Watergate wins $65,000 Cityscape Global Innovation Challenge

Watergate has been named the Cityscape Global Innovation Challenge Scaleup Winner in Riyadh.

Our CEO and Founder, Krystian Zajac, competed in the Sustainability in Real Estate category. After winning the semi-final, he went on to take the overall grand prize, securing a $65,000 funded Proof of Concept to pilot Watergate in the region.

The 2025 Challenge attracted more than 200 entries, with the finals held on stage at Cityscape Global, one of the world’s most influential real estate events, attended by 172,000 people.

Why this matters

This win is a major milestone for us. Saudi Arabia is driving some of the largest real estate developments on the planet, backed by billions in investment and a clear ambition to build smart, sustainable, commercially-driven cities at unprecedented scale.

Water efficiency sits at the heart of that ambition. Saudi Arabia is among the most water-scarce countries globally, and concern about water security is rising fast. In a 2024 poll, 67% of Saudi consumers ranked clean and safe water as a leading environmental concern. That makes the real estate sector a front-line for water efficiency, resilience, and sustainability.

How Watergate helps

We help buildings become dramatically more water-efficient by:

• Spotting leaks early and stopping them automatically, before they cause damage.
• Giving operators real-time insight into water usage, so they can reduce consumption and costs.
• Supporting the shift toward smarter, more sustainable buildings in water-stressed regions.

More an more asset and buiilding managers are waking up to the the benefits of automated water monitoring systems.

What’s next

The funded Proof of Concept gives us a direct path to demonstrate impact in one of the world’s most ambitious real estate markets. We’re excited to begin work with regional partners and showcase how Watergate can help deliver large-scale water savings across the built environment.

Thank you to Cityscape Global and the Innovation Challenge judges for recognising our potential. We’re ready to get started.