John Dutton, Head of UpLink, announcing the launch of Aquapreneur Innovation Initiative Challenge
In a decisive move to tackle the escalating global water crisis, the HCL Group, a leading global conglomerate, in partnership with UpLink, the World Economic Forum’s early-stage innovation platform, has announced the launch of the fourth edition of its Aquapreneur Innovation Initiative. Titled the Water Resilience Challenge, this latest edition was formally introduced during the Annual Meeting of the New Champions in Tianjin, China. The challenge invites visionary entrepreneurs, researchers, and solution providers to submit innovative ideas that can enhance the resilience of freshwater systems worldwide.
Applications are open from June 25 to August 4, 2025, with winners set to be announced in January 2026. The top ten selected innovators will share a total prize pool of CHF 1.75 million (approx. USD 1.9 million), alongside strategic support, mentorship, and global visibility.
To apply or learn more about the criteria and process, visit: https://wef.ch/4kTNwHD
A Global Innovation Ecosystem for Freshwater Resilience
Launched in 2022, the Aquapreneur Innovation Initiative is a landmark five-year, CHF 15 million partnership between HCL Group, UpLink, and the World Economic Forum’s Food and Water Initiative. This collaborative platform aims to build a first-of-its-kind global innovation ecosystem around freshwater sustainability. It empowers early-stage enterprises by offering resources to develop, scale, and deploy practical solutions to the world’s most pressing water challenges.
This year’s Water Resilience Challenge will focus on bold, scalable solutions across three crucial sectors:
1. Strengthening Water Infrastructure Resilience
Solutions under this category should enhance the ability of urban and rural water systems to withstand climate extremes such as droughts, floods, heatwaves, and stormwater surges. Innovations in drainage systems, water security infrastructure, and sustainable urban planning are especially encouraged.
2. Reimagining Agri-food Water Usage
This sector seeks transformative solutions that optimize water usage in agriculture – the largest consumer of freshwater globally. Regenerative agricultural practices, nature-based irrigation systems, groundwater recharge technologies, and water recycling mechanisms fall under this focus.
3. Improving Water Efficiency in Tech and Energy Sectors
This vertical is designed to identify technologies that reduce water consumption and risk in industrial ecosystems, including AI data centres, chip fabrication plants, and clean energy production. Breakthroughs that enable water recovery from industrial processes and integration of circular water use are particularly welcomed.
Catalysing Impact Through Strategic Partnerships
Sundar Mahalingam, President of Strategy at HCL Group, emphasized the initiative’s expanding global footprint:
“Through HCL’s collaboration with UpLink and the World Economic Forum, we are nurturing a global ecosystem for water innovation—one changemaker at a time. In just three years, our support has enabled 30 innovators to raise over USD 90 million and collectively conserve over 12 billion litres of water. With this fourth challenge, we hope to further accelerate that momentum by identifying and enabling at least 50 such changemakers in the coming years.”
John Dutton, Head of UpLink at the World Economic Forum, added:
“The Water Resilience Challenge is a clarion call to early-stage start-ups tackling the most critical water needs of our time—from managing rising demand in agriculture and tech to ensuring infrastructure can withstand a changing climate. UpLink, in collaboration with HCL and the Forum’s Food and Water Initiative, is proud to support these pioneering innovators, helping them unlock funding, strategic partnerships, and the networks needed to thrive.”
Voices from Past Innovators
Mansi Jain, Co-founder and CEO of DigitalPaani, a past grantee, described the program as transformational:
“The Aquapreneur Innovation Initiative has been a game-changer. The credibility of being backed by HCL, UpLink, and the World Economic Forum has opened doors to influential investors and global partners, including HCL itself. The financial boost and exposure have propelled our next phase of growth. Most importantly, we’ve joined a community of like-minded innovators addressing the world’s most urgent water challenges.”
Global Recognition at Climate Events
An official announcement of the Water Resilience Challenge is also scheduled during the Chief Sustainability Officers (CSO) Meeting at London Climate Action Week, further demonstrating the initiative’s alignment with international climate goals and sustainable development frameworks.
The challenge comes at a time when water systems are under unprecedented stress due to the compounding effects of climate change, groundwater over-extraction, and growing industrial water demands. The selected solutions are expected not only to drive change but to shape how water is valued, managed, and conserved in the years ahead.
About HCL Group
Founded in 1976, HCL Group is one of India’s pioneering technology enterprises. Today, it comprises HCLTech, HCL Infosystems, and HCL Healthcare, generating combined revenues of over USD 13.8 billion and employing over 220,000 professionals across 60 countries. Known for its legacy of innovation and social impact, HCL has remained at the forefront of technological and sustainability advancements.
Website: www.hcl.com
About UpLink
UpLink is the World Economic Forum’s open innovation platform developed in collaboration with Deloitte and Salesforce. It empowers purpose-driven, early-stage entrepreneurs by connecting them to the resources and partnerships they need to accelerate their solutions for a sustainable, net-zero future.
