Although South Africa faced complex challenges regarding water and sanitation, the country also provided opportunities for entrepreneurs and innovators to find solutions, Water Research Council (WRC) innovation and impact group executive Mandla Msibi said last month.

Speaking at the Youth and Water Entrepreneurship conference, in Gauteng, he noted that the number of water solutions developed by innovators was increasing and stressed the importance of development institutions investing in these individuals to provide a platform to resolve South Africa’s water and sanitation challenges.

WRC CEO Dhesigen Naidoo pointed out that water security was among the greatest risks to the global economy and that innovation would lead the way to helping alleviate the economic stress that resulted from inadequate water supply.

He stated that, on average, South Africans each consumed 235 ∙/d of water, significantly higher than the global average of 177 ∙/d, and that it was important to develop innovative means to facilitate a decrease in consumption.

He noted that several schemes were being implemented, which, if successful, could provide South Africa with an additional two-billion cubic metres of water by 2035. However, it would be meaningless if consumers did not change their daily water consumption habits by becoming water wise and developing innovative technologies to reduce consumption.

Naidoo asserted that the need to reduce consumption provided a platform for emerging companies, which could be a catalyst to transform South Africa into a country of “water excess”.

Science, technology and innovation developments were vital in addressing the triple challenges of poverty, unemployment and inequality, he said.

He highlighted that the WRC was partnering with other government institutions, such as the Department of Science and Technology (DST) and the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) to help entrepreneurs develop water-focused science and technology solutions.

Entrepreneurial support would enable South African youth to create self-employment and would also play a pivotal role in the development of small, medium-sized and microenterprises, which would also be a major employer for local youth.

DST environmental services and technologies director Henry Roman echoed Naidoo’s sentiments, stating that the DST, together with the DWS and the WRC, was committed to reaching grassroots developers to achieve the national unemployment alleviation goals.

He noted that about R7-billion worth of water was lost each year through leaks and that
15 000 plumbers were needed to fix leaks in the national water supply network.

Further, Roman highlighted the important role of information and communication technology in developing solutions to better monitor water consumption.

Such solutions would also provide the necessary data to analyse consumption trends and more efficiently identify and fix leaks in South Africa’s water network.

The development organisation assisting young water solutions innovators gain access to markets included the WRC’s Water Technologies Demonstration Programme, known as Wader; the Innovation Hub; the Technology Innovation Agency; Imvelisi, a partnership between GreenMatter and the Young Water Professionals Network; and the National Youth Development Agency.