A start-up training program affiliated with The Water Council has committed to launch 75 successful water start-ups over the next five years.
The six-month-long program, called the BREW Corporate Accelerator, also said that A.O. Smith Corp. and Rexnord LLC have committed to supporting it. Veolia, a French resource management company, also supports the accelerator.
The BREW announcement was made in conjunction with the first-ever White House Water Summit on Tuesday, during which more than 150 organizations from across the U.S. made commitments.
The BREW accelerator began in 2013 and has had 17 start-ups go through its six-month program, said Meghan Jensen, a spokeswoman. It is currently accepting applications for a fourth class through April 16, she said.
Among other commitments made at the summit, the City of Milwaukee said that together with The Water Council, the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee and Marquette University, it will build and/or attract more than 75 water-focused entrepreneurs and small businesses to Milwaukee during the next five years and train as many as 400 students annually with water-focused education qualifications.