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Impact invest in water intelligence with PureTerra Ventures

By Job van Schelven

PureTerra Ventures has been involved in water in various aspects for more than 25 years, from senior management experience in technology companies to organisation of one of the largest water and wastewater exhibitions globally.

We have been witness to the growing needs of new and innovative solutions to address increasing water scarcity and have built a substantial deal flow of groundbreaking technologies to counter these water issues. PureTerra Ventures is setting a new standard when it comes to investing in water technology companies and has assembled a world-class team entrenched in water intelligence. We have surrounded ourselves with individuals and organisations that support the need for change in how water has been traditionally viewed as an investment opportunity. This approach in impact investing is long overdue. We are committed to enabling technologies and entrepreneurs to provide dramatic, sustainable solutions consistent with the long-term interests of our global environment.

Enough is enough and time is running out

We believe the status quo, along with the current methodology of capital allocation toward global water issues, is broken. Too much effort is being placed in the area of instant gratification impact strategies and not enough at the source of the grave problems the world faces with access to safe affordable water. There is significant capital being spent on WASH (water, sanitation and hygiene) and other initiatives which are admirable, but we at PureTerra Ventures are looking at the bigger picture by going to the root of the global demand for new sustainable solutions. If we don’t immediately change our way of thinking and more importantly the way we act, it won’t matter anymore how many CSR projects get installed because there won’t be any water left to run them. Water is often secondary to achieving the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs),  or solely related to SDG6. Instead, water is not only a pillar in the water, energy, food security nexus, it is equally important in alleviating poverty, building resilience and maintaining peace.

Despite covering about 70% of the Earth’s surface, water, especially drinking water, is not as plentiful as one might think. Only 3% of it is fresh and most of that is out of reach for human consumption. Water resource groups predicted that 60% of the water supply shortage cannot be solved by legacy technologies.

Therefore, if we want to achieve SDG6, it requires collaboration, awareness and investment to rapidly scale these desperately needed disruptive water technologies. A group of experts in water, including PureTerra Ventures, Water Foundry and Isle Utilities, have aligned to launch WaterSpark to radically transform, accelerate and scale solutions to water challenges in access to safe drinking water, sanitation and hygiene, water scarcity, water quality and ecosystems. 

Annelies Schenk, executive director of WaterSparkAnnelies Schenk (pictured), executive director of WaterSpark, says: “WaterSpark is a widely available global coalition with a mission to Scale Innovative Water Solutions, to seize opportunities for collaboration and to centralise this knowledge to foster innovation together.

"No one organisation can do this alone. Adoption today of the core mission of WaterSpark by firms such as PureTerra are key to solving tomorrow’s water scarcity.”

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