What Operators Without Borders does

Operators Without Borders (OWB) is a registered Canadian charity headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia, that mobilizes volunteer water and wastewater operators to assist utilities and communities in developing nations and disaster-affected regions. Its core deliverables are threefold: emergency surge support for water and wastewater systems after hurricanes, earthquakes, and conflicts; hands-on operator training and capacity building (including Incident Command System training for 500+ operators and a documented library of 225+ Standard Operating Procedures); and remote or on-site mentoring of local utility staff, including programs for BC First Nations communities.

The organization runs on a non-transactional, donation-based model. Funding sources include individual donations, corporate sponsorships, two-year memberships ($50 individual / $150 corporate), and formal partnership agreements with major water-sector associations. Volunteer deployment costs are deliberately low — on the order of $1,500 per volunteer, primarily covering airfare — which is the structural cost advantage that lets OWB deliver technical assistance at a scale well beyond what its 1–10 person staff budget would otherwise suggest.

OWB's reach spans the Caribbean (post-Hurricane Maria deployments to Dominica in 2017 and Hurricane Dorian deployments to the Bahamas in 2019), Haiti (via HANWASH), Africa (notably Kenya), Europe (Ukraine and Poland beginning in 2022, including CBRN workshop development), and Asia-Pacific (via the newly established affiliate OWB Australia in 2023). The organization is governed by a board drawn from the North American water industry, and its credibility is anchored in MOUs with association partners including AWWA, WEF, CWWA, CAWASA, EOCP, WPI, and WCOWMA, plus a reported $1.5M+ CAD in delivered volunteer hours.

Name

Operators Without Borders

Legal name

Operators Without Borders

Website

https://operatorswithoutborders.org

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Operators Without Borders is a Vancouver-based Canadian charity that sends volunteer water and wastewater operators to developing nations and disaster zones for emergency response, training, and capacity-building support to local utilities.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Vancouver

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Individual Donations: One-time contributions from individuals who care about developing nations in need of water and wastewater support.
2. Membership Fees: Two-year membership terms: $50 for individuals and $150 for corporations. Members can attend AGMs, vote, be eligible for Board election, and participate in committees.
3. Corporate Sponsorship: Utility organizations and private companies can sponsor an Operator or make donations. If every utility donated $250, OWB states it could deploy full teams to disasters.
4. Association Partnerships: Partner organizations like CWWA, EOCP, and other water associations donate funds from silent auctions and solicit donations at their meetings.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Operators Without Borders provides volunteer-certified water and wastewater operators who are deployed to utilities in developing nations for post-disaster recovery, capacity building, and operator training. The organization delivers four core service lines: disaster response deployments, multi-level operator certification training, operational assessments of utility facilities, and Incident Command Systems training. All services are provided free of charge to requesting utilities and governments.

Product overview

Operators Without Borders is a not-for-profit registered charity that provides volunteer-certified water and wastewater operators to developing nations. Their service portfolio includes disaster response teams that deploy to restore water and wastewater infrastructure after emergencies, operator certification and skills training programs, operational assessments of utility facilities and networks, and Incident Command Systems training. These services work together to help water utilities in developing countries recover from disaster situations and build long-term capacity through training and mentoring of local operators.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Disaster Response Services Volunteer certified water and wastewater operators who deploy to assist utilities following natural disasters such as hurricanes, helping restore treatment plants and networks alongside local counterparts. Services are delivered free of charge to requesting utilities in developing nations.
• Operator Certification Training Training programs for water and wastewater system operators in developing nations to achieve operator certification at Levels I-IV and to develop skills in specific aspects of utility operations. Delivered through volunteer instructors alongside local operators.
• Operational Assessment Services Senior volunteer personnel assess how water and wastewater facilities and networks are being run and provide recommendations for improvements. Used by utilities seeking operational improvements and best-practice guidance.
• Incident Command Systems Training Formal Incident Command Systems (ICS) training delivered in countries where necessary for emergency response coordination, often as part of disaster response efforts and capacity-building workshops.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over $1.5M CAD worth of volunteer hours delivered to date
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

17 partnerships are on record, tiered founding partner and core.

• Arris Pty Ltdfounding partnerStrategic or Co-development PartnerAustralian water technology company that supports OWB. Ben Kele, Director at Arris Pty Ltd, serves on the OWB Board of Directors.
• American Water Works Association (AWWA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMajor U.S. water association that supports OWB and promotes the organization at meetings and events.
• Caribbean Water and Wastewater Association (CWWA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRegional Caribbean water association that supports OWB. CWWA generously donates funds from silent auctions and solicits donations at meetings.
• Caribbean Water & Sewerage Association (CAWASA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRegional Caribbean association supporting OWB initiatives in the Caribbean region.
• Water Environment Federation (WEF)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMajor water environmental organization that supports OWB and promotes the organization at meetings.
• Environmental Operators Certification Program (EOCP)founding partnerStrategic or Co-development PartnerCanadian certification body for environmental operators that is a Founding Partner of OWB. Kalpna Solanki, former President & CEO of EOCP, serves as a Founding Director. EOCP donates funds from silent auctions.
• Water Professionals International (WPI)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational water professionals organization supporting OWB initiatives.
• Western Canada Onsite Wastewater Management Association (WCOWMA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWestern Canada association supporting OWB and promoting at meetings.
• Wastewater EducationcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner501(c)3 nonprofit that supports OWB and co-hosts educational content including CEU classes.
• Kerr Wood Leidal (KWL)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerConsulting engineering firm supporting OWB as a partner organization.
• Isle UtilitiescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational water technology and innovation company supporting OWB.
• Public Works Association of British Columbia (PWABC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBC public works association supporting OWB and promoting at meetings.
• WWETTcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWater and wastewater tradeshow organization supporting OWB.
• HANWASH (Haiti)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHaiti National Water and Sanitation initiative. OWB has been working with HANWASH for 18 months providing Capacity Building Services as part of the ambitious program to bring safe potable water to Haitian citizens.
• Polish Waterworks Chamber of Commerce (IGWP)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPolish water utilities mobilizing to support Ukrainian neighbors under the 'We will not leave the Ukrainian waterworks alone' banner, working with OWB for volunteer coordination.
• World Water and Wastewater Solutions LTD. (WWWS)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCompany affiliated with OWB Board Chair Valerie Jenkinson, CEO of WWWS.
• Canadian Water and Wastewater Association (CWWA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNational Canadian water and wastewater association. Robert Haller, Executive Director of CWWA, serves as OWB Director.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• WaterAid: WaterAid is a major international NGO focused on WASH (Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene) access in developing countries, sharing OWB's mandate of building water and sanitation capacity in low-resource settings, though operating at significantly larger scale.
• Engineers Without Borders: Engineers Without Borders uses a volunteer model to deliver technical expertise to developing-country infrastructure challenges, closely paralleling OWB's volunteer-operator deployment model, though EWB focuses on broader engineering rather than water operations specifically.
• Water.org: Water.org (founded by Matt Damon and Gary White) is a global NGO tackling the water and sanitation crisis through financial solutions, comparable to OWB in mission focus but with a market-based rather than volunteer-deployment model.
• Water For People: Water For People is a US-based international NGO working on sustainable water and sanitation access in developing countries, sharing OWB's WASH capacity-building focus and utility engagement model in Latin America, Africa, and Asia.

Emerging players

• Waterlines: Waterlines (formerly WaterCan) is a Canadian NGO focused on safe water access, sharing OWB's Canadian base and WASH mission, though oriented toward fundraising and advocacy rather than operator deployment.
• Global Water Challenge: Global Water Challenge is a smaller WASH-focused nonprofit coalition working on safe water access; shares OWB's capacity-building orientation but focuses on coalition advocacy rather than direct volunteer technical deployment.

Broad incumbents

• Mercy Corps: Mercy Corps is a large humanitarian NGO with WASH programming in fragile states and disaster zones; overlaps with OWB in disaster-response water services but at much larger organizational scale.
• International Rescue Committee: The IRC runs large-scale WASH programming in humanitarian crises, overlapping with OWB's disaster-response capabilities but operating at much greater scale and with paid staff rather than volunteer technical experts.
• Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders): MSF pioneered the volunteer-technical-expert-in-disaster model that OWB parallels for the water sector; comparable in volunteer-deployment structure and global brand recognition, though operating in healthcare rather than water.
• UNICEF WASH: UNICEF's global WASH programme is the largest public-sector effort to deliver water and sanitation in developing countries, setting the strategic context and funding flows that OWB's utility-capacity work depends on.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/operators-without-borders

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about Operators Without Borders