5 June 2015, Jens Groot, managing director of Basic Water Needs, was invited to present before Prime Minister Rutte, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lilianne Ploumen and Minister for Agriculture Sharon Dijkstra at the ‘Entrepreneurial Minds’ event in Delhi, India. Basic Water Needs was one of the 15 companies selected as a prime example of Dutch-Indian initiatives that show the added value brought to both countries by ambitious, innovative, pioneering, entrepreneurial minds.
Basic Water Needs has been active in India for over 10 years and has its factory in Pondicherry, India. India offers a vast market for BWN’s product with both Bottom of the Pyramid (BoP) and lower middle class consumers. For reaching lower-income families with the Tulip water filter BWN works together with organizations such as Plan India in Delhi, setting up projects to make sure that also families in slums are reached with safe drinking water.
During the event at the Dutch embassy in Delhi, Jens Groot presented the special relationship that Basic Water Needs holds with India. Together with 14 other entrepreneurs, all from different sectors, proofing that ‘when cultures meet, innovation is triggered’.