HCL pledges USD 15 mn investment for freshwater conservation

Davos: HCL on Tuesday said it is committing USD 15 million (about Rs 116 crore) over five years as part of its efforts to drive freshwater conservation and management agenda, and underlined the urgent need for global water security.

Freshwater ecosystems around the world are under threat from climate change, with record-breaking droughts in India, France and the US, HCL said.

To drive the freshwater conservation and management agenda, HCL has partnered with UpLink, an open innovation platform of World Economic Forum that connects highly promising startups with the partners and help them get funding they need to scale.

"Through a USD 15 million investment over five years, HCL will help accelerate the innovation agenda for water and create a first-of-its-kind innovation ecosystem for the global freshwater sector on UpLink, called the 'Aquapreneur Innovation Initiative'," the company said in a statement.

HCL Group's CEO, Roshni Nadar, also the first woman to chair a listed IT company in India (HCL Technologies), is championing the initiative, together with UpLink platform.

"Through the Aquapreneur Innovation Initiative, we are re-committing to accelerate multi-stakeholder collaboration and innovation in the global freshwater conservation space," Nadar, CEO of HCL Group and Chairperson of HCL Technologies, said.

HCL's new collaboration with UpLink will encompass building the freshwater innovation ecosystem including running innovation challenges to source solutions from 'aquapreneurs' (water focused entrepreneurs). Besides, it will help connect these aquapreneurs to existing initiatives and water networks, unlock funding opportunities to scale ventures and raise awareness on importance of freshwater.

With the global population set to hit 8.5 billion by 2030, pressure is increasing on the world's limited supply of freshwater, HCL said emphasising on the urgent need for water security.

By 2030, the global demand for water will have exceeded sustainable supply by 40 per cent, it said.

"In addition to immediate and dire consequences to people's health and food production, a lack of access to clean water can limit economic growth by up to one-third, as well as have adverse effects on natural biodiversity and social fabrics," it cautioned.

Governments and businesses must bring freshwater to the forefront of their strategies and innovation will play a key role in their success, HCL said.