South Korea and WeCo have very specific links since the CEO and co-founder of WeCo, Ms. Cecile Dekeuwer, had the idea of creating innovative and sustainable toilets 20 years ago when she was working in South Korea, where she enjoyed the high-tech toilets. WeCo shareholders’ team has also met in Korea and one of them, Olivier Mouroux CEO of Asiance (https://2023.asiance.com/en), is running his company in Korea.

In June 2023, Cécile Dekeuwer was invited to two major events in Korea:

  1. LET (https://iwa-let.org/) for the 19th Leading Edge Conference on water and wastewater technologies of the International Water Association (IWA) https://iwa-network.org /, which was held in Daegu Metropolitan City. Daegu is a city in southeastern South Korea, in an area with the Nakdong River, one of the four major rivers in Korea. This is where the Korea Water Cluster (KWC) https://www.watercluster.or.kr/eng/main.do opened in July 2019, being part of the Global Water tech Hub also established in Daegu https://www.gwtha.com/ . KWC has demonstration facilities such as water purification & reuse, sewage treatment and examinations for water quality control are installed and constructed in the cluster. Cécile Dekeuwer had the chance to be invited for a visit of the KWC. She was very impressed by the facilities, the R&D capacities and ambitions, and the quality of the team.
  2. NextRise innovation exhibition event in COEX Seoul (https://www.nextrise.co.kr/en), the event to accelerate innovation and create synergies, which has gathered innovators and entrepreneurs around the world.

WeCo participation at NextRise as the unique French startup to present its technology has been made possible thanks by the Korean International Trade Association (KITA) and the French Tech Seoul, run by the French Korean Chamber of Commerce (FKCCI) https://www.fkcci.com/.

More than 25,000 entrepreneurs participated at NextRise, with 316 startups from Asia and elsewhere, including WeCo who had a stand and present his revolutionary sanitation technology at a time when the water scarcity and pollution become growing challenges. Our toilets not only offer a comfortable and hygienic experience to users, but also play a crucial role in wastewater treatment and their reuse for water flushes, thus considerably reducing water consumption. This innovation has the potential to have a significant impact on the environment, because it tackles two crucial problems at the same time: water conservation and wastewater treatment.

This event made it possible to meet investors, industry leaders and potential partners. WeCo had the opportunity to network with people and organizations that share their more sustainable vision. This exhibition can lead to partnerships, investments and collaborations that will help WeCo develop in Asia and more particularly in Korea.

Participating in NextRise was a remarkable opportunity for WeCo to be recognized in Asia and to continue the expansion of its commercial horizons, while returning to its Korean roots.