Investing in water can be a good business

Most readers would expect a successful global technology entrepreneur like Jeff Bezos to recommend allocating our resources to thinking about future businesses, looking for something truly disruptive that will shake up the market. However, his main lesson could not be further from that, and in an interview he lays out his strategy without hesitation. If we want to succeed, we will have to concentrate on those issues that will not change in the next 10 years. And one of them is, without a doubt, that human beings will continue to need water like no other element in order to live.

The most conservative studies claim that water consumption The world's water supply will double in the next decade due to population growth, rising temperatures, and the increased need for water to produce food, industrial products, energy, and technological services . People and organizations will demand, as never before in history, access to water in large quantities, at all hours of the day, and of a higher quality. They will have an unprecedented level of training that will make them sophisticated consumers of water, capable of distinguishing between the virtues and defects of different sources, processes, and containers, among others. In addition, the price of water will clearly have an upward trend, driven by increased demand, restricted supply, and higher costs for purification, treatment, and transportation.

Bottled water under scrutiny: Scientists warn of microplastics and other health hazards

For all these reasons, investing in water will be a decision that few will regret. The big question is how to do it. And in this sense, there is still a long way to go in order to bring individual and institutional investors closer to this sector.

Currently, the range of options for investing in water is restricted to the following list:

• Entrepreneurship in the water sector, investing resources in the opening of new companies.
• Develop solutions for companies in the water sector, in sales, marketing, technology, quality, etc.
• Buy shares in companies in the water sector: public services, technologies, infrastructure.
• Invest in ETFs and investment funds specializing in water.
• Invest in green bonds, water bonds and tokens to finance sustainable water projects globally.
• Investing in water rights futures and emerging markets in water usage rights.
• Invest in water infrastructure.
• Train in the skills required by the sector, such as hydrological or chemical engineering , water sommelier or specializing in automation processes.

Within the water sector itself, there are segments with greater potential, including irrigation systems, spring water, water regeneration systems, home filters, water for gastronomy and premium tourism, and water adapted to each need.

Water: the most abundant resource on the planet and at the same time the scarcest

To all this, we must add other variables that will make water an invaluable resource throughout the 21st century . On the one hand, it will be consolidated as the most transported element worldwide, both in foreign trade operations and through infrastructure works that cross borders within and outside countries. On the other hand, for the first time in history the Water Footprint, which is the quantity required for the production of a unit of a manufacture or product, will become a variable in consumer brand choice and will be considered in export prices under the virtual water mechanism.

Argentina must focus on working hard to make our country a beacon for sustainable business in the water sector at an international level. Argentine water companies are one of the greatest assets of our nation.

• Gonzalo Meschengieser
• Water
• Waterways
• Microplastics
• Drought