Aqua Hacking

What Aqua Hacking does

In 2012, Nan-b and Philippe de Gaspé Beaubien challenged their grandchildren to find their own voice as future philanthropists by asking them what issues were of concern to them. Members of the family’s fourth generation were of one mind: their biggest concern was water. Extensive research and engagement with key leaders in the water sector opened the eyes of the de Gaspé Beaubien grandparents to the state of freshwater in North America. Their grandchildren were right. And so, believing in the passion and creativity of youth and the value of entrepreneurship to channel that potential for sustainable societal impact, the De Gaspe Beaubien Family Foundation founded AquaHacking and launched the AquaHacking Challenge to become a source of solutions for our most pressing water issues.

Name

Aqua Hacking

Legal name

AQUAHACKING

Website

https://aquaaction.org/

Company type

Private

Founded year

2012

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Aqua Hacking is a water crisis management through information, innovation and mentoring services.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Montréal

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Charitable donations and program funding: AquaAction operates as a registered charity in Canada and the United States (Charitable Reg #79 333 5498 RR 0001, US Tax ID: 52-1273585). Revenue is generated through donations, grants, and sponsorships from partners including de Gaspé Beaubien Foundation, RBC Tech For Nature, Ovivo, Alberta Innovates, Canada Water Agency, and Prairies Economic Development Canada. The AquaHacking program is free for participants due to partner support.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

AquaHacking is a free entrepreneurship program operated by AquaAction, a registered charity, that helps participants turn early-stage water-tech ideas into real-world solutions. Participants (post-secondary students and young professionals) receive mentorship, training, tools, and access to seed funding through regional challenges (Great Lakes and St. Lawrence, Prairies) and a 10-month Quebec commercialization track (AquaEntrepreneur). The program is fully funded by partners, sponsors, and donors so there is no cost to participants.

Product overview

AQUAHACKING operates as the flagship entrepreneurship program under AquaAction, designed to empower young innovators to develop water-tech solutions. The primary offering is the AquaHacking Challenge, a free program providing mentorship, training, tools, and seed funding to transform early-stage water-tech ideas into real-world solutions. Regional variants include the AquaHacking Binational Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Challenge and the AquaHacking Prairies Challenge. The ecosystem also includes the AquaEntrepreneur Program for scaling commercialization, AquaNation for national initiatives, and the Water Literacy Project for education.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• AquaHacking Challenge: A free entrepreneurship program that helps participants turn early-stage water-tech ideas into real-world solutions. No prior entrepreneurial experience is needed.
• AquaEntrepreneur
• AquaNation
• Water Literacy Project

Products and services

• AquaHacking Challenge A free entrepreneurship program that helps post-secondary students and young professionals turn early-stage water-tech ideas into real-world solutions. Participants receive mentorship, training, tools, and access to seed funding through multi-month cohorts culminating in grand finale pitch events. No prior entrepreneurial experience is required.
• AquaHacking Binational Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Challenge Regional AquaHacking cohort focused on critical water issues in the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence region, co-hosted by Great Lakes St. Lawrence Governors & Premiers and the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative, enabling cross-border Canadian-US participation.
• AquaHacking Prairies Challenge Regional AquaHacking cohort focused on freshwater issues affecting Manitoba, Alberta, and Saskatchewan, co-designed with a Two-Eyed Seeing approach that integrates Indigenous and Western knowledge systems.
• AquaEntrepreneur Program A 10-month commercialization program for water-tech ventures ready to grow and scale their impact, providing strategic coaching, pilot projects and contracts, visibility, and technical guidance to strengthen the competitiveness of Quebec water technology companies.
• AquaNation A program focused on national water innovation initiatives, providing broader programming for water innovators across Canada through a digital platform.
• Water Literacy Project An educational initiative focused on building water literacy among youth and communities.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over $270M in annual revenue generated by alumni companies
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core, notable and flagship.

• Alberta InnovatescoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 31 March 2025Alberta Innovates co-hosts the AquaHacking Prairies Challenge, bringing provincial government resources, research capabilities, and innovation infrastructure. Managing a project portfolio worth $1.2 billion with 589 highly skilled professionals, they provide significant regional support.
• Centre for Indigenous Environmental Resources (CIER)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 31 March 2025CIER co-hosts the AquaHacking Prairies Challenge as a national Indigenous-created and directed charitable organization. They bring the Two-Eyed Seeing approach, integrating Indigenous knowledge systems with Western science, and support Indigenous leadership and participation.
• Canada Water AgencycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 31 March 2025Canada Water Agency supports the AquaHacking Prairies Challenge, bringing federal government resources and alignment with national water policy objectives for freshwater protection.
• Water RangerscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 June 2023Water Rangers became exclusive sponsor of WWF-Canada's Watershed Reports with AquaAction's support. Water Rangers was the first AquaHacking Challenge winner in 2015 and continues to work with AquaAction on water monitoring initiatives.
• WWF-CanadanotableStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 June 2023WWF-Canada transitioned stewardship of the Watershed Reports to Water Rangers. AquaAction joined as exclusive sponsor supporting the transition and 2024 report. WWF focuses on restoration and protection of priority freshwater habitats.
• Great Lakes St. Lawrence Governors & PremiersflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-hosting the first binational AquaHacking Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Challenge. This is the most ambitious AquaHacking program to date, bringing together major binational organizations for freshwater innovation.
• Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities InitiativeflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-hosting the binational Great Lakes Challenge alongside Great Lakes St. Lawrence Governors & Premiers. Provides access to municipal leaders and communities across the Great Lakes region.
• Northwestern Michigan CollegenotableStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnered with AquaAction to launch the first bi-national AquaHacking Challenge for the Great Lakes, enabling cross-border collaboration between Canadian and US participants.
• CTEAUnotableStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnered with AquaAction to stimulate entrepreneurship in the water sector, expanding deployment opportunities for water-tech solutions particularly in Quebec.
• AquatechnotableStrategic or Co-development PartnerFeatured in AquaEntrepreneur 2026 kick-off event fireside chat on collaboration in freshwater innovation and industry challenges and opportunities.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Imagine H2O: Imagine H2O is a global water innovation accelerator running programs for water-tech startups with mentorship and pilot funding. It is the closest direct peer to AquaAction's AquaHacking Challenge, operating a similar challenge-and-accelerator model for early-stage water entrepreneurs.
• The Water Council: The Water Council is a Milwaukee-based water innovation hub running WAVE and BREW accelerator programs that connect water-tech startups with utilities, corporates, and investors. Comparable to AquaAction in mission (commercializing water innovation) but with stronger utility-sector distribution channels.
• MIT Solve: MIT Solve runs open innovation challenges that connect tech-based social entrepreneurs with funding and mentorship. Comparable in structure (open challenge + accelerator + seed funding) and in serving mission-driven founders tackling global problems, including water.
• Spring Activator: Spring Activator is a Canadian impact-focused accelerator that supports mission-driven entrepreneurs across sectors including clean water. It is comparable in geography and the accelerator-for-impact-founders model AquaAction uses in its AquaEntrepreneur program.

Broad incumbents

• WaterAid: WaterAid is a large international NGO focused on clean water access and sanitation. It shares AquaAction's freshwater-impact mission but operates at a much larger, geographically dispersed scale and is not focused on technology commercialization pipelines.
• Water.org: Water.org is a global non-profit tackling the water crisis through finance and partnerships. It is comparable in mission but operates as a much larger established player, with overlapping themes in the broader freshwater ecosystem where AquaAction operates.
• MaRS Discovery District: MaRS is a large Toronto-based innovation hub supporting high-impact Canadian startups across multiple sectors. Comparable in mission to nurture Canadian entrepreneurship and provide mentorship/partnerships, though broader in scope than AquaAction's water focus.

Emerging players

• XPrize Foundation: XPrize runs large-scale incentive competitions (including past water-focused XPrizes) to drive breakthrough innovation. Comparable to AquaHacking in challenge-driven innovation format but at a much larger prize purse and global scale.
• Echoing Green: Echoing Green is a US-based fellowship and accelerator for social-impact leaders and ventures, including those tackling environmental and water challenges. Comparable in identifying and supporting young mission-driven founders with seed funding and a global community.

Regional players

• WaterAid Canada: WaterAid Canada is the Canadian affiliate of WaterAid, focusing on clean water and sanitation programming. Comparable in Canadian freshwater mission and non-profit/charity structure, though not focused on innovation commercialization like AquaAction.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/aquahacking
• Instagraminstagram.com/takeaquaaction_
• Xx.com/aquahacking

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments1 record

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Aqua Hacking