Softys Water Challenge (SWCh).

The project was announced on January 13 2020, with the launch of the innovation contest, in a COP25 sponsored event. However, our work began in 2019, developing the idea, looking for the best allies to achieve the goal, among other key aspects of the proyect. 500 applications were received from 31 countries around the world, which were reviewed in detail by an expert jury, and of which 85 fulfilled 100% of the application bases. On March 19, the 19 semifinalist ideas were published, entrepreneurs who started a complete program of accompaniment and acceleration for two months by the team of the Center for Innovation of the Catholic University in Chile. This contemplated networking with institutions and key actors in the field, generating an associative culture among entrepreneurs, financial and legal support, etc. The purpose was to increase the value of the products and / or services proposed by the teams, so that not only we would have 3 winners, but 19 innovations that advance one extra mile. On July 17 it was narrowed down to the 10 finalist projects that would participate for the implementation award. The evaluation was carried out considering the technical potential of the solution, the value proposition and degree of appropriability, the commercial potential of the solution, the equipment, the capital raising and the sales of the applicant startup. With 16 experts on the jury, on August 20 the three winners of the contest were announced among whom USD 45,000 was distributed. The winning projects were: Isla Urbana, which designs and installs a rainwater catchment system on the roofs of the houses; Remote Waters, through technology for the purification of sea or underground water, generates potable, clean and safe water; and Watergen, uses a device for the production of drinking water through generators that take advantage of the humidity of the environment.