The Swiss Bluetec Bridge strives to accelerate sustainable access to water, sanitation and hygiene for low-income clients in rural areas and small towns in frontier markets.
How? By supporting the deployment of advanced technology and innovative business models. We offer interest-free loans, coaching and networking to start-ups, SME and social entrepreneurs at the early stage of their journeys.
Our initiative, funded by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, is designed to bridge the missing middle between the initial funding from the entrepreneur’s entourage (“family, friends and fools”) and the later stage institutional or private investment.
Our goal: water and sanitation for all
Our goal is to foster human wellbeing and economic development. More concretely, our mission is to improve access to water and sanitation for at least 200,000 low-income customers in developing and emerging markets by deploying advanced Swiss technology and innovative business models to where the need is.
Our offering
We support innovative water and sanitation businesses as well as social entrepreneurs with cash (up to 250,000 CHF), knowhow and our network. To qualify, entrepreneurs must be Swiss-based and have a working prototype. They also must target low-income customers in rural areas and small towns in frontier countries.
Our process is designed to help social entrepreneurs sharpen their technology and business model. The goal is to make their business investor-ready so that they can raise more funds to rollout their venture. For this to happen, entrepreneurs go through a rigorous screening and evaluation process.
Once they are in our portfolio, we accompany them until they have realised their proposal (or fail). At the end, we review and validate the technology and the scale-up business model. Thus equipped, they will have a strong case to present to privat investors to get funding for the rollout of their technology.
Results to date
After several years of piloting the Initiative, the results are encouraging. We have also developed a good understanding of the challenges of scaling-up, both at the company and initiative levels. It is now time to decide whether to scale or “ditch” the initiative.
Rural areas and small towns in frontier markets
Our current portfolio companies are working in:
Cameroon, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Madagascar, Senegal, Honduras, Nicaragua, Bolivia, Vietnam, Nepal
The Global Institute for Water, Environment and Health (GIWEH) is a Swiss, non-governmental and non-profit policy-research Institute based in Geneva. It is a dynamic think-tank fostering local and regional cooperation, enhancing technology transfer and capacity building of different stakeholders, and working closely with the most vulnerable groups of society to target the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Specifically, we focus on Water, Integrated Water Resources Management, interactions with other Sustainable Development Goals, and Governance – especially in water scarce regions and vulnerable countries.
Having identified the maintenance of reliable water supplies and a healthy environment as some of the greatest challenges the planet faces, GIWEH saw the need for a new broad-based, research-centered, interdisciplinary initiative to respond more effectively to this challenge. GIWEH is thus based on the 4 pivotal pillars that are:
Altogether, they provide the framework for the successful achievement of projects, especially in vulnerable regions, which require a special focus. The main objective of GIWEH is to promote good practices, in addition to a safe and sustainable environment for vulnerable populations. It is committed to support the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda by focusing especially on Water-related SDGs. It also aspires to develop accurate and relevant indicators that are environmentally sustainable and economically viable, to promote safe and fair water access and management.
In addition, The Global Institute for Water, Environment and Health is not limited to water related-development issues, but includes other cross-cutting areas such as environmental sustainability, women and youth empowerment, food and health, peace-making, and capacity building. GIWEH’s core mission is also to provide a platform for capacity building and training, technology transfer, research, and knowledge dissemination in order to implement strategies related to environmental issues. GIWEH’s capacity building programs target stakeholders at different levels within governments, the corporate sector, civil society, agriculture, and academia.
To achieve its goals, GIWEH is working and collaborating with local, national, and international organizations.
Integrated Water Resources Management
o Blue Peace & Transboundary water management
o Bottom-up inclusive water resources management
o Water Resources Mapping, Monitoring and Management
o Payment for Ecosystems services & Water footprint
Water Food Energy Nexus
o Dams and Hydro management
o Water/Wastewater to Energy
o Water for Food
o Waste/Wastewater to Food
Water Policy and Governance
o Human Right & Integrity
o Management of public water and sewage utilities
Sustainable and Effective Water Use
o Wastewater treatment & water pollution control
o Water saving technologies (smart meters, cost-effective
desalination)
The International Secretariat for Water (ISW) forms a movement bringing together citizens – including young people – and organizations who are committed advocates for water. Their commitment is to ensure that all people have access to drinking water and sanitation. Building on evolving knowledge, innovative partnerships and creativity, ISW develops initiatives that upholds the universal right to water, while preserving the resources for future generations. The network and its partners build bridges and enable dialogue between all stakeholders — government, civil society, education and the private sector. ISW has a special focus on smaller rural and semi-urban communities, where the need for adequate infrastructure is often greatest. Using watersheds as a framework, we help communities implement integrated water resource management.
The ISW movement’s vision is of a world where all men and women have access to a sustainable supply of safe water and to sanitation, while preserving water resources. The ISW movement considers that water, regardless of what it is used for, is a source of both development and shared prosperity. The ISW activities are focused on three lines of actions:
ISW develops field projects in countries where there is a lack of water and sanitation infrastructure (i.e. Peru, Moldova, Central Asia). ISW always works in collaboration with local partners to implement these projects. In this way, we contribute to consolidating local governance in each country. Through its actions ISW seek to strengthen local partners, not replace them. ISW also tries to develop collaboration between the public sector, civil society and entrepreneurs.
ISW carries out a wide range of advocacy activities to influence decision-makers (i.e. Blue Passports, Blue Books, the Butterfly Effect Network). The overall strategy is based on the sharing of information, the coordination of coalitions, the mobilisation of grassroots organisations and the use of media and communication tools.
For over 20 years, the ISW movement has been raising youth awareness around integrated water resource management, encouraging them to take action, assume their civic responsibilities and enabling them to develop initiatives with other young people from around the world through the Youth Parliaments for Water. For 2017-2022, ISW has launched a new youth strategy: #WaterGeneration. Our role is to mobilize, connect and support young water leaders from 18-27 with innovative programs and a resource centre. Over the next five years we will work to build a movement for action.
VIDEO #WaterGeneration Youth Strategy:
#WaterGeneration workshop in Ouagadougou – Group photo
The specificity of the ISW movement lies in the strength of its network and its capacity to decrypt the needs of civil society and, more widely, those of the water sector. Through spectacular “media events”, and innovative multi-stakeholder initiatives which drive and foster the participation of the most marginalised groups within society – youth, the poor, women – in the decision-making process at all levels, ISW contributes to responding to these challenges and needs.
Our areas of action include:
Water Policy and Governance
Integrated Water Resources Management
Sustainable and effective water use
More specifically, our know-how is based on:
Field Projects
Peru, Moldova, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Togo, Benin, Burkina Faso
Advocacy
Our advocacy actions include various activities such as Blue Books, Blue Passports and the Butterfly Effect Network that includes over 100 partner organizations.
For instance, the Blue Book is present in the following countries:
Peru, Mali, Benin, Burkina Faso, Senegal, Niger
Youth Parliaments for water
Our members come from various countries, among others:
Argentina, Armenia, Barbados, Belgium, Benin, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Cabo Verde, Cambodia, Canada, Chile, Côte d’Ivoire, Czech Republic, France, Gabon, Germany, Greece, Guatemala, Haiti, Israel, Italy, Jordan, Kosovo, Laos, Latvia, Malta, Morocco, Mexico, Moldova, Netherlands, Nigeria, Pakistan, Poland, Russia, Sao Tomé, Switzerland, Thailand, Togo, Turkey, Uganda, United States
Group photo – Astana youth
Facebook: @InternSecrWater | Twitter: @InternSecrWater
European Youth Parliament for Water
How to establish a full cost recovery water supply system?
SGS – Água e Sustentabilidade
Líder mundial em inspeção, verificação, testes e certificações, somos reconhecidos como referência global em qualidade e integridade. Para nós, sustentabilidade é fazer a gestão de um negócio lucrativo em longo prazo, levando em consideração todos os efeitos ambientais, sociais e econômicos, positivos e negativos causados à sociedade. Entre nossos serviços se destacam a gestão de água, pegada hídrica, gestão de eventos sustentáveis e certificações socioambientais no setor agrícola.
SGS – Water and Sustainability
SGS is the world’s leading inspection, verification, testing and certification company. We are recognized as the global benchmark for quality and integrity. As well as delivering services that promote sustainable development, our values also show a commitment to corporate sustainability. For us, sustainability is about managing a long-term profitable business while taking into account all the positive and negative environmental, social and economic effects we have on society. Among our services we highlight the management of water, water footprint, management of sustainable events and socio-environmental certifications
Trata-se de um cálculo feito para entender o próprio consumo de água e definir objetivos e metas para que esse consumo seja mais responsável. Vale dizer que a Pegada Hídrica possui métodos de avaliação e cálculos que podem ser aplicados a todos os tipos de processos e cadeias produtivas, além de também ser aplicável a consumidores, países e organizações em geral.
O gerenciamento ambiental é vital em todos os serviços relacionados à gestão da água, para assegurar a conformidade com as normas regulatórias e as boas práticas globais. A SGS oferece uma ampla gama de serviços e gestão de dados que nos permitem monitorar e interpretar a situação de seus mananciais e sugerir soluções adequadas às suas necessidades.
Através do diagnóstico da eficiência hídrica é possível traçar estratégias para reduzir o uso excessivo de água, e remanejar os custos da empresa em seu gasto com água. A SGS é uma empresa especializada em Pegada Hídrica; Diagnóstico de Eficiência Hídrica e Gestão dos Recursos Hídricos.
Como calcular a água “verde, azul e cinza” para entender a localização geográfica e temporal de recursos hídricos para a indústria, agricultura e uso doméstico da água. Tudo isso incluindo um método para entender o ambiente sustentável, eficiência de recursos e o uso comum da água para todos.
This is an analysis of your water usage and your water management, helping to define objectives and goals to make a responsible consume. It’s worth to say that the Water Footprint has evaluation methods that can be applied to any kind of processes and value chain, also its able to apply to consumers, countries and organizations.
The environment management is vital in all kinds of services related to water management, to ensure conformity with all regulated norms and global good practices. SGS offer a broad range of services and data management that allow us to monitor and interpret the water source situation and sugest solutions to your needs.
Throught the water efficiency diagnosis it’s possible to elaborate strategies to reduce the excessive use of water, and relocate the companies cost spent with water. SGS is a specialized company in Water Footprint, water efficiency diagnosis and water resources management.
How to calculate the green, blue and grey water footprint to understand the geographic and temporal allocation of water resources for industry, agriculture and domestic water supply. Also, including a method to understand the sustainable environment, resources efficiency and common use of water.
A SGS é líder mundial em inspeção, verificação, testes e certificação. Somos reconhecidos como referência mundial em qualidade e integridade. Com mais de 95.000 funcionários, operamos uma rede com mais de 2.400 escritórios e laboratórios no mundo todo com presença em mais de 140 países.
SGS is world leader in inspection, verification, tests and certification. We’re known as a world reference in quality and integrity. With more than 95.000 workers, we operate in a network with 2.400 offices and laboratories in the whole world, with presence in more than 140 countries.
http://sgssustentabilidade.com.br/
http://www.sgs.com/en/news/2016/09/olam-international-receives-aws-certification-from-sgs
Nestlé and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) will share their experiences from the public-private development partnership in Vietnam on “more coffee with less water” and look together with the audience a little further into the future and discuss challenges and opportunities ahead. The project empowers coffee farmers on practices that can lead up to 60% water savings and 30% cost savings in coffee production. The partnership is a concrete model featuring the subject of water efficiency in an international policy debate and aims at sensitizing relevant policy makers through its results.
Read more about the Project HERE
More Coffee with less Water
21th March 2018 | 13:00 | Swiss Pavilion E15 | Expo Hall
Nicaragua achieved by 2015 the goal of halving the number of its population without access to potable water. The Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation has worked hand in hand with the sectoral authorities of this country since 1980. The joint work with the national government and the municipalities has resulted in a sustainable model of rural water supply. Hundreds of rural communities served decades ago continue to enjoy the service permanently. This model with its approaches and strategies emerged within the AGUASAN program and is now the basis of a national policy based on participation and shared responsibility between the citizens who self manage the potable water service and the authorities in their role as duty bearers for the realization of the human rights to water and sanitation. The session will present the good practices that lead to this great success.
How Rural Citizens got to Self-Manage their Water Supply in Nicaragua: Good Practices and Learnings from 36 Years Working on WASH in Central America
19th March | 14:00 | Swiss Pavilion E15 | Expo Hall
The project “Disaster risk reduction” in Bolivia has been developed since 2005 to integrate the “risk prevention approach in the planning and investment for development” together municipalities and rural producers, as well as with authorities and technicians of the governments and ministries at the national level. The initiatives are developed in the sectors of agricultural production and water to support sustainable and resilient investments. On the other hand, the integral water management project promotes since 2003 the development of integrated watershed management approach in the water sector in the country.
In the framework of knowledge management two high quality videos were developed to show both process (Author Martin Moll, Swiss filmmaker). For more information see event below.
Water and Risk’s Management for the Development | Film Screening
22 March | 12:45 | Swiss Pavilion E15 |Expo Hall World Water Forum |
El Agua nos Une – SuizAgua is a partnership among the Swiss cooperation and national government institutions, business associations and companies in Colombia, Peru and Chile, which focuses on increasing companies’ awareness on water related risks to take action to manage and reduce impacts on water in their production sites, value chains and to lead compromise with water governance at the watershed level. SuizAgua has 8 years of experience and developed around 40 cases with main companies from different sectors (food and beverage, cement, paper, electricity, agroindustry, chemicals, among others) facing challenges to achieve the global water goal (SDG 6), while articulating with national policies and initiatives.
Partner companies advance on their corporate water stewardship journey by assessing their internal and external water risks and impacts (water footprint) along the value chain. They prioritize and invest in reducing the impacts of their own production process. Each company also engages with a strategic value chain stakeholder, either a supplier or a client, to move from optimizing single processes to a systemic approach. Furthermore, the company identifies a relevant action to work with water basing stakeholders to jointly improve water management and ecosystem’s restoration. Methologies and good practices are shared through a Latin American community of practice.
Lines of action:
Colombia, Peru, Chile. Latin America
Event: 21 March 2018 | 10:45 | Swiss Pavilion | Topic: Water and Industry: Colombia, Peru and Chile – Corporate Water Stewardship
This event will show results from a public-private partnership
aiming at putting into practice corporate water
stewardship to strengthen water governance and business
sustainability.
Profile of each Participant
