Bluetec BridgesupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerSelected by international expert jury to be part of Swiss Bluetec Bridge Program by Swiss Development Cooperation.

Scale indicators20 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Sistema.bio: Latin American social enterprise providing biogas-based sanitation systems to smallholder farmers, turning waste into energy and biofertilizer. Closest regional comparable given its Latin America footprint and smallholder farmer customer overlap.
• Sanergy: Kenya-based social enterprise operating container-based sanitation in low-income urban settlements with waste-to-value (insect protein, organic fertilizer) recovery. Closely mirrors Mosan's CBS + circular model, customer segment, and revenue architecture.
• Waste Concern: Bangladesh-based social enterprise converting organic waste (including fecal sludge) into compost for agricultural use. Comparable circular sanitation/composting model and emerging-market focus.
• SOIL Haiti: Operates container-based sanitation in Haiti, composting waste into agricultural fertilizer. Directly comparable model of CBS service with circular biochar/compost output, serving similar low-income customers.
• Regen Organics: Spun out of Sanergy, Regen Organics manufactures and sells organic fertilizer from sanitized human waste. Direct overlap with Mosan's biochar fertilizer commercialization arm.
• Loowatt: UK-founded container-based sanitation company deploying waterless dry toilets with waste-to-value processing, with operations in Madagascar and beyond. Competes in the same CBS niche with similar dry-toilet + circular design philosophy.

Broad incumbents

• WAGA Energy: Larger-scale player converting waste (including landfill gas) into renewable energy. Broader incumbent in waste-to-value infrastructure with adjacent technology overlap to Mosan's pyrolysis/waste treatment approach.

Emerging players

• Drylet: US-based bio-based waste-to-product technology company using microbial and biological processes for wastewater and waste treatment. Comparable in being a science-led circular waste-treatment play serving agricultural customers.
• xRunoff: Decentralized wastewater treatment startup focused on resource recovery. Adjacent in the decentralized sanitation + nutrient recovery space where Mosan also operates.

Others

• EAWAG/Sandec: Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology department focused on water and sanitation in developing countries. Endorses Mosan technology and is a research counterpart; comparable as a domain expert and ecosystem influencer in decentralized sanitation.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/mosan_ch
• Facebookfacebook.com/mosanitation
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/mosanitation
• Instagraminstagram.com/mosanitation

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles12 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Mosan