Start-up company Banoo addresses water quality

Imperial College student start-up Banoo has won the university's top prize for women entrepreneurs. The start-up, which was co-founded by Selly Shafira, has overseen the development of affordable technology for fish farms to monitor and resolve issues around water quality.

The UK£15,000 prize, which was awarded on June 22, is part of a women's entrepreneurship programme WE Innovate, designed to inspire and accelerate the progress of women entrepreneurs. Over the last eight years the programme has provided a number of opportunities to women including developing business ideas and entrepreneurship skills.

Banoo's solution to the growing water quality risks caused by climate change is an affordable and integrated technology which allows fish farmers to monitor and troubleshoot water quality issues. This included a microbubble aeration system, water quality sensor and dedicated mobile apps. Farmers can no longer rely on traditional methods to predict weather or water quality, the company explains, hich can lead to profit losses.

Image credit: Imperial College London

The system can be installed in fish farms, producing micro-sized bubbles to increase dissolved oxygen in the water which improves water quality. In doing so, the metabolism of the fish is improved and their appetite is increased, reducing fish food waste.

The sensor monitors the quality of the water and signals when the system should turn on or off based on the oxygen levels in the farm. The system is powered by solar panels which means it can be installed anywhere including rural parts with little electricity infrastructure.

"The biggest thank you is for my team back in Indonesia," says Selly Shafira, co-founder of Banoo. "They are the ones who are making the impact and breaking the status quo. And thank you to the farmers – we keep going because we know that you need our technology."

"This programme has been helping us so much, from IP to customer discovery. We've launched thanks to WE Innovate," she concludes.

For more information on WE Innovate visit their website, HERE.

For more information on Banoo visit their website, HERE.