Oct 13, 2021
The Global Water Challenge lands in Helsinki to create the largest global hub of water technologies
GoHub, Global Omnium’s corporate venturing fund, calls on the best start-ups with solutions to solve water challenges such as leakages, snow and ice measurement, snowmelt runoff, rising sea levels or floods, on an ambitious initiative alongside IBM, Nordea and the University of Helsinki
An ambitious global project with the most disruptive technologies aiming to connect problems with solutions all around the world is shaping in Helsinki. The Global Water Challenge by GoHub, the corporate venturing of Global Omnium, -one of the top five water utilities in the world- will invest up to 3 million euros for each startup with innovative proposals to solve great problems of water in Nordics, such as leakages, snow and ice measurement, snowmelt runoff, rising sea levels or floods.
👉Apply now https://fi.theglobalwaterchallenge.tech/
After successfully launching the initiative in New York and Barcelona, The Global Water Challenge (TGWC) arrives at Finland, a fast-growing startup ecosystem, aware of its huge potential on artificial intelligence, Internet of Things, 5G connectivity or cybersecurity. So far this year Finnish startups have raised €1bn from VC funds, promising to surpass by the end of the year the €1bn raised in 2020.
Our main goal in The Global Water Challenge is to create the biggest hub of water technologies in the world. Water is everywhere, in every industry, in every part of our daily lives. And it is our main resource, without which we will not be able to survive. We need to take care of this resource, for our future generations.
To have more efficient use of the resources, we need to optimize the processes. Technology and industrial digitalization are key players to protect this essential resource. In a scenario of climate emergency and search for environmental sustainability, the project started from the premise that the use of innovation is essential to address the greatest global challenges related to water, such as scarcity, quality, or natural disasters. For this reason, the challenge calls on startups with disruptive deep tech solutions capable of predicting natural phenomena and providing more efficiency for processes.
To achieve this, GoHub joins three strategic partners mixing entrepreneurship with a vision to build a strong innovative and technological ecosystem: IBM, the leading cloud platform and cognitive solutions company; Nordea, the Nordic universal bank, one of the top ten financial services European companies, and the University of Helsinki, one of the world’s leading multidisciplinary universities, featuring in the top 50–100 in most university rankings.
Which startups can apply
The applications are open until November 15th. The requirements for startups are, among others: be focused on B2B and have turnover; have a team with leadership and solid technological experience; a validated product-market fit in their country, strong business model and technology consolidated in at least one vertical; experience working with a large corporation and be involved in a fundraising during 2021 or 2022.
The University of Helsinki will hold the launch event at Think Corner on November 3rd consisting in a roundtable with the participation of all the partners including some researchers from the University.
The start-ups will be selected by an expert committee composed of members of GoHub, IBM, Nordea and the University of Helsinki. TGWC will announce the finalists at the stand of Nordea in Slush, the largest technology and start-up event in Northern Europe held in Helsinki.
Benefits for startups
The finalist of the Global Water Challenge will receive financial investment from GoHub by Global Omnium. In addition, the challenge will open the opportunity of developing a remunerated use case as well as creating new business opportunities or partnerships with TGWC partners and their networks, access to research groups, innovation activities and platforms in the Finnish hi-tech ecosystem.
Do you have innovative solutions to solve water challenges? Apply now 👉https://fi.theglobalwaterchallenge.tech/
Patricia Pastor, Managing Director of GoHub: “We are creating the largest global hub for water technologies. To do this, we are looking for the best startups with innovative solutions that can predict and anticipate the problems of the future”.
Oscar Michelsson, IBM Public Cloud Finland: “Cloud technology is an enabler for large and small companies to develop their ideas without worrying about the technology that makes them possible. That is our motivation to join this challenge”.
Vesa Riihimäki, Head of Startup & Growth Finland Unit of Nordea: “ What we are looking from in the challenge is to benefit our clients, the startups. Get them the access towards a global market and the investment. That’s our benefit”.
Alfonso Gutierrez, Innovation & Strategic Partnerships at the University of Helsinki: “TGWC directly addresses key and core values of our university, ie. do our part and take actions to solve some of the world’s climate change challenges, benefit our planet and make it more sustainable.”
GoHub by Global Omnium
GoHub is the innovation and deep tech hub and corporate investment vehicle of Global Omnium, one of the largest corporations in the water sector, with a presence on four continents and seven million customers. Created in 2019, it invests in start-ups that employ deep technologies to solve challenges in industry 4.0, smart cities and intelligent water management. With a portfolio of 23 start-ups and 12 million euros invested, GoHub is leading a new wave of technological change that sustainably drives industrial digitalization.
The Global Omnium Group
Chaired by Eugenio Calabuig, Global Omnium was born in Valencia 130 years ago, today it is present in more than 400 cities in Spain, where, together with public administrations, manages the integral water cycle. Its international expansion, supported by Idrica, a platform for technological solutions, has earned its presence on 4 continents with more than 7 million clients. Global Omnium is a benchmark in the utility sector and it´s among the top 5 water utilities in the world.
