World Water Day, celebrated on March 22, is an opportunity to highlight a Walloon company active in the water sector. Our choice was Sotrad Water.
Based in Nivelles, Wallonia-based Sotrad Water has specialized for over 15 years in the development of complete, robust solutions for improving access to drinking water in rural and peri-urban areas.
“Sotrad Water was founded in December 2009. Initially, Jean-Charles De Muylder and I aimed to provide a sustainable solution for access to drinking water for populations in remote areas of emerging countries, mainly in Africa. Mr. De Muylder had just spent almost 30 years living in sub-Saharan Africa, with many projects in rural areas. He is an agricultural engineer. For my part, I'm a forestry engineer. We both had this vision of remote rural areas and the need for investment and solutions in these geographical zones. At the time, we were a bit ahead of our time. The countries' focus was on urban and peri-urban areas,” recalls Raoul Antoine, General Manager at Sotrad Water. He adds: “We remained focused on rural areas, waiting for our time to come. So we designed our range of solutions based on the needs of these specific geographical areas. We started from scratch, without trying to adapt an existing solution.
Sotrad Water's worldwide reputation has been built primarily on the strength of its Pump&Drink brand. The Pump&Drink range offers solar-powered Autonomous Water Stations combining pumping of water from boreholes, treatment to make it potable, storage in modular tanks, and distribution with comfort and hygiene standards.
These compact, robust and durable units enable us to supply remote communities efficiently, while minimizing operating costs thanks to solar energy.
In addition, over the past two years, Sotrad Water has developed a range called DRS (Disaster Relief Solutions) that provides access to drinking water in emergency situations. “When there's flooding in Brazil, stations go straight out. If there's a cholera outbreak in Zimbabwe, stations are dispatched. We're also active in emergency situations, because our ambition is to be a partner in providing access to water in remote areas,” adds Raoul Antoine.
Sotrad Water operates mainly in Africa. “I would say 90 to 95% of our activities are in Africa. But we also have projects in Haiti, Panama and Costa Rica. We're currently considering a project in Jamaica, and we're doing studies in Sri Lanka and Bangladesh”, explains our contact.
Projects in Togo and Côte d'Ivoire
Last November, Sotrad Water inaugurated its first Pump&Drink station in the village of Tokoindji, near Vogan (maritime region) in Togo. This station is the first in a project comprising six units in all, financed thanks to FINEXPO's Belgian “Renewable Energies and Circular Economy for SMEs” program and supported by AWEX (Wallonia Export & Investment Agency). In collaboration with Société Togolaise des Eaux, this project aims to provide sustainable drinking water in several Togolese peri-urban areas. All six stations have now been installed. “This project gives 35,000 people access to drinking water,” adds Raoul Antoine.
After Togo, Sotrad Water is now developing its solutions in the Ivory Coast. “We have launched a major project in the Ivory Coast involving 1,000 stations. We're also going to install a station for a hospital in West Africa. Things are moving”, concludes Sotrad Water's General Manager.
