Pakistan water woes offer a test for startup Paani+
Pakistan’s water challenges present a paradox: water shortages affect households and farmers, while heavy rainfall can overwhelm urban drainage systems and flood homes and businesses. For startups developing products to manage water, the challenge is not only addressing these problems but also persuading customers to pay for solutions before a crisis occurs. Karachi-based startup Paani+, founded…
Pakistan faces a paradox where both water shortages and heavy rainfall cause problems, affecting households and farmers. Karachi-based startup Paani+, founded by Haseeb Ansari, aims to address this gap with a range of products. These include absorbent barriers to limit floodwater intrusion, soil treatments to retain moisture, and materials for solidifying liquid spills in healthcare settings.
The company's products aim to provide temporary protection against flooding, rather than replacing permanent drainage systems. Ansari's inspiration came from a personal experience when his home was flooded, leading to the creation of FloodGuard, a lightweight sack that swells to create a barrier on contact with water. The company markets this product as an alternative to traditional sandbags and claims it has been tested by the Pakistan Council of Scientific and Industrial Research.
Paani+ also offers GrowMate+, a soil moisture-retaining material that absorbs and releases water gradually, helping to reduce water loss in agriculture. Additionally, the startup has developed MediSorb, a material designed to handle infectious waste in hospitals, aiming to improve containment, disinfection, and disposal processes.
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