Successful water innovators really understand their customers. From workflows to procurement processes to local culture and customs, startups that thrive in this challenging sector are those that don’t just sell a technology offering – but rather those that deliver a whole solution uniquely adapted to their customers’ needs and context. It’s difficult to get this right off the bat. Extensive customer discovery and experimentation is often needed.
This session led by Safe Water Network and Imagine H2O will feature three unique stories about three different water innovators’ experiences overcoming these challenges. How is Safe Water Network approaching data capture and validation for its water stations in Ghana? What challenges emerged when they assumed technology would generate new efficiencies? What did Fluid Robotics learn when they piloted their sewer-mapping robots in Mumbai during the height of the pandemic? How did their offering evolve? Lastly, despite early buy-in from small utilities in the US South, what did Varuna learn when they started piloting in the field with their first customer?
We’ll hear from small water implementers and entrepreneurs on the lessons they have to share for the water innovation community and the role that you can play to ensure innovation succeeds and delivers lasting impact – whether you are an implementer, entrepreneur, investor, donor, or utility end-user.
The COVID-19 pandemic wreaked unprecedented havoc on many aspects of life – especially for the world’s most vulnerable populations. The most recent UN Sustainability Development Goals Report stated that 71 million people are expected to be pushed back into extreme poverty in 2020, further deepening the water challenges already faced by billions of people around the world.
These trying times and complex challenges require new and inventive ways to sustain, finance, and scale small/safe water enterprises (SWEs). To accelerate progress in closing the global safe water gap, Safe Water Network launched the Innovations Webinar Series to showcase and celebrate implementers that are utilizing innovative solutions in finance, technology, and policy to address safe water issues. The webinar series will feature case studies, panels, and studies that tackle some of the world’s most pressing problems.
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