A Global Community of Entrepreneurs

CPlantae Saneamiento de Agua is a Mexican engineering firm specialized in nature-based solutions for wastewater management and aquatic bodies restoration. We harness the power of plants and earthworms to improve lives. CPlantae was part of the Young Water Solutions Fellowship in 2018.

AQUAmoss is a Peruvian company formed by 3 young entrepreneurs dedicated to developing household filters for the purification of drinking water. AQUAmoss won the AQUATÓN competition of the Peruvian Ministry of Housing, Construction and Sanitation in 2021 with its Ecofiltro Paccha, which combines the benefits of Peruvian flora, traditional pottery, and filtration principles.

CASA (Ciudades Autosostenibles Amazónicas) is a team of three Peruvian architects dedicated to developing housing solutions and essential services in jungle areas of Peru. CASA developed the technology of water walls. PVC pipes form the walls of the infrastructure, allowing the storage of well water or rainwater. With its easy-to-assemble dry toilet module, CASA won the AQUATÓN competition of the Peruvian Ministry of Housing, Construction and Sanitation in 2021. Thanks to this, they were able to implement the CASA module in the Asentamiento Humano 31 de Agosto, district of San Juan Bautista, province of Maynas in Loreto.

Cassa provides sustainable social housing with clean water, clean energy and sanitation in rural and urban areas of Guatemala. The organization helps its customers acquire vital services, save money, and protect the environment, specifically Guatemala’s forests and water bodies.

Di’Tek is an integrated solution for water resources management. It uses technology to help rural water suppliers (ASADAs) in Costa Rica improve their water disinfection systems and water management practices. Di’Tek provides a tailored automated water testing system. Di’Tek was part of the Young Water Solutions Fellowship 2019.

Aqualit is based in Mexico tackles technical and logistical challenges in controlling wastewater parameters by providing a real-time monitoring system. The main objectives are to raise awareness of the importance of wastewater treatment and to develop a reliable database of public information on water management. Aqualit was part of the Junior ReSource Fellowship in 2017.

Pak-Vitae is a social business aimed at improving access to safe water conditions in developing countries by providing affordable and effective purifiers. Usama Tanveer, the co-founder's pilot consisted of drilling two boreholes at an Afghan Refugee Camp in Islamabad and distributing the first prototypes of PakStraw filters, benefiting over 1,500 people.

SR3 INVENT is a company of Ecuadorian and Swiss partners located in Quito, Ecuador dedicated to the development of sustainable projects and businesses. The company ensures the corporate social benefit of their customers by strengthening their business by working with their stakeholders. The main working areas are sustainable water sanitation, environmental management and sustainability, environmental marketing and institutional strengthening. Within the business lines SR3 INVENT establishes the RRR Project “BOMBASOIL, pellets made of chicken manure enriched with nutrients with the goal to mitigate the water pollution caused by agriculture.

Aljuli Engineering Limited is involved in the design of water reticulation systems; connection of customers to external water sources including rainwater harvesting, municipal, private or/and community water service providers; a collection of the wastewater after use; treatment solutions for the wastewater; and disposal of the treated water either in the environment or for re-use.

CrustaTec is a Guatemalan company that produces a biopolymer made of shrimp shell waste, discarded by the industry, which can be used to remove textile dyes from wastewater. The chitosan biopolymer contained in the crustacean`s shell is an ideal absorbent and floculant for the dyes as it is non-toxic, biodegradable and also allows to recover the dyes for reuse. Since it is low-cost, it can be used by both large and small textile industries. CrustaTec was part of the Young Water Solutions Fellowship in 2018.

This association, based in Haiti, designs, tests, and implements social business models to increase access to cost-effective full-cycle household sanitation services in urban communities. The EkoLakay toilet by SOIL collects waste and transforms it into compost. More than 1000 households in Cap-Haitien and Port-au-Prince make use of the SOIL sanitation service for USD 3.5 per month.

Aqua Clara Kenya (ACK) is a B Corporation certified social enterprise that designs and distributes Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) solutions across East Africa. ACK uses mobile software and mobile money to enable its customers, a majority who live at the BoP, to pay for products in installments.

Sanergy focuses on tackling the urban sanitation crisis in Nairobi. The company builds a network of high-quality low-cost sanitation facilities, called Fresh Life Toilets; safely collects the waste from these toilets, treats it and converts it into valuable end-products, such as organic fertilizer. Sanergy’s approach gives access to safe sanitation to inhabitants of informal settlements in Kenya.

Nazava Water Filters empower low-income households to purify their good tap or rainwater without the need for boiling or using electricity. With Nazava Water Filters households obtain safer drinking water at lower costs, enabling them to save over US$ 100/year, whilst also reducing Co2 emissions.

iWASH Africa is a young Ghanaian social enterprise that is solving lack of clean water and sanitation challenges in rural communities by building an integrated self-sustaining water and sanitation solution through the construction of low-cost, environmentally-friendly micro-flush toilets and solar powered water provision systems, using an entrepreneurial approach. iWASH Africa was part of the Young Water Solutions Fellowship in 2018.

Brooms Ltd is a portable toilet rental company offering a range of toileting facilities for construction sites and events as well as exhauster services. The sanitation company is based in Nairobi and Mombasa.

Viva con Agua Nepal is an association that aims at raising awareness on clean water and sanitation among urban youths. The association organizes the first Festival “Art Creates Water” in Kathmandu bringing together local & international artists to sensitize urban young people on sanitation, water, and hygiene.

Aveola, founded by Landry, is a startup that focuses on waste recycling and the production of various chemical products for sanitation solutions. One of their work activities include O’viv, an urban and aquatic sanitation initiative that collects plastic pollutants and transforms them into ecological, solar-powered public toilets featuring a nanoparticle cleaning and ultra-violet disinfection.

Elphrods Services LLP offers financial services as affordable micro loans to small, medium sized enterprises and households within the low -income communities of Kisumu. Elphrod’s WASH loans are designed to offer flexible solutions to help landlords and home- owners access sanitation (sewered /non-sewered and water connections) and innovatively includes pit and septic tank emptying as well as upgrading of toilets for connections. The model has partnered with registered WASH service providers which guarantees the landlords of quality products.

WASSER FÜR WASSER (WfW) is a young non-profit organization with the aim of raising awareness of the privileged water situation in Switzerland while simultaneously integrating donation for water projects into everyday life. Thanks to partnerships with restaurants and companies aswell as other campaigns, WfW promotes innovative solutions drinking tap water. While all donations generated in restaurants go 100% to the projects in Zambia and Moçambique, „WfW in the office“-companies decide whether their engagement should focus on projects in Switzerland or sub-Saharan Africa.

Ecoplast Innov is a company specialising in recycling plastic waste into paving slabs and bricks for construction purposes.

Molly Danielsson and Matthew Lippincott are promoting sustainable sanitation solutions and advocacy to legalise decentralised sanitation. With creativity and attention to detail they continously launch new projects in the sustainable sanitation sector in Portland, Oregon (USA).

Hygiene Plus Solution is social enterprise that disinfects traditional wells in household yards before installing a cover on each well. This treatment will help to improve and protect the water source and preserve the health of the surrounding population.

Rural Water Management Solutions (K) Limited (RUWASCO) is a Kenyan registered social enterprise specialized in the development, operation, and management of smart water supply systems by using Innovative Service Delivery Models, the latest IT Solutions, and Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs). The company provides professionalization management services to water utilities through a Public-Owned-Privately-Managed model through a partnership framework with the county governments. The company also provides SMART water billing & payment services to water utilities through the M-MAJI billing system.

Benaa is a not-for-profit organization that aims at building up the youth capacities, in order to build up sustainable development projects, and create an interactive enabling environment in the MENA region.

To reduce the impact of seasonality on market gardens and to ensure a regular income for women farmers, Agreautech Team have developed an autonomous irrigation device with a solar drip system.

SANA International Holding Ltd has a demonstrated and unparalleled track record in professional management of Small and Medium Scale Rural Water Utilities in Kenya. The Social Enterprise located in Kisumu , Kenya, offers integrated innovative water service delivery solutions targeting both household and institutional consumers for sustained realization of SDG6.

Elikham Systems Ltd. is a registered company in Kenya that equips urban communities to reduce and reuse wastewater at the point of production thus enhancing their access to clean water and sanitation. As a result of the work, people live in a clean healthy environment and more water is made available for secondary use purposes.

foodwaste.ch aims at reducing the amount of food waste generated in the food chain. The organisation works towards engaging public bodies, industries and households to reduce their share of food waste in order to contribute to a more sustainable food system.

Kline_Business & Co is a social enterprise specialising in the production, sale, and installation of sanitation solutions in low-income households.

cewas Middle East enables entrepreneurs in the Middle East to take a leading role in providing sustainable water- and environmental solutions. The organization has started as a grassroots initiative in the Middle East in 2015. It is now growing from a program to a branch working in countries across the Middle East and North Africa.

Africa Group, co-founded by Jean Eudes, has launched Eau source de vie, an initiative to construct boreholes equipped with solar-powered pumps that can supply the most remote rural populations with clean drinking water.

Sonic Fresh Waters offers treatment, packaging and distribution of safe drinking water to households, as well as public and private institutions.

The Group empowers potential entrepreneurs in Southern Africa with skills to build and operate strong green businesses.

EnviEco is a social enterprise that works to clean up polluted streets and drainage systems in order to improve the well-being of local populations.

AND MBEY is a social business that provides inputs to repurpose existing hydraulic infrastructure in rural areas, such as retention basins, in order to irrigate community agricultural plots and allow local farmers to produce in the off-season.

The Swiss Toilet Organisation(STO) is an NGO dedicated to improving the sanitation culture in Switzerland. The STO advocates for a more extended use of sustainable sanitation technologies, for a comprehensive network of public toilets, and for a larger involvement of the society in efforts towards solving the global sanitation crisis.

SIVICA is a sanitation service provider that offers solid and liquid waste management services in underserved communities.

DiPure is an Indian firm focused on developing affordable and eco-friendly water purifiers, known as DipBags, that will revolutionize water treatment in rural areas. DipBag is a user-friendly, efficient, portable and nutritious purification system that can treat microbiological contamination from any water source. DiPure was part of the Young Water Solutions Fellowship 2019.

Faced with high rates of fluorosis in his community, O’Claire aims to make a difference and provide affordable, safe water to the community they're located in Senegal.

Yate Tech designs and builds automated technologies to improve access to water, sanitation, hygiene and provide agricultural solutions. For the YWF pilot, Bassirou is formalising his business and developing and commercialising one of his innovations: Arrosel, an automated irrigation system.

Varet Products develops innovative, practical, and affordable solutions for the sanitation industry, in the form of products and infrastructure for effective solid waste and wastewater management. Varet’s holistic products and solutions cater to diverse B2C, B2B markets, covering the entire sanitation spectrum from products (onsite solid waste management solutions) and services (corrective and maintenance products for wastewater and effluent treatment).

At Arena Recycling we engage people in the collection of plastic waste from different areas of the city and beaches, to make Eco-bricks for construction. Our solution not only contributes to plastic-free beaches and waterways, but also helps bridge the water and sanitation gap by constructing water tanks and latrines with our Eco-bricks.Arena Recycling was part of the Young Water Solutions Fellowship 2019.

Clean Water for All is a company focussed on social impact that installs water kiosks using UV technology to filter the polluted waters of Lake Guiers and distribute it to the local communities at minimal cost. During the YWF pilot project, local women will be trained to manage the first such kiosk.

At NALAN we are working towards empowerment of rural women and WASH related problems in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. We work with a franchise system, based around a BioSan filter. BioSan is a simple nature-based water filter that can be produced locally anywhere in the world. We provide technical training to rural women to produce and sell the filters. Through this initiative we are converting unemployed rural women into micro entrepreneurs. NALAN was part of the Young Water Solutions Fellowship 2019.

WANAG is an application that allows users to locate and make use of pre-approved public toilets and toilets in participating private businesses, such as restaurants. The YWF pilot will enable Hamat to evaluate the market demand, partner with businesses and develop the app itself.

BetterLife is a social enterprise which aims to take the burden of sanitation and hygiene off the shoulders of Nigerian citizens via the construction of Hygiene Hubs at strategic locations in urban slums. Hygiene Hubs are a fusion of dignified public sanitation facility and health booth. BetterLife was part of the Young Water Solutions Fellowship 2019.

GEANS is a business that offers a low-cost septic tank emptying service to its subscribers and a reliable source of business to partnering vacuum truck owners.

ECO Uga Pads are reusable, eco-friendly and affordable sanitary pads made out ofbanana stems that are usually let to rot. ECO UgaPads addresses the lack of safe menstrual hygiene among women in rural areas of Uganda who cannot afford commercial sanitary pads. ECO Uga Pads was part of the Young Water Solutions Fellowship 2019.

Water-CHANGE-NA is a start-up that aims to improve water efficiency in Senegal. One of their projects aimed at developing and testing a prototype of a filtration device that will allow households to recycle greywater.

Tierra Grata is a women-led decentralized sanitation and hygiene solution for rural communities that includes a waterless toilet, shower and handwashing facility. Providing dignity and safe space for rural communities. Tierra Grata was part of the Young Water Solutions Fellowship 2019.

ART-PESOUNG is a social business that builds affordable toilets at a household level using locally sourced materials. For the YWF pilot, Joséphine is testing her business model by installing her first toilets in a rural community.

AiKite is a company based in Indonesia aiming to solve water issues in tin mining communities in Bangka, Indonesia. We produced BankSand, an innovative water filter made from local sand. Our mission is to turn mining wastewater into clean water for people. AiKite was part of the Young Water Solutions Fellowship in 2018.

Vie et Agriculture (EVA) is a social enterprise set-up by Laila Sagnane and other women engineers that operates in the water supply and agriculture sector. They rehabilitate faulty water infrastructure and install new systems for water distribution in rural communities.

Maji Mamas is a social enterprise led by Maasai women that make ISSBs (Interlocking Stabilised Soil Blocks) to build rainwater harvesting tanks and pit latrines for Eremit community members in Kenya. aji Mamas was part of the Young Water Solutions Fellowship in 2018.

An experienced sanitation professional, Abdoulaye is channelling his expertise into SIED SARL, a company specialising in the promotion and implementation of autonomous sanitation solutions. One solution is the innovative toilet design that includes a waste digester

SDW is a socio-environmental startup that develops life-changing water solutions. Among them is Aqualuz, a UN-recognized device that uses solar radiation to purify water contaminated by microorganisms from rural areas. The technology costs less than € 100, has enough productivity for one family per day and about 15 years of durability without requiring external operation and maintenance. SDW was part of the Young Water Solutions Fellowship in 2018.

Fossetic is a social business developing technological solutions in the field of autonomous sanitation. One of the solutions they offer is a remote alert system that notifies users when a septic tank needs emptying so as o avoid public health and environmental issues caused by overflow.

Majik Water uses novel, locally-adapted technology to harvest clean drinking water from the atmosphere and deliver it to people in our world’s driest places, starting in Kenya. Our technology uses solar thermal energy and sponge-like desiccant materials making it possible to get water in a low cost, energy efficient way. Desiccants are materials that adsorb water molecules from air, and release that water when heated. The desiccant we use is Silica Gel which is safe, non-toxic and abundantly available. Majik Water was part of the Young Water Solutions Fellowship in 2018.

In 2009 about 50% of the tanzanian water pumps were broken and abandoned. Pump for Life (MSABI) provides a subsciption based system of maintenance services for water points in rural areas of Tanzania to increase coverage and sustainability of water infrastructure in the region.

This company has developed a highly accurate weather forecast model for farmers in West Africa. The organization has been operating mainly in Ghana sending out daily, monthly, and seasonal forecasts to help small-scale farmers in West Africa predict water availability, manage their daily activities, optimize food production, and improve yields.

This social entrepreneurial initiative brings a new type of food production to Zambia. The aquaponic system combines horticulture with fish production and reaches an increase in water and nutrient efficiency. The system creates employment opportunities for local farmers and improves the produce supply in Sub-Saharan Africa.

ClimateRe promotes and facilitates innovative risk management approaches and develops appropriate insurance solutions to strengthen the resilience of climate-vulnerable societies

The Vetiver System is a soft engineering approach to a wide range of soil and water related challenges in tropical climates. The deep, strong, and fibrous root system of vetiver plants can, if implemented correctly, serve as a valuable bioengineering tool for slope stabilization, erosion control, soil and water conservation, and also for cleaning of contaminated lands and water through phytoremediation.

SPOUTS manufactures and distributes an affordable ceramic water filter, called the Purifaaya, which is made with local materials found in Uganda. The filter is easy to use and eliminates 99,9% of the bacteria.

GreenPads addresses the problem of inaccessible sanitary products in rural Nigeria. GreenPads aims to produce eco-friendly sanitary pads made from local materials with the main raw material being plantain and banana stems.

Henry Ouma from Water School Uganda developed GDM Water Kiosks to treat up to 6000 liter of water from Lake Victoria per day in order to provide access to clean water for rural communities in Uganda.

Portable toilets must not look bad and smell like chemicals. Kompotoi provides the opportunity to turn the need into an adventure by renting out their composting toilets.

The “MoSan” sanitation system provides dignity, safety and hygiene in densely populated settlements, as slums or refugee camps in developing countries. Urine and feces are collected, treated and recycled to create reuse products, like fuels and fertilizer. The environment and water bodies are protected, people’s health improves and the service offers job opportunities within the area. The system and hardware was designed in co-creation with slum dwellers.

The innovative food company – Brings insect based delicacies on to the Swiss food market.

“The Ecosolution Forge” is a sustainable consulting and ecological engineering agency based near Mukachevo, Ukraine. It is aimed at bringing worlds best sustainable approaches to the Carpathian region through practical design and construction of sustainable ecosystems as well assisting green business development.

Phoster is driven by the concept of nutrient recovery and reuse, and particularly the potential of closing the phosphorus cycle. Phoster seeks to improve water quality by using low-impact, scientifically-sound, sustainable, and economically self-supporting solutions. They work with local partners to develop solutions for nutrient flow management and treatment technologies that not only remove excess nutrients, but are already integrated into the reuse supply chain.

VIQUA is a social business based in the Philippines, a country with over 2,000 inhabited islands prone to natural disasters. VIQUA develops Compact Mobile Hybrid Water Treatment Systems for both emergency settings (incl. desalination technology) and fresh water supply for remote areas. VIQUA was part of the Young Water Solutions Fellowship 2019.

Syna Consultancy is a social enterprise dedicated to providing dignified and sustainable sanitation solutions to marginalized groups. Their flagship product is Utulav, a portable commode-like toilet for people with disabilities and the elderly. Syna’s pilot consists of testing the prototype in two public hospitals in Naivasha and Nairobi.

Mobile Alert Toilets (MAT) is a social business that improves overflowing pit latrines in the urban slums of Kenya by retrofitting them with containers and sensors. MAT provides convenient and hygienic removal of faecal sludge from the slums as well as dignity and safe working conditions to sanitation workers.MAT was part of the Young Water Solutions Fellowship 2019.

The Sani-Loan Initiative is a new financial mechanism to provide simple, locally adapted sanitation solutions to rural communities of Tanzania. Through Sani-Loan Initiative we design and construct affordable and quality sanitation facilities. These improved sanitation facilities comes with an accessible loan latrine scheme package with low interest rate that are to be paid back for two years time frame.The Sani-Loan Initiative was part of the Young Water Solutions Fellowship in 2018.

iFarmkonnect is an AgriTechplatform which connects local farmers with smart water harvesting and saving technologies and investors in Kenya. Through a web platform water technology providers and investors are connected with local farmers. Local farmers can make inquiries and get information on smart water management technologies through mobile messages or an app in their local language. iFarmkonnect was part of the Young Water Solutions Fellowship 2019.

F3 Life provides agricultural loans to small holder farmers in Kenya. The company incorporates requirements in the loan terms and a credit-scoring system for soil and water conservation which improve watershed services.

CMMartinho Consulting aims at contributing to universal access to safe water and sanitation, delivering services such as water safety plans and sanitation safety planning.

Free Flow Consulting specializes in supporting governments improve their sanitation conditions through positive regulation change. With over 10 years of experience in the onsite wastewater sector in Western Canada, Free Flow Consulting is an expert in designs, education and training, installations, and operation and maintenance of wastewater and sanitation systems.

Foodways Consulting GmbH develops and implements innovative projects for a sustainable development of the food system.

After building a rural primary school for over 400 children, Innocent from Rewarding Africa Water Kiosk is now launching Rewarding Africa Water Kiosks. His pilot aims to set up water kiosks using rainwater harvested from the school roof and supply water to the entire community.