Business Wire

HCL Commits $15 Million to Address Global Freshwater Insecurity

Share

Water security has never been more urgent. With the global population set to hit 8.5 billion by 2030, pressure is increasing on the world’s limited supply of freshwater. By 2030, the global demand for water will have exceeded sustainable supply by 40%. 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. Governments and businesses must bring freshwater to the forefront of their strategies, and innovation will play a key role in their success.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220524005757/en/

To view this piece of content from mms.businesswire.com, please give your consent at the top of this page.

People in the picture (from left) – Roshni Nadar Malhotra, CEO, HCL Group & Chairperson, HCL Technologies; Gim Huay Neo, Managing Director, Centre of Nature and Climate, World Economic Forum; William Kwende, Founder of Serious Shea; Inna Modja, Land Ambassador, UNCC; Marc Benioff, Chair and Co-CEO of Salesforce; Punit Renjen, Global CEO of Deloitte; and Alem Tedeneke, Media Lead, World Economic Forum. (Photo: Business Wire)

To drive the freshwater conservation and management agenda, leading global conglomerate HCL has partnered with UpLink, the open innovation platform of the World Economic Forum that connects highly-promising start-ups with the partners and funding they need to scale. Through a $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’.

This initiative will draw on HCL’s own regional experience of driving innovative projects in water conservation and brings global leaders and champions together, to foster multi-stakeholder collaboration. In building this ecosystem, water entrepreneurs will be able to thrive and influence freshwater ecosystems all over the world.

“Today, freshwater resources globally are extremely burdened and every fifth child on this planet faces water scarcity,” said Roshni Nadar Malhotra, CEO of HCL Group and Chairperson of HCL Technologies . “At HCL we want to make every effort to help resolve this global crisis. Our partnership with World Economic Forum’s UpLink platform is a step in this direction and our ecosystem approach can be truly transformative. Together we will not just encourage and scale innovations in this critical area, but also help build capacity amongst water-focused entrepreneurs - aquapreneurs - to execute on the innovative solutions. Through the Aquapreneur Innovation Initiative, we are re-committing to accelerate multi-stakeholder collaboration and innovation in the global freshwater conservation space.”

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), connecting these aquapreneurs to existing initiatives and water networks, unlocking funding opportunities to scale their ventures and raising awareness on the global agenda on the importance of freshwater.

Together, HCL & UpLink will also aim to help aquapreneurs build their skills and leadership capacity. Combined, these efforts will help drive and accelerate the innovation agenda for water and the sector’s mainstream ideas, approaches and solutions.

“The Aquapreneur Innovation Initiative comes at a critical time,” said Olivier Schwab, Managing Director, World Economic Forum. “With water scarcity enveloping regions around the world, we need to fast-track progress within the freshwater sector and build security for people and planet. HCL’s collaboration with UpLink will harness and drive forward the solutions of the world’s top innovators, connecting them to the initiatives and networks which can see them scale and drive transformational change for the world’s most fragile water systems.”

Innovation in freshwater management is also critical for water’s role in the transition to a green economy, as highlighted in the release of a new report in Davos today, A Freshwater Future: Without Blue, There Is No Green Economy .

UpLink was launched at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2020 in collaboration with founding partners, Salesforce and Deloitte. The platform sources new innovations through a competition framework known as innovation challenges. UpLink has now run more than 30 challenges and identified over 260 entrepreneurs with innovative solutions for the world’s most pressing issues.

About HCL Group

Founded in 1976 as one of India’s original IT garage start-ups, HCL is a pioneer of modern computing with many firsts to its credit, including the introduction of the 8-bit microprocessor-based computer in 1978 well before its global peers. Today, the HCL Group has business presence across sectors including technology and healthcare and comprises three group companies – HCL Technologies, HCL Infosystems and HCL Healthcare. The Group generates annual revenues of over US$11.5 billion with more than 209,000 employees operating across 52 countries.

HCL Technologies, a group company, empowers global enterprises with technology for the next decade, today. As a leading global technology company, it takes pride in its diversity, social responsibility, sustainability and education initiatives. HCL Technologies is also a strategic partner of the World Economic Forum.

For further information, visit www.hcl.com .

To view this piece of content from cts.businesswire.com, please give your consent at the top of this page.

Contact information

Media contact
Sadaf Khan I Sadaf-k@hcl.com

About Business Wire

For more than 50 years, Business Wire has been the global leader in press release distribution and regulatory disclosure.

Subscribe to releases from Business Wire

Subscribe to all the latest releases from Business Wire by registering your e-mail address below. You can unsubscribe at any time.

Latest releases from Business Wire

Global Tourism Surging Ahead of Economic Growth, With Visits to Hit 30 Billion by 20344.7.2025 02:00:00 EEST | Press release

The World Economic Forum has today published a new report forecasting that the travel and tourism industry is projected to serve 30 billion tourist trips by 2034. Travel and Tourism at a Turning Point: Principles for Transformative Growth, produced in collaboration with Kearney and the Ministry of Tourism Saudi Arabia, reveals a projected $16 trillion contribution to global GDP by the same year—representing more than 11% of the total world economy, according to World Travel & Tourism Council estimates. The report also found that the sector is expanding 1.5 times faster than the global economy, generating significant commercial opportunities as long as the mounting challenges of climate change, labour shortages and infrastructure gaps are addressed. Inbound and outbound trips increasing fast Asia is on track to become the world’s fastest-growing tourism economy, with the direct travel and tourism GDP contribution expected to exceed 7% across the region by 2034. Notably, India and China

The 2025-2026 World Branding Awards Animalis Edition Honouring Leading Pet and Animal Brands Globally3.7.2025 22:00:00 EEST | Press release

The 2025-2026 World Branding Awards Animalis Edition marked its fifth instalment, bringing together leading pet and animal brands from all around the world. These brands were celebrated for their outstanding achievements, earning recognition as National, Regional, and Global Winners. The awards ceremony, held at Vienna's prestigious Hofburg Palace, welcomed winners across diverse categories, including pet food, retail, wellness, pet exhibitions, and aquatic products. Mounia Berrada-Gouzi expertly hosted the evening, which culminated in a grand celebration of brand excellence. “The Animalis Edition of the World Branding Awards recognises brands that have achieved the highest distinction—genuine recognition in the hearts and minds of consumers. Tonight, we honour those whose names resonate globally, whose values inspire loyalty, and whose presence defines excellence in the pet and animal industry,” said Richard Rowles, Chairman of the World Branding Forum. Out of over 950 brands nominate

Venture Global Announces 20-Year Sales and Purchase Agreement with PETRONAS3.7.2025 15:59:00 EEST | Press release

Today, Venture Global, Inc. (NYSE: VG) announced the execution of a new 20-year Sales and Purchase Agreement (SPA) with PETRONAS LNG Ltd. (PLL), a subsidiary of the Malaysian state-owned oil and gas company, PETRONAS. Under the terms of the SPA, PETRONAS will purchase 1 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Venture Global’s third facility, CP2 LNG, for 20 years. This builds upon Venture Global’s existing agreement with PETRONAS for 1 MTPA of LNG supply from Plaquemines LNG. PETRONAS, a world-class partner in the LNG industry, joins other CP2 LNG customers in Europe, Asia and the rest of the world in a strategically important project to global energy supply and security. To date, approximately 10.75 MTPA of the 14.4 MTPA nameplate capacity for CP2 Phase One has been sold. About Venture Global Venture Global is a long-term, low-cost provider of U.S. LNG sourced from resource rich North American natural gas basins. Venture Global’s business includes assets ac

Frost & Sullivan Recognizes Novotech as 2025 Global Biotech CRO Company of the Year3.7.2025 15:05:00 EEST | Press release

In recognition of its innovation, client-focused delivery, and global impact, Novotech has been awarded the 2025 Global Biotechnology Contract Research Organization (CRO) Company of the Year by Frost & Sullivan. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250703950144/en/ Novotech Wins Global CRO Award Novotech is a globally recognized full-service clinical CRO and scientific advisory firm, trusted by biotech and small- to mid-sized pharmaceutical companies to advance their drug development programs at every phase. With a global footprint spanning Asia-Pacific, North America, and Europe, Novotech supports over 5,000 clinical trial sites and a distributed team of experts delivering seamless, end-to-end solutions across geographies. “Novotech is redefining biotech-focused clinical research through AI-driven innovation, global expansion, and a client-embedded partnership model. With a clear vision to be the CRO of choice for

Tinnitus Research: Novel Compound AC102 Makes Constant Ear Noise Disappear in Preclinical Model3.7.2025 13:02:00 EEST | Press release

The novel compound AC102 almost completely reversed tinnitus in a preclinical model after a single dose. At the same time, the damaged connections between the auditory nerve and inner ear sensory cells were restored. These findings were recently published in the prestigious International Journal of Molecular Sciences in a joint study conducted by Erlangen University Hospital and Berlin-based drug developer AudioCure. As there is currently no causal treatment for tinnitus, there is a high medical need. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250702168211/en/ In 10-20% of tinnitus cases, the noise in the ear is so severe that it significantly impairs the quality of life of those affected. (Source: AI-generated) In the current study, AC102 was administered to the middle ear of one experimental group after acoustic trauma, while a second group received a placebo. Although both groups initially showed signs of tinnitus, th

In our pressroom you can read all our latest releases, find our press contacts, images, documents and other relevant information about us.

Visit our pressroom
World GlobeA line styled icon from Orion Icon Library.HiddenA line styled icon from Orion Icon Library.Eye