Ambassadors

Ambassadors of the Waterwatch Foundation take part in brainstorms and activities of the Cooperative. Because of their stature and different networks, they are able to promote the Cooperative. The ambassadors have experience or an interest in sustainability, agriculture, the environment, food processing, water management, geo information and/or technology.

Herman Wijffels

Herman Wijffels

Economist and professor

”By collecting information on the availability of water in agricultural areas, while using modern technology, the Waterwatch Cooperative will make an important contribution to the food supply of a growing world population.”

Dirk Jan van den Berg

Dirk Jan van den Berg

Chairman Sanquin Blood Supply

Dirk Jan van den Berg was till recently President of the Board of Delft University of Technology and is now Chairman of Sanquin Blood Supply. Prior to that he was Dutch ambassador to China, Permanent Representative of the Netherlands to the UN in New York, Ministry’s Secretary –General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Director-General for Industrial Policy in Netherlands.

Ernst van den Ende

Ernst van den Ende

Managing Director Plant Sciences Group of Wageningen UR

”We need to improve how the agircultural stakeholders manage their water resources.”

“We will not be able to meet one of the major challenges of the 21th Century – sustainable food and nutrition security – without improving how the agricultural stakeholders manage their water resources. It is therefore that I support the Waterwatch Cooperative as an important initiative for a sustainable future.”

Ad van der Sluijs

Ad van der Sluijs

Entrepreneur and impact investor

”Waterwatch Cooperative has a promising intention to create enormous impact by improving food supply, one of the major challenges of today and the near future.”

“In the years that I have been involved in supporting companies who make a positive impact on the planet or its people, the Waterwatch Cooperative is one of the most exciting initiatives I have encountered. Exciting because it has a promising intention to create enormous impact by improving food supply, one of the major challenges today and the near future. Exciting because it can bring income growth to the poorer people involved in food production. It is a great challenge to bring all stakeholders required for further technical development and applications together. Through my network I will help the Waterwatch Cooperative to grow, mature and eventually include it in the existing financial systems where it is no longer dependent on grants or social investors.”

Tim van Emmerik

Tim van Emmerik

PhD Researcher Water Resources TU Delft

”I am convinced that WwC’s products will stimulate the development and implementation of new technologies, allowing more efficient, more effective and more sustainable food production.”

“In my daily work I try to explore novel ways to acquire important hydrological and vegetation data using satellites to support global food and water security. However, how do these data get to the end users, and how can these be used to support land and water management decisions? The reason for supporting the Waterwatch Cooperation is that they aim to develop a practical solution for these issues. WwC aims to increase data availability and accessibility for users all around the world, from governments to individual farmers. I am convinced that WwC’s products will stimulate the development and implementation of new technologies, allowing more efficient, more effective and more sustainable food production.”

Vincent_Everts

Vincent Everts

Entrepreneur and trendwatcher

”What an inspiration to help making this possible!”

“Technology can be a very dividing force. The West obtains the newest gadgets, infrastructure and education. But smartphones are now in use by everybody and smart technology like the Waterwatch Cooperative gives smart agricultural detailed local information to everybody in the world. What an inspiration to help make this possible! It leads to more opportunities for everybody, less poison, more food to feed the world. I would ask everybody in my network and outside to help make this agricultural info possible for all.”

Jan Hak

Jan Hak

Founder Hak & Partners

Jan Hak is founder of Hak & Partners. His family founded HAK Conserven B.V. (one of Europe’s largest glass perserves factories). His work covers all aspects of the agro chain, from field to market sales. He has a broad view of worldwide developments in food production as well as in technology sectors.

Herman Russchenberg

Herman Russchenberg

Director Climate Institute TU Delft

Herman Russchenberg is Director Climate Institute of Technical University (TU) Delft. In parallel he is head of the Department of Geoscience and Remote Sensing and takes part in CESAR consortium that operates a large set of instruments to study the atmosphere and its interaction with the land surface.

Vincent Kouwenhoven

Vincent Kouwenhoven

Founder eVentures Africa Fund

Vincent Kouwenhoven is the Founder of eVentures Africa Fund (eVA Fund with its focus on SME’s that are active in the digital media sector ( web / Mobile ) in Sub-Saharan Africa. Prior to EVA he was internet entrepreneur since its early days and managed a Dutch VC Fund for digital media after he has held senior executive positions in ICT and Telecoms (a.o. KPN Business Networks, Norton & Co/KPMG).