Youth Water Innovation Challenge

🔅🔋WaterIQ (Indonesia) Mustika Wijaya;  Nathanel Pribady  - Optimizing solar-powered water systems in Indonesia's remote areas

WaterIQ leverages IoT and cloud computing to optimize solar-powered water systems in Indonesia's remote areas, providing real-time data for efficient water management. By involving local communities in maintenance and introducing a subscription-based financing model, WaterIQ ensures sustainability and socio-economic viability.

🦐♻️CrustaTec -(Guatemala) María Amorín  -  Seafood waste to wastewater treatment

CrustaTec transforms shrimp shell waste into a non-toxic, biodegradable chitosan biopolymer, used in a recirculation filter for textile wastewater treatment and general wastewater treatment. This innovation prevents environmental risks from seafood waste, supports rural artisans and small textile producers,  and contributes to the circular economy.

🔄⚗️Mop Tech (Lesotho) Moletsane Mophethe - Assisting potable water treatment plants by recycling metal-based chemicals

Mop Tech's Floc-Opex Recovery (FOR) process recycles up to 90% of metal-based chemicals with 95% purity, reducing sludge by 15% and cutting greenhouse gas emissions by 140 times compared to new chemical production. This resource recovery approach supports a circular economy, mitigates climate change, and stabilizes chemical costs for water utilities.

Calling on Aquapreneurs to Join the World Bank Youth Innovation Challenge!

The World Bank Youth Innovation Challenge: Water Solutions for a New Climate Reality is designed to accelerate innovation and unlock the potential of the next generation of youth aquapreneurs from around the world. 

Participants entering the World Bank Youth Innovation Challenge will:

• Sharpen your entrepreneurial skills in pitching to investors, developing your business plan, honing product-market fit, growing a thriving team, early stage fundraising, scaling from lab to market, and more. 
• Improve business plans and pitch scalable solutions to water tech CEOs, VCs, and other impact investors 
• Receive market feedback from water and sanitation utilities, irrigation operators, and other end users. 
• Network with a global community of successful entrepreneurs , water experts, investors and other innovators. 
• Access a 6-month Accelerator Program that provides one on one mentoring by successful Water tech CEOs (winners only). 

The World Bank and partners invite all interested and eligible youth aquapreneurs (age 18-34) to apply by February 23, 2024, with innovative solutions tackling one or more of four global water challenges:

• Too much water
• Too little water
• Contaminated water
• Mismanaged water

The Challenge launched at CoP28 on December 8th, 2023, and will run through October 2024. It is a joint initiative of the World Bank’s Solutions for Youth Employment (S4YE) and Water Global Practice’s Utility of the Future Program who are joined by innovative partners including: 

• CEO Champions from Water-Tech Companies: 3R Water, Acquacycl, Pani Energy, CANN Forecast, Desolenator, Kai Pono Solutions, Kilimo, Nitrogen Sensing Solutions, Oneka, NatureDots. Permalution, Xylem, GWF AG, Eunomia
• Outreach and Learning Partners: Mazarine Ventures, Microsoft Philanthropies, Ripple2Wave, Sustainable Oceans Alliance, Youth Business International, World YMCA, The Duke of Edinburgh International Award, Orange, The Earth Prize, Youth COLAB, Unreasonable