ABCC-2021-006: Wateroam: Social Enterprise in Singapore

Category: Entrepreneurship

Abstract: In 2014, three young men met at the HydroPreneur Programme, an industry-oriented entrepreneurship programme organised by the Public Utilities Board (PUB) - Singapore’s national water agency - to accelerate commercialisation of technologies and foster a new generation of water entrepreneurs. This event kickstarted the journey of Wateroam, a social enterprise founded by David Pong (“David”), Wateroam’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Lim Chong Tee (“Lim”), Wateroam’s Chief Marketing Officer (CMO), and Vincent Loka (“Loka”), Wateroam’s Chief Technical Officer (CTO). David graduated from the National University of Singapore (NUS) with a business degree, while Lim and Loka graduated from NUS with degrees in Environmental Engineering.

Wateroam is a social enterprise that develops water filtration systems for rural and disaster-hit areas. Since 2014, Wateroam has deployed its water filtration systems to more than 30,000 people in remote villages and disaster-stricken areas across Southeast Asia through Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs).

2021 was a challenging year for Wateroam, and the seventh year of its operation. As its three co-founders perused a 2020 World Economic Forum report that identified Singapore as one of the five most promising start-up hubs to watch outside of Silicon Valley, they reflected on their journey and the road ahead. What additional tools and frameworks would they need to navigate changing social and economic conditions worldwide? How should they position Wateroam to succeed in Covid-stricken communities as well as post-pandemic markets?

ABCC-2021-006: “Wateroam: Social Enterprise in Singapore”