Avanza Agua Digital: Open innovation program
About the program
As part of the project “Support for projects and ventures in the ideation stage in water and sanitation with service providers in Ecuador and Colombia”, the Avanza Agua Digital program was implemented in Colombia.
In Bogotá, this pre-incubation program supports three teams in validating technological solutions aimed at addressing a key challenge identified by the Bogotá Water and Sewerage Company (EAAB): Using ICT, how can we identify, characterize, and monitor informal human settlements and their properties in order to improve billing, increase revenue collection, and reduce losses, contributing to both social and business sustainability?
The program strengthens early-stage solutions through a structured process that combines:
1. Hands-on support to validate technological solutions in real-world contexts.
2. Guidance in defining value propositions and key assumptions for minimum viable products (MVPs).
3. Development of execution plans, including activities, timelines, and budgets.
4. Capacity building through intensive in-person sessions and collaborative work.
As part of the first phase, a hackathon was held from August 22 to 24, 2025, at Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, with the participation of twelve teams. From these, three were selected: Aquanova, Hidro, and Aqualytics. One week later, an in-person bootcamp was conducted as the core activity of the program, focused on MVP planning and alignment with the selected teams.
From this stage onward, the program continues with a technical support and validation process running from September 2025 to March 2026. During this period, the teams are expected to advance in the implementation of their prototypes, conduct field testing, and validate the key assumptions of their solutions in real-world contexts.
If you would like to learn more about the challenge addressed during the Hackathon (only in Spanish), please visit: https://innova-tic.creation.camp/