Africote offers a range of products that are easy and safe to use while ensuring less pollution of the water used in private house or hotels and do not pollute the air by emitting harmful chemicals or unpleasant odours.

One of the company’s flagship products is InvisiGlove a patented hand protection formula that protects hands from harmful products at home or in the workplace. It disinfects hands from germs and dirt and helps moisturize them so they are smooth and supple when carrying out day-to-day activities.

Uday Shah, chief executive of Africote Ltd said: “With InvisiGlove pre-applied to the hands, the dangers and discomforts of working with hazardous chemicals and hard-to-clean substances are virtually eliminated”.

InvisiGlove is a clear, alcohol free, unscented and concentrated solution of stabilized glutaraldehyde with food-grade surfactants and foam boosters.

Developed in South Africa, the solution is patented world-wide. It has a neutral pH and is stable at room temperature.

Catherine Wakaba, sales and marketing manager at Africote, said: “InvisiGlove is a very effective solution that destroys harmful bacteria, viruses, fungi, moulds and spores at home and in the workplace. The solution is eco-friendly as it does not emit unpleasant odours or corrode hands and other surfaces. A simple application of the gel n your hands helps protect you for up to six hours as it contains powerful long-lasting agents that shield your hands from germs and other harmful bacteria. The solution also comes with skin pampering features that moisturize your hands.

On application, InvisiGlove binds to the outer layer of the skin. When it has dried (after 60 to 90 seconds) it does not come off. It is a water-soluble protection that easily washes off on rinsing with clean tap water. “one of the astounding innovations in this product is its amazing ability to encapsulate and pack dirt and grime so that it can be easily washed away with cold or hot water, said Dinesh Vara, the firm’s director of marketing.

According to Mr. Vara, InvisiGlove has been proved to protect hands from rotavirus disease and many other bacterial and viral infections. The solution also protects hands from dyes, oil based inks, spray paints, shoe polish, glue resins, grease, used motor oil, enamel paint and hydrochloric acid.

The solution is suitable for use in restaurants, catering institutions, hotels and lodges, supermarkets (especially for food and vegetable handlers), bakeries and other food related industries where hygiene is of utmost importance.

Africote has also introduced a product called Avantu that will help most hotels comply with the recent recommendation by NEMA under EMCA (see story on page 8) on managing effluent water and sewage. Thanks to Avantu, hotels. Lodges and bush camps can deal with unpleasant odours emitted by sewage and effluent water systems.

Avantu uses the concept of adding the right bacteria to increase the correct biomass to accelerate the biodegradation process so as to rectify problems relating to effluent water and sewage.

Catherine Wakaba said: “Avantu contains scientifically selected micro-organisms known for their biological performance in the breaking down process of sewage and other organic waste. The micro-organisms do this by balancing or adjusting the bacteria biomass blend to remedy the problem”.

Avantu is mixed with water before it is poured into the pit latrines or into the effluent water and sewer systems in hotels, homes, schools and business premises. Once the solution is poured into the system, the biodegradation process begins. The solid waste in the system gradually dissolves into water and eliminates harmful gases and odour within 24 hours. In this way, the sewerage system’s final effluent will conform with set discharge standards.

Mr. Shah said: “Avantu provides the simplest, most economical and environmentally friendly solution to rectifying congested septic tanks and all forms of problematic sewerage treatment works including contaminated dams, lakes and rivers. In addition, Avantu has micro-organisms that eliminate malaria and blackfly larvae and thus assist in malaria and waterborne disease control programmes”.

Two of Avantu products contain specific substrate microbes that produce a crystalline toxin that kills the mosquito and blackfly larvae. According to Mr. Shah, Avantu has produced a number of blends of natural harmless micro-organisms chosen for their specific abilities to accelerate the biodegradation process of human, vegetable, animal, fibrous and hydrocarbon waste. In addition, some of the microbes used, owing to their unique ability to convert an anaerobic to an aerobic environment, are able to eliminate waterborne diseases such as dysentery, diarrhea and typhoid while other microbes in the products compete with the cholera bacterium for the same food source, starving the cholera bacterium and preventing it from spreading.

Africote’s products are now used by a number of hotels and businesses all over the country including Toyota Kenya, Heritage Hotels, Sarova Whitesands Hotel, Mombasa, carnivore Restaurant, general Motors Kenya, Crown Paints and BOC Gases.

With the new products in the Kenyan market, Africote’s mission is to provide environmentally friendly products that will make people live in cleaner and healthier environments safe from harmful bacteria, germs and disease.