Knowledge-Based Start-Ups Help Assuage Water Problems

EghtesadOnline: Iran has great potential for leading the water sector entrepreneurship in the region, co-director of Cewas, a Swiss non-profit association involved in improving business practices in water and sanitation, said.

News ID: ۷۴۷۹۰۹

20 July 2019

Speaking Monday at Iran’s Water and Wastewater Section Entrepreneurship Workshop in Tehran, Michael Kropac said that the Human Right to Water and Sanitation (HRWS) is recognized as a human right by the United Nations, the Energy Ministry news portal Paven reported.

According to its definition, HRWS entitles everyone to sufficient, safe, acceptable, physically accessible and affordable water for personal and domestic use.

“Governments play a major role in water distribution and collection of wastewater. In Iran, the role of the government is very prominent in this regard,” Financial Tribune quoted Kropac as saying.

The significance of water and the important role the government plays in the field have caused entrepreneurs in many countries to have little interest in the key water sector, and as a result there is little innovation in this sector, he noted.

“To deal with water issues, we need creativity, and to acquire innovation, we need young and creative forces in the business,” Kropac was quoted as saying by Paven.

Speaking about Iran’s status in this regard with start-ups, Cewas co-director said, “Iran is very rich in the field of knowledge-based start-ups as it has created many organizations in the water and wastewater sector.

Currently, there are several knowledge-based start-ups active in the water sector. They are involved in designing and manufacturing water filtration systems, modern desalination units and wastewater treatment plants, among others.

Start-ups are also involved in helping optimize water use in agriculture and industries, using unconventional water, management of drought, ecosystem, wetlands and lakes, monitoring pollutants in different urban environments, harvesting rainwater, development of underground dams, and reducing evaporation in dams.

“The government can serve as facilitator or customer for the activities of start-ups. What can help make Iran a pioneer in this regard is cooperation in the field of entrepreneurship. Iran has the necessary factors and only needs to improve interagency coordination,” Kropac said.

The workshop was organized with the aim of sharing  Cewas's expertise in the field of entrepreneurship, outsourcing and startups.

Improving Integrity and Sustainability

Through training and raising awareness, Cewas seeks to increase the water sector’s integrity and sustainability.

It specializes in designing, developing, implementing and evaluating training programs tailor-made for the needs of different stakeholders.

Thanks to its experience in business development, water and sanitation, project management, governance and integrity and change management, Cewas is able to prepare and implement training packages that ignite changes in organizations to drive efficiency and improve performance.

Water scarcity and pollution are persistent global problems. According to End Water Poverty, some 663 million people around the world have absolutely no reliable access to clean, safe water year-round. Droughts and natural disasters can cut off access to potable and sanitary water anywhere in the world.