ABOUT US
OUR MISSION
We foster interactions between global and local players from the private sector, the public sector and the civil society to shift financing towards innovative and impactful local solutions.
OUR VISION
-
Increase mutual visibility between local solution providers and local investors.
-
Create an environment of trust that allows cross-sector collaboration.
-
Build capacity in the water nexus entrepreneurial community.
-
Strengthen impact investment market in a given region and de-risk of market-based projects.
-
Create locally integrated approaches (i.e. coalitions, consortia) accelerating the financing of the sector.
DELIVERING SYSTEMATIC IMPACT
We are building bridges between the private sector and all the other key stakeholders leveraging water nexus opportunities. We do this by taking locally isolated solutions and bridge them with our marketplace events to create locally empowered ecosystems and scaling-up impact through coalitions and impact funds.

MARKETPLACE FORMAT & OBJECTIVE
The main objective of the "Innovate 4 Water" forums is to aid in reaching the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) targets by focusing on scaling-up the impact of local solutions addressing local water nexus issues.
"Innovate 4 Water"creates opportunities for action-oriented solutions providers (entrepreneurs, investors, corporations, utilities, public authorities, associations) to network and accelerate the spread of their solutions.
The forums are designed to provoke major systemic change and to consolidate investment ecosystems in the shortest possible time.
“Innovate 4 Water” is fundamentally different from usual conferences because participants are curated in order to bring value to each other. The format is based on ALL participants being active, through a series of short pitches in which all participants have the opportunity to present their activities in order to gain visibility with other stakeholders of the sector as well as increase collaboration and business opportunities.
2-DAY FORUM
Selected themes
Addressing critical water challenges
Upon invitation only
PITCHING
Showcasing 60+ existing solutions
4-5 minute pitches
Coaching 1 day before
DELEGATE MIX
50-200 delegates
Truly multi-stakeholder
80% national, 20% international
NETWORKING FOCUS
2 lunches, 2 cocktails, 4 coffee breaks
Open space for networking
45 minute breaks
WHAT
“Innovate 4 Water” is two days of matchmaking, bringing together solutions and needs, curated into investment-focused themes.
The design and delivery of “Innovate 4 Water” is unique and effective because the marketplace:
is outcome oriented
has 100% active participation
is highly curated
has a business-networking focus
WHY
“Innovate 4 Water" marketplace fosters interactions between global and local players from the private sector, the public sector and the civil society to shift financing towards innovative impactful local solutions.
Expected outcomes are strong reinforcements of the local ecosystems around the water nexus, allowing the marketplace to accelerate commercially sustainable change.
WHO
-
SMEs and multinational companies with interest in the water nexus sector
-
Utilities and civil engineering
-
Primary and manufacturing industries
-
Investors (banking, asset management, private banking, corporates, venture capital, private equity)
-
Water nexus institutions (foundations, coalitions, associations)
-
Non-government and governmental organisations, national and local
-
Action-oriented universities / incubators / research institutions
WHAT'S IN IT FOR YOU?
2 DAYS
Access to 2 days of interactive activities
NETWORKING
Access to dedicated networking sessions
PITCH
Opportunity to pitch during the event (5 min)
TABLE
Opportunity to have an identified "table" at the event for efficient networking
COACHING
Participation in a coaching session prior the event to ensure maximal impact of your pitch
PRE & POST EVENT
Special pre-event lead up & post-event scale-up activities
INVESTORS
Exposure to potential international investors, clients and market networks
EFFICIENT SOLUTIONS LABEL
Option to apply for the Solar Impulse Foundation - Efficient Solutions Label
ROLLOUT STRATEGY
GLOBAL AMBITION 2020 - 2025

STRATEGIC PARTNERS
We believe in strong and long-term relationships to assess, connect and scale-up solutions in our marketplaces

Geneva 2017
Nairobi 2018
Abuja 2018
Kisumu 2019
Lusaka 2019
Lagos 2019
Brisbane 2020
Lausanne 2021