Understanding the Indian Water Startups and Water-preneurs for scalable water solutions.

Modern day water resources management challenges are considered “Wicked Problems”. 

Wicked problems need congruent efforts by multiple stakeholders from multiple disciplines and approaches. The water crisis in India is evident and expected to grow with the increasing population and limited available resources. For many years, water, being a public good, was managed and governed by the active participation of government, academia, and NGOs. However, the key stakeholders, the entrepreneurs, needed to be included in finding and scaling the financially viable solutions. The scenario is changing. In recent years, there has been increasing interest and awareness about the entrepreneurial availability and possibility of finding financially viable and scalable solutions to the growing services needs of India. The shining example is the growth of “RO systems'' and India's drinking water solutions market. The sector has grown tremendously with household demand and increasing capacity for paying for cleaner and potable water. Similarly, there are many other solutions, such as water recycling (Boson), better management of water bodies (Clean Water), metering water use (Kritsnam), etc, that are yet to break out of the incumbent stage and need the critical mass to grow. 

We plan to compile efforts by devoted entrepreneurs innovating solutions and attempting to scale with an active entrepreneurial mindset, the approach modern-day “young India” attempts. 

We are compiling the “Water-preneurs of India” series with monthly blogs of innovative start-ups attempting to solve water-related challenges. We are interested in compiling the experiences of these entrepreneurs and identifying challenges in their path to scaling solutions and delivering financially viable and scalable solutions to society. 

A collaborative project with Manisha Shah and India Water Portal