Water Entrepreneurship Story (1): WATA gets boost from Swiss Bluetec Bridge

When Antenna first started to develop WATA^TM in 2005, it was sure that the new technology had a huge potential. Spreading it around the world was, however, still only a distant dream…13 years later, WATA^TM , the little device that transforms salt and water into chlorine, is not only used in many parts of the globe, it has also recently received a huge boost from the Swiss Bluetec Bridge. Thanks to the funding provided by the Swiss organization, Antenna was able to scale-up its operations and create the spin-off WATALUX, a social business that dedicates itself to promoting the WATA^TM technology in Africa.

Antenna is very proud to have received the recognition and support of the Swiss Bluetec Bridge. The interest-free loan (250’000CHF over 5 years) will allow to strengthen the production processes and to accelerate the dissemination of WATA^TM on the African continent. The Swiss Bluetec Bridge itself is funded by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC).

The WATA^TM device is a simple device that only requires salt, water and electricity to produce chlorine (sodium hypochlorite) through a process of electrolysis. It can be used in any community that lacks access to a chlorine supply chain or to a drinkable water supply. The World Health Organisation (WHO) considers sodium hypochlorite as the most effective solution for water treatment. 1 liter of chlorine can treat up to 4000 litres of water. Worldwide, some 783 million people still don’t have access to improved drinking water resources, which is a contributing factor to the 1.8 million annual deaths from diarrhoeal diseases.

The scaling-up of effective solutions, like the WATA^TM technology, makes an important contribution to providing better access to a disinfectant for both safe drinking water and hygiene purposes in developing countries. We wish WATALUX all the best on its journey!

Learn more about WATALUX Learn more about WATA

Learn more about the Swiss Bluetec Bridge

Learn more about the SDC