Quest Water Global, Inc. is an innovative water technology company that provides sustainable and environmentally sound solutions to water scarce regions. The firm uses proven technologies to create products that address the critical shortage of clean drinking water in emerging markets. Its goal is to address the vital issue of water quality and water supply by offering an alternative, sustainable source of pure water at the smallest possible environmental cost to global areas in need. The company aims to become a provider of decentralized, turn key solutions that use alternative energy for the purification, desalination and distribution of clean drinking water. To date, it has concentrated its activities on forming safe water partnerships and selling and installing its AQUAtap™ Community Water Purification and Distribution systems throughout North America, Latin America, the Caribbean, and Africa, with focus on the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Angola, and South Africa. In addition to the AQUAtap™ system, the company manufactures and markets the WEPS™ water extraction and purification unit. It also operates through a subsidiary, AQUAtap Global, Inc., which coordinates safe water partnerships in Africa, Latin America, and the Caribbean, and through a subsidiary, Quest Water Solutions Inc., a British Columbia corporation that designs, engineers, and manufactures the product line and sells directly to end users and via distributors.
The company generates revenue primarily from the sale of its AQUAtap™ and WEPS™ systems and from the sale of the water produced by those systems. Customers purchase AQUAtap™ units for installation in communities, after which the company may retain ownership under a build own operate arrangement and sell the purified water to end users at socially responsible rates, as inexpensive bulk water or through government subsidized community programs. Revenue also comes from the outright sale of WEPS™ units to commercial bottled water operators, agricultural irrigation projects, industrial water reuse facilities, and bulk residential suppliers. Additionally, the firm earns income from service contracts, maintenance agreements, and technical support related to its installed systems. The diversified revenue model allows the company to benefit from both equipment sales and recurring water sales streams.
Within the water technology sector, Quest Water Global, Inc. distinguishes itself by offering solar powered autonomous systems that both purify and distribute water, a feature that many competitors lack. Its build own operate model enables the company to create shared value with local partners while retaining control over operations and financial performance. Compared with organizations such as WaterHealth International, Safe Water Network, Charity: Water, Water.org, WaterAid America Inc., and One Drop Foundation, only two of those groups sell water to the population, making their offerings similar to Quest’s model, whereas the others rely on charitable donations. The AQUAtap™ system includes an integrated distribution point for end users, whereas most competitors provide only purification or none at all. The unit can be configured with either a reverse osmosis membrane for saline or brackish source water or an ultrafiltration membrane for contaminated fresh water, giving it flexibility that many rivals do not offer. Furthermore, the system operates entirely from solar power, avoiding reliance on grid or generator electricity, which reduces operating costs and environmental impact. These characteristics give Quest a competitive advantage in serving remote, off grid communities in emerging markets.
The company serves a diverse customer base that includes non governmental organizations, governmental agencies, land developers, emergency management and disaster preparedness organizations, and underserved rural and peri urban communities in emerging markets. Specific partnerships have been formed with entities such as Dikembe Mutombo’s American Venture Mergers & Acquisitions, LLC based in Atlanta, Georgia, and Kalo Products SARL located in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo. For its WEPS™ product, the firm has representatives in Haiti and South Africa and a distributor in Bogota, Colombia. The AQUAtap™ system has been deployed in pilot projects, including the first installation in Bom Jesus, a small rural community near Luanda, Angola, which began delivering water in March 2012. In addition, the company targets commercial bottled water operators, agricultural irrigation projects, industrial water reuse facilities, and bulk residential suppliers for its atmospheric water generation technology. This broad mix of institutional, governmental, and community level customers supports both its equipment sales and its water sales revenue streams.