Meet Lyonda Huwaidi, a young woman in tech, Founder of WaterHub, and 1st Place Winner in the Minimum Viable Product (MVP) Category at SheHacks 2024 who is currently on the mission of making clean water accessible and sustainable.

For many people in Indonesia, especially in urban and suburban areas, access to safe drinking water is not a big issue. Still, at the same time, some underserved communities lack access to clean water. In fact, in some villages, clean water sources are enormous, and they are often exploited for commercial gain by capitalists, which also leads to environmental problems.

Water, Access, and the Latent Problems

Growing up, Lyon (her nickname) witnessed the challenges faced by underserved communities in accessing safe and clean drinking water. This issue became even more complex when she realized that water problems aren’t just about accessibility but also social gaps and environmental burdens.

Bottled water is everywhere in big cities like Jakarta, but some people can’t afford it. Yet, bringing drinking bottles from home often feels impractical, and there is no choice except commercialized water bottles. Besides the high cost, it also leads to the plastic waste problem that takes hundreds of years to decompose.

According to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP, 2024), Indonesia is the second-largest contributor of plastic waste after China. Millions of tons of plastic waste often end up in the ocean, and the microplastics from this waste enter the food chain through fish and other seafood, which humans eventually consume. This exposure is linked to numerous health problems, including hormonal imbalances, inflammation, and even increased cancer risk.

Beyond human lives, plastic waste severely harms natural ecosystems, pollutes water and soil, decreases biodiversity, etc. Reducing plastic use and properly disposing of waste, no matter how small or big, plays a crucial role in improving lives and the earth.

Creating Impact Through WaterHub

Moved by the sensitivity to often overlooked problems, Lyon founded WaterHub in 2019 as her concrete step toward protecting people and the earth, making drinking water more accessible and sustainable.

WaterHub was born out of a big vision: to deliver clean water through environmentally friendly, efficient, and accessible technology. With her background in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics), Lyon developed a solution that addresses both environmental issues and the inequality in access to drinking water.

WaterHub is a public refill station that allows anyone to access clean water in specific quantities daily. It processes various water sources, such as seawater, groundwater, and rainwater, into drinkable water on-site. Today, WaterHub refill stations have been installed in six high schools across Jakarta: Binus, SMA 3, SMA 112, SMK 57, SMK 29, and SMA 78. WaterHub shows that a small hope can create a chain of impact, and it continues to support sustainable development by reducing plastic waste, cutting carbon emissions, and providing affordable and sustainable drinking water.

A student at one of these schools shared her joy of having WaterHub in her school. “Now I no longer need to carry a heavy water bottle, and I can refill my bottle anytime I need to” she said.

For Lyon, building WaterHub is about creating a lasting impact. Waterhub is not only about providing clean water. But, it’s about making a sustainable and inclusive solution for communities. Since its founding in 2019, WaterHub has helped eliminate over 1 million single-use plastic bottles, reduced carbon emissions by 828 tons, and distributed 600,000 liters of water at a cost 15 times cheaper than standard bottled water.

The Turning Point with SheHacks

In her journey with WaterHub, Lyon once questioned whether her works could truly make an impact. The turning point of this thought came when she joined SheHacks, an initiative from Indosat Ooredo Hutchinson in collaboration with KUMPUL that supports women founders and entrepreneurs in their personal and professional growth as leaders.

Though she had a background in entrepreneurship, Lyon realized that to scale WaterHub, especially in terms of strategic growth, financial planning, and long-term impact, she still needed proper guidance from the right mentors. Through SheHacks, she gets access to deeper insights and strategies to accelerate business and impact from industry leaders and key players.

Her spirit, resilience, and commitment to making clean water accessible and sustainable have gifted her the 1st Place Award in the MVP Category at SheHacks 2024. Beyond this recognition, WaterHub also gets an opportunity for the SheHacks Validation Trip to Australia to explore the international market and the opportunity to collaborate with investors and large corporations from the land of kangaroos.

In an interview, Lyon said, “I believe women deserve equal access to opportunities, mentorship, and funding. I hope that programs like SheHacks continue to empower women entrepreneurs in sustainability and technology and inspire future leaders who drive meaningful change.”

WaterHub proves that empathy, innovation, resilience, and strategic collaboration can create sustainable and scalable impact.

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