Our Story.
SaniTap's strategic evolution from a WASH social enterprise to a carbon credit and climate finance project developer in Madagascar.
Founding story.
SaniTap was founded in 2020 by Adriaan Mol and Andrew Tanswell, Dutch and British entrepreneurs, after 30 years of collaborations in humanitarian work and social entrepreneurship across Africa. The mission of this "impact venture" is to implement scalable initiatives that address climate change-induced challenges to low-income populations in Madagascar, with an initial focus on reliable access to clean water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) solutions.
The SaniTap Handwasher.
Handwashing with soap is one of the most effective tools for preventing child mortality from diarrhoea and pneumonia. Unfortunately, for many families, especially forcibly displaced people or refugees, running water simply isn't an option.
To solve this, SaniTap designed the SaniTap Handwasher: a lightweight, affordable 3-litre water bag with an integrated soap holder and a patented spout that can be operated even by young children, enabling families with no accessible running water to easily wash their hands at all critical moments. SaniTap identified the need, innovated a solution, designed and developed the product, and set up manufacturing and the supply chain.
The product has been distributed across three continents by UNICEF, UNHCR, ICRC, and numerous NGOs. Every 1,000 bags distributed is estimated to save between 1.7 and 3.2 children's lives, depending on local disease incidence.
Founding MadAvance.
In 2023 SaniTap supported and funded MadAvance, a Malagasy NGO that supports the delivery and long-term management of community water and improved cooking programmes. MadAvance has its own Board of Directors of capable Malagasy professionals. Together, the organisations implement projects that restore safe drinking water infrastructure, distribute improved cookstoves, and promote WASH practices across vulnerable communities in Madagascar.
Through this partnership model, SaniTap helps build local capacity and create employment opportunities within Madagascar. MadAvance employs over 80 local staff across field operations, project management, community engagement, and monitoring, reaching hundreds of thousands of people.
By working through a strong local Malagasy partner, SaniTap ensures projects generate not only environmental impact but also sustainable local employment and skills development within the communities they serve.
Initial exploration of clean water carbon projects.
In 2024, SaniTap began exploring new ways to address the long-standing funding challenges facing rural water infrastructure in Madagascar. Many community water points had fallen into disrepair because of reliance on short-term philanthropic funding that did not support long-term maintenance or system sustainability.
To address this structural gap, SaniTap turned to climate finance as a more durable long-term funding mechanism. The company carried out detailed feasibility studies and pilot activities to assess how carbon finance could support safe drinking water access, laying the technical and operational foundations for SaniTap's current Clean Water carbon credit project.
Improved Cooking carbon project pilot.
In 2025, SaniTap launched an Improved Cooking carbon project in partnership with a large international corporate. The initiative distributed 120,042 improved cookstoves to households in rural and peri-urban communities in Madagascar, reducing wood and charcoal consumption, lowering greenhouse gas emissions, and improving indoor air quality.
The project also established the monitoring systems and community engagement needed for large-scale implementation, laying the groundwork for SaniTap's first verified carbon credit projects and long-term expansion of improved cooking solutions.
First carbon credits issued, with two labels.
In 2026 the first Improved Cooking projects completed independent verification and Gold Standard certification. The first credits, 76,607 verified emission reductions of 2025 vintage, were issued in October 2026 carrying Gold Standard's Gender Responsive label and the ICVCM Core Carbon Principles label. They come from the first cookstove projects on the Gold Standard Impact Registry to carry the Gender Responsive label.
The milestone marks the transition from project implementation to verified climate impact at scale. The sale of high-integrity credits now funds the continued expansion of climate and health solutions in Madagascar, with the 2026 vintage due for issuance in early 2027 and the safe-water projects following.
