The Hydroinformatics Institute (H2i) was named ‘Small Business Rising Star’ at the Winsemius Awards 2018, held at Singapore’s Grand Hyatt last night.

H2i Managing Director Jair Smits received the award from Singapore’s Minister for the Environment and Water Resources, Masagos Zukifli. His Royal Highness Prince Constantijn of the Netherlands was the guest of honour.

The Awards, jointly organised by ADB-DutchCham and the Embassy of the Netherlands, recognises the achievements of businesses and institutions in areas associated with Dutch business culture and Dutch sector excellence in Singapore, using Dutch and/or Singapore resources.

This year’s theme was technological innovation.

In its citation, the panel of judges commended H2i on its applications of data science, AI and machine learning to the sustainable management of water and the environment at the national, regional and organizational levels.

H2i, established by a Dutch national in 2014, hires 17 cross-disciplinary specialists. Its experience spans three key areas: inland water systems, coastal and oceanographic water systems, and the weather.

Chairman of H2i’s Board of Directors, Martin Lechner, pointed to the tremendous progress the Institute had made in its short history – growing from a small company with an annual turnover of just $50,000 in 2014 to one with a turnover of $3 million in under four years.

“H2i has brought to the world’s most pressing water challenges a combination of business acumen and vision, drawing on methods and tools not traditionally applied in the water sciences. Its multi-faceted team combines the best state-of-the-art and emerging solutions to create new approaches to water management.”

H2i will continue to build on its deep understanding of water management and data sciences, he said.

Our congratulations to the winners in the other categories: Witteveen+Bos (Manufacturing & Production), GoBear (Services Industry), and Boskalis (Water, Marine & Offshore).