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EN(Boston, MA – November 19, 2024)
The 2024 QBE AcceliCITY Resilience Challenge, hosted by Leading Cities in partnership with QBE Insurance Group awarded the City Solution of the Year honor to Gravity Water, a pioneering organization addressing one of the world’s most urgent challenges: water scarcity. Gravity Water’s innovative technology captures, filters, and stores rainwater, providing safe, sustainable drinking water to communities in need around the world.
Access to safe water is not just a necessity; it is a fundamental right that millions are denied daily,» said Mike Lake, President and CEO of Leading Cities. «Currently, nearly 2 billion people–almost a quarter of the global population—are forced to use contaminated water sources, putting lives at risk every single day. Addressing this issue with sustainable solutions is critical to breaking this cycle and protecting our future generations.«
Water scarcity is rapidly becoming one of the greatest global crises, with population growth and climate change amplifying the pressure on already limited resources. By 2050, more than 52% of the global population is projected to live in water-stressed regions, with over 1.5 billion people at risk from saltwater intrusion, which is the contamination of essential groundwater supplies. Flooding—one of the most frequent natural disasters affecting urban areas—further exacerbates this crisis by overwhelming public water systems, leaving communities without access to safe drinking water. The situation is especially dire for rural and underserved communities in the global south, where centralized solutions like desalination plants are inaccessible, leaving millions vulnerable to water scarcity.
«Congratulations to Gravity Water for their efforts in developing a cutting-edge solution that provides areas at risk of natural disasters around the world with access to safe drinking water,» said QBE North America CEO Julie Wood. «At QBE, we are committed to helping promote resilience and sustainability, and this year’s winner is an excellent example of how we can help empower communities to build resilience to climate challenges.”
The $100,000 grand prize was awarded after an exciting Final Pitch Event featuring the Top 10 Resilience Solutions. The pitches were evaluated by a distinguished panel of judges, including Mayuri Ghosh of the Clinton Global Initiative, Jeff Merritt of the World Economic Forum, and Kathryn Meng of RA Capital. Each Top 10 Resilience Solution was assessed based on their innovation, scalability, and potential for real-world impact.»
Gravity Water was selected as the City Solution of the Year from a pool of more than 740 entrepreneurs from 70 countries who competed in the QBE AcceliCITY Resilience Challenge.
Danny Wright, founder and executive director of Gravity Water said, “We need solutions to water security that are sustainable and can reach global scale in years, not decades. The pilot grant from the QBE AcceliCITY Resilience Challenge gives us the opportunity to continue to help communities at risk of natural disasters to safely collect and manage rainwater, building resilience to flooding, drought, and other climate challenges. Our rainwater harvesting technologies will provide communities with access to a self-sufficient and long-term source of safe drinking water.”
In addition to the Primary Smart City challenge, two specialized tracks were available; The Proptech Track targets loss mitigation solutions at the intersection of commercial property insurance and sustainability. Gravity Water was named the 2024 Proptech Track winner, and the recipient of the $25,000 prize. The second specialized track, The Humanitarian Track, in partnership with Australian Red Cross, selected satellite analytics company WEO as the inaugural global winner of the Humanitarian Track 2024.
The QBE AcceliCITY Resilience Challenge also awarded two $25,000 People’s Choice awards to winners selected by QBE employees in two global regions: Reef Arches and Gravity Water.
The QBE AcceliCITY Resilience Challenge has quickly become one of the largest programs of its kind in the world and has demonstrated tremendous impact. AcceliCITY alumni have already raised more than $1 billion, with many having since deployed their solutions in cities to improve the equity, resilience and safety of our urban centers.
At its core, QBE AcceliCITY lowers the cost of innovation for local governments as well as startups and corporations by streamlining the innovation and implementation cycles for smart and resilient city solutions. The QBE AcceliCITY program connects startup’s smart solutions directly with users and provides the proper channels and know-how to deploy in cities.
About the Finalists
- Agora World – A no-code platform that enables urban planners and developers to create and manage 3D digital twins of cities, making urban design and development more efficient and accessible.
- Airbuild – A building solution that integrates carbon capture, renewable energy generation, and water filtration, making cities more sustainable and helping buildings reduce their carbon footprint.
- Biostra – A chemical-free, rapid technology that transforms organic waste into premium fertilizer, supporting sustainable agriculture and reducing waste in landfills.
- Green The Chain – A global procurement platform that connects businesses with sustainable products, helping companies reduce scope 3 emissions and meet ESG targets.
- Reef Arches – A modular, stackable wave attenuation device that protects coastlines from erosion while restoring marine habitats, providing both coastal resilience and ecological restoration.
- Taro AI – AI-powered technology that monitors and manages urban forests, helping cities reduce infrastructure damage and improve the health of trees.
- Translate Live – A real-time translation tool that bridges communication gaps for Limited English Proficiency (LEP) individuals and people with disabilities, promoting inclusivity in cities.
- Washbox – A mobile, eco-friendly tool wash system that uses recycled water to clean construction tools, reducing water waste and providing sustainable solutions for construction sites.
- WEO – An environmental analytics platform that leverages satellite data and AI to monitor urban heat islands, flood risks, and green spaces, helping cities improve climate resilience.
About Leading Cities
Leading Citiesconnects cities across the globe with innovations and insight to drive resiliency, equity, and sustainability. This is achieved by cultivating a global network of forward thinkers from the public, private, academic, and non-profit sectors as well as delivering advanced research, emerging trends and vetting solutions that will address urban challenges. The AcceliCITY program aims to de-risk innovation for cities by sourcing and vetting solutions that will answer their most pressing challenges. Additional information can be found at www.LeadingCities.org or by following Leading Cities on Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook.
About QBE
QBE North America is a global insurance leader focused on helping customers solve unique risks, so they can focus on their future. Part of QBE Insurance Group Limited, QBE North America reported Gross Written Premiums in 2021 of $6.29 billion. QBE Insurance Group’s 2021 results can be found at www.qbe.com. Headquartered in Sydney, Australia, QBE operates out of 27 countries around the globe, with a presence in every key insurance market. The North America division, headquartered in New York, conducts business through its insurance company subsidiaries. The actual terms and conditions of any insurance coverage are subject to the language of the policies as issued. QBE insurance companies are rated «A» (Excellent) by A.M. Best and «A+» by Standard & Poor’s. Additional information can be found at www.qbe.com/us or follow QBE North America on LinkedIn and Twitter.
Download press release: Final AcceliCity Winner Press Release
PRESS RELEASE
Boston, MA – November 19, 2024
Contact: Ava G Halstead
Director of Strategic Initiatives
Email: a.halstead@leadingcities.org
