Idrica, the global technology services company for the water sector, has launched an internationalization plan to expand its service offerings in Latin America as a priority area.
In the last two months, it has opened operations in four of the region’s main markets in order to position itself as the main provider of management services for the entire water cycle.
“Growing in a market as close to the Spanish one as Latin America is not only one of the pillars of our worldwide expansion, but it also represents our commitment to improve and optimize the conditions of access to drinking water and sanitation in our brother countries,” explained Jaime Barba, founding CEO of the company.
Idrica’s technological solution, GoAigua, has been developed for the water industry and is unique in the market. Chema Nebot, Business Development Director of the company, stated, “We are committed to modernizing processes and bringing the information closer to all water utility entities and citizens”.
“The pandemic has highlighted, not only in Latin America but globally, the need to introduce technology in the processes of operation and maintenance, collection and customer care. We are strongly aligned with this concern,” he added.
In Latin America, the company has set as a priority objective to improve communication channels with citizens. Through GoAigua, Idrica has the capacity to inform users, in real time, of their consumption, leaks or water quality.
Idrica has experience in operation and maintenance projects, technical assistance and technology provider for monitoring and optimizing processes in countries of the region (Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, Peru). The company collaborates with institutions such as CAF, the Inter-American Development Bank or the World Bank.
One of Idrica’s main projects is located in Ecuador, where it has a contract with the Public Water Company (EPA) for the company’s digital transformation process. In the first phase of the project, the modernization of the collection process was undertaken, where significant achievements have been made, such as a 72% increase in billing and a 51% increase in the number of contracts.
In Colombia, it assists in the management of Aguas del Sur del Atlántico (AQSUR), where it provides Operation and Maintenance services and strengthens infrastructures in some of the most affected municipalities in the South Atlantic region. In collaboration with AQSUR, it has achieved indicators such as the continuity of service, water quality (without risk indicators), customer cadastre, micromeasurement, and billing and collection volumes.
The company’s commitment to the region, beyond the commercial scope, extends to the search for solutions to analyze and respond to the water access problems faced by the region during the crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
In mid-April, the company launched the Idrica Water Security Series, a series of digital spaces where leading experts in the field meet to discuss the future of water access. The first of these, which took place on April 16th, was the Idrica Water Security Series Latin America, where Dr. Judith Domínguez, Coordinator of the Water Security Observatory of El Colegio de México, clearly warned that “in Latin America, access to water reflects the enormous inequality in the city and the rural world, putting human security at risk”.
“Service providers in the region, in addition to being at risk, do not have the necessary funds to provide water where there is no supply. The State must support them to provide greater subsidies during the time that COVID 19 lasts and optimize the water cycle via capital injections and technology transfer,” she said.
On May 6th, Idrica organized a digital meeting with the Inter-American Development Bank. The discussion focused on the importance of providing technological resources to the countries in the area to guarantee water supply and sanitation for their population.
Idrica was born in January as a technology spin-off from the company Global Omnium, which has operated for 130 years under the name Aguas de Valencia. It has a team of 180 experts and its software enables water management transforamtion in large cities around the world. The group serves some 400 municipalities worldwide.
Idrica’s engineering division creates pioneering water projects in the areas of management, operation and maintenance, engineering and consulting. It also implements Digital Transformation projects, Smart Meters deployment, control of non-revenue water, early warning systems, Digital Twins, project management, technical support and energy efficiency by means of optimization and automation processes.
