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Can startups help solve Middle East water crisis?

Young entrepreneurs are coming up with new projects and systems in a bid to cater to the water needs of the populations in the Middle East, where water scarcity could become a problem in the coming decades.

CompostBaladi.jpg
The team behind Lebanon's Compost Baladi project, seen in a picture uploaded Oct. 31, 2018. — Facebook/compostbaladi

Amid exacerbating water shortages hitting the Middle East region, Hatem Marrakchi, a middle-aged Tunisian entrepreneur and co-founder of Water Dynamic, had an out-of-the-box idea to solve water problems in parts of his homeland and other countries in the region, including Palestine and Jordan.

Through a platform that includes an interactive map created by Marrakchi, users can locate the area with a water problem and the team of Water Dynamic inspects the location, verifies the problem and reports it to local municipalities and international water organizations as well as crowdfunds to solve the issue.

Water Dynamic is based in Tunis but has partnerships in Palestine and Jordan, where teams manage the organization.

“We started in 2015 and we have managed to carry out several projects in areas where severe water problems occur,” Marrakchi told Al-Monitor.

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