Gacelas Programme: Strengthening Water and Sanitation Businesses
What the programme is
The Gacelas Programme is a business strengthening initiative aimed at enterprises and organisations developing innovative solutions in the water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) sector. Its purpose is to support these businesses in strengthening their commercial, strategic and operational capacities, helping them consolidate sustainable business models and expand the social and environmental impact of their solutions.
The programme supports enterprises at a key stage of their development, when they already have solutions or early market experience but need to strengthen their commercial strategy, improve their market positioning and consolidate their growth. Through a structured process of training, mentorship and engagement with the innovation ecosystem of the sector, Gacelas helps entrepreneurial teams strengthen their value proposition, expand their customer base and consolidate their long-term sustainability.
This initiative is supported and funded by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) through its Regional Hub in Lima and is implemented by Young Water Solutions and Cewas, two organisations specialised in strengthening water and sanitation enterprises with extensive experience in developing incubation, acceleration and innovation programmes in the WASH sector worldwide.
How the programme works
The programme combines specialised training, technical mentorship and peer learning spaces to support participating organisations in strengthening their commercial and growth strategies. Throughout the process, teams work on aspects such as defining their value proposition, identifying and segmenting customers, improving customer experience, designing conversion and sales strategies and monitoring management and impact indicators.
The structure of the programme follows a progressive process that begins with a diagnostic assessment of each enterprise, followed by training sessions focused on strengthening the commercial and strategic aspects of the business. This is complemented by in person intensive working spaces that allow teams to further develop their commercial tools and growth strategies. Throughout the programme, tailored mentorship and technical support are provided to assist each organisation in implementing improvements. The process concludes with participation in the Aquapreneurs Summit, which connects enterprises with key actors from the sector’s ecosystem.
Programme implementation
The Gacelas Programme is currently implemented in the following Latin American countries: Colombia and Peru, adapting its approach to the national contexts and the specific needs of the participating enterprises.
Gacelas Colombia
Gacelas Colombia is an edition of the programme focused on strengthening enterprises that develop water, sanitation and hygiene solutions within the Colombian context. The programme is aimed at organisations that already have solutions in operation and are looking to strengthen their business model, expand their customer base and consolidate their positioning within the national water and sanitation ecosystem.
The current edition of Gacelas Colombia runs from September 2025 to November 2026. At the current stage of the programme, seven organisations have received catalytic funding and are undergoing technical support and follow up to monitor their progress, challenges and advances in management and impact indicators.
The participating organisations are Aquafilm Ingeniería, DBO Solutions, Elemento, Fluir Ingeniería, LMA Ingeniería, Monitor Ciudad and Novaqua. In addition to technical follow up, the programme is facilitating connections with investors, clients and strategic partners that can contribute to the growth and scaling of their solutions.
The programme will conclude with participation in the Aquapreneurs Summit 2026, which will take place on 12 November 2026 in Bogotá.
For more information (only in Spanish version), please click here
Gacelas Peru
Gacelas Peru is the adaptation of the programme to the Peruvian context and focuses on strengthening enterprises and organisations developing innovative water, sanitation and hygiene solutions in the country.The programme targets entrepreneurial teams that already have a developed solution and seek to strengthen their commercial capacities, improve their market positioning and expand the reach of their solutions in the water and sanitation sector.
The current edition of Gacelas Peru began with the call for applications and the selection process at the end of 2025. The training activities were conducted online through four sessions held between 18 February and 6 March 2026. Afterwards, the in person commercial strengthening bootcamp takes place between 20 and 22 March 2026 in Lima.
A total of nine organisations will participate in the bootcamp: Hidrotech Solution, Kallpa Greenz Leaders, Natek Systems, Sadyl Water Solutions, SANIMA, UQHU, WAPOSAT, Yakufil Ecoingeniería and Yawa Planeta. The process will continue with mentorship and technical support activities aimed at strengthening the growth of the participating enterprises and will conclude with participation in the Aquapreneurs Summit 2027.
For more information (only in Spanish version), please click here