News
Posted by Kari on September 5th, 2009
Full Circle Fund is thrilled to announce that its Environment/Energy Circle grant partner Imagine H2O launched its inaugural prize competition on September 1. The Imagine H2O Prize is designed to encourage entrepreneurs, investors, inventors and academics around the world to address water challenges. This inaugural business plan competition focuses on solutions to improve water efficiency in agriculture, commercial, industrial or residential applications, such as water demand reduction, improved water use, water recycling and/or reuse.
This marks a major milestone in the Full Circle Fund project which was has provided support to Imagine H2O since its early stages. Project Co-Leads Meera Balakumar and Scott Bryan report that the competition offers prizes of $70,000 in cash and in‐kind services, which will be awarded to the business plans that promise the greatest breakthroughs in the efficient use and supply of water. Entrepreneurs can learn more about the entry requirements here.
“We want to help build a Silicon Valley for water,” said Tamin Pechet, Imagine H2O’s Chairman, who co‐founded the organization at Harvard Business School in 2007, and was honored at Full Circle Fund’s 2008 Forum. 
The winners will also receive thousands of dollars in business and legal support and access to a network of partners, customers and financiers to help bring their ideas to market.
Royal Bank of Canada, Full Circle Fund, Cooley Godward Kronish LLP, PricewaterhouseCoopers, and private foundations support Imagine H2O’s vision to create opportunities out of water crises. Imagine H2O’s growing list of partners also includes the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission, the National Water Research Institute, Babson College, the Stanford University Conservation Program, and others.
“Water problems have become acute at home and abroad, but less than one percent of venture capital supports water startups,” says Tamin. “We hope the Imagine H2O Prize and Incubator program inspires entrepreneurs to tackle the world’s water problems.”
Entries will be accepted from around the world until November 16, 2009. Winners will be announced at a showcase event in early 2010. The annual competition will feature a different water‐related prize topic each year and winning the cash prize is only the beginning, since the competition will place winners in an ecosystem of talent to help start commercially viable water solutions.
Posted in Meera Balakumar, Tamin Pechet, Imagine H2O, Cooley Godward Kronish, environment
