Idrica hosts World Bank digital training week for water utility leaders from Africa and Latin America

Around 40 water utility leaders from Africa and Latin America, as well as members of the World Bank, recently travelled to Valencia in Spain to participate in a training course on the digital transformation of water management

The topics covered included data management such as Big Data and Artificial Intelligence, information security, E-billing, asset management, micro and macro metering, and leak detection.

Around 40 water utility leaders from Africa and Latin America, as well as members of the World Bank, recently traveled to Valencia (Spain) to participate in a training course on the digital transformation of water management. Idrica, a company specializing in integrated water cycle management in different parts of the world, was in charge of delivering and hosting this “Digital Training Week”, as part of the digital consultancy project that the company is carrying out for the World Bank Group.

Jean-Martin Brault, the leader of the World Bank’s Digital Water team commented:

“The Digital Training Week was extremely useful for the client countries we serve, as it could have a crucial impact for them. The water and sanitation utilities we work with are able to transform data into operational knowledge, which helps them make better decisions so they can build a resilient water future. In addition, they will be able to make further progress towards customer-centricity.”

During the intense four-day event, several Idrica experts, in collaboration with the World Bank’s Digital Water team, gave training sessions on key areas for the digital transformation of the water sector. The topics covered included data management such as Big Data and Artificial Intelligence, information security, E-billing, asset management, micro and macro metering, and leak detection. The World Bank’s knowledge of the countries and their specific contexts was fundamental for the team leaders to learn and implement these tools in their operations at country level.

Another important part of the event were four one-on-one sessions in which water utilities met with digital water experts, Idrica, and the World Bank team leaders to discuss and seek solutions to the challenges on the table.

Attendees were able to visit a number of facilities run by Global Omnium, the water utility that launched Idrica. These visits included EMIVASA’s digital twin, the GOlab (Global Omnium’s Technology Center), and the utility’s operating headquarters. Finally, participants were given a behind-the-scenes tour around the Oceanografic, the largest aquarium in Europe.

Idrica’s role: framework contract with the World Bank to support strategic digital activities

The training program is part of the framework contract Idrica signed with the World Bank to support strategic digital activities. In this project, Idrica provides a specialized consultancy and advisory service to respond to the technological challenges that the World Bank has identified in the water sector in certain countries.

The service draws on the expertise of the World Bank’s specialists and Idrica’s experience in digital transformation and the application of innovative solutions to sustainably optimize the use of resources.

Far from being a solely theoretical exercise, action plans were developed under the guidance of the country experts at the World Bank, so that each operator can deploy their digital transformation plans, as well as develop the capabilities of their teams to upscale these digital projects.

Both the World Bank and Idrica, who have been working together for three years, were very satisfied with the project’s outcomes and expressed their interest in continuing this endeavor. “We hope this will be the first of many weeks of training,” said Jean Martin Brault, on behalf of the World Bank.