i2O opens new base in Middle East and North Africa

UK smart water network solutions firm i2O has opened its first office in the Middle East and North Africa to support clients in the region.

(Left to right) Paul Fox, British consul general to Dubai and the Northern Emirates; Ahmad Al Mulla, senior manager sales, Dubai Airport Freezone; Joel Hagan, i2O chief executive; Jamal Bin Marghoob, director of sales, Dubai Airport Freezone; and Mohamed Sadek, i2O sales director for the Middle East and North Africa

The base in Dubai adds to i2O’s string of offices in the UK, Spain, Colombia, and Malaysia.

In the Middle East, i2O works with utilities including the National Water Company of Saudi Arabia, and Lebanon’s water authority, EBML. Operations in the region are led by Mohamed Sadek, formerly of Xylem and Veolia Water, who joined in June 2017 as regional sales director.

“Almost half of the world’s most water-stressed countries are in the Middle East and North Africa, exacerbated by frequent heatwaves, population growth, and urbanisation. I am delighted that we now have a permanent presence in the region,” said i2O chief executive Joel Hagan.

The company’s smart solutions have been installed by more than 100 water utilities globally, with the aim to reduce leakage, bursts, and energy consumption, to extend asset life, and to improve customer service.