6 thirsty industries

Water, the most abundant compound on earth, is used by many industries. When you use computers, wear cotton shirts, drink beverages you are actually consuming water. The industries which are most water thirsty are listed below. In terms of direct water usage, agriculture and power-generation industries top the list, which together are responsible for 90 percent of direct water withdrawals.

1.       Agriculture

Agriculture is the major water consumer of all the industries. For India more than 90% fresh water usage is in agriculture industry.

 The room for improvement in water usage efficiency is also in this industry. Using modern techniques like sprinter irrigation, drip irrigation etc can help to make use of water efficiently. In developing countries huge amount of water can be saved by simple improvements in the method of irrigation.

2.       Power generation

Generation of electricity is another bigg consumer of water.  Ultimately, it takes a staggering 95 liters of water to produce one kilowatt-hour of electricity, according to Tamim Younos, research professor of water resources at Virginia Tech.

Pumping oil, cooling the power plant, removing pollutants from power plant exhaust, generating steam to run turbines, and washing away residue after fossil fuels are burned all involve water usage.

All sources of power generation are not equal in water consumption efficiency. For example natural gas is the most efficient source of energy in terms of water consumption.

3.       Food processing

Huge water is used to wash and rinse fruits, vegetables and meat. Food processing industry uses water to

1.       Wash raw food,

2.       washing after steaming/peeling/ size reducing,

3.       Balanching

4.       Filling

5.       Sanitation and plant cleaning

Half of the water used in the fruit and vegetable sector is for washing and rinsing

4.       Textile and garment industry

Textile and garment industry is very water intensive. Most of the water used is in wet processing and dyeing fabrics. The textile industry uses 100 liter of water to process only 1 kg of textile fabrics.

5.       Meat production

According to a study by the UNESCO Institute for Water Education, conducted between 1996 and 2005, “29 percent of the total water footprint of the agricultural sector in the world is related to the production of animal products.”

 It takes more than 1,800 gallons of water to produce 1 pound of beef

6.       Semiconductor manufacturing

Semiconductor Manufacturing Plants can use as much water as a small city. These plants use water in washing the silicon wafers with ultra pure water. One manufacturing plant uses anywhere between 2 to 4 million gallons of very, very pure water— ultrapure water—per day, and that is roughly equivalent to the water usage of a city of around 40,000 people.

Ultrapure water is a term in the semiconductor industry to emphasize the fact that the water is treated to the highest levels of purity for all contaminant types, including: organic and inorganic compounds; dissolved and particulate matter; volatile and non-volatile, reactive and inert; hydrophilic and hydrophobic; and dissolved gases.

15 Ways to Finance Your Start-up

Not all small businesses need financing. Accurately gauge the need for financing because usually entrepreneurs make mistakes in assessing the need for financing.

There are number of ways in which small entrepreneurs can arrange financing. Some of them are listed below along with brief description.

1.       Bootstrapping is when you reinvest the profits of your business. Growth is slow, when you work your way up, but business decisions are under your control.

2.       Friend and family loans Arab Americans prefer to get loans from family rather than bank. Getting financed from family is easy in strong families as they are more willing to trust you. Regular meetings and communication is important in order to avoid misunderstanding with friends and family.

3.       Savings Utilizing your own saving is one of the most common methods to grow and simultaneously have control over the business decision.

4.       Home-equity Home equity may serve as collateral for a home equity loan or home equity line of credit (HELOC).

5.     Angel investors These are wealthy individuals who fulfill financing needs of start-ups against convertible securities or ownership equity.

6.       Venture capital Getting financed from venture capital is another option. Usually venture capital funds take ownership interest in young companies. They also take part in management of your business.

7.       Crowd funding Crowd funding is pooling funds from large number of people, often using internet. Many websites help you in arranging crowd funding for your venture. Some of the sites are Kickstarter, Indiegogo, etc. The highest amount raised from Crowdfunding is USD$70,000,000. This amount was raised by Star citizen, upcoming video game.

8.       Rotating saving and credit association In this arrangement members of the association meet and every member pay fixed amount. The total amount is than paid to one member. Same cycle is repeated to pay lump sum amount to every member of the society. When every member has received lump sum amount the association is disbanded.

9.       Factoring It is selling your account receivable to financer.

10.   Applying for small business loan Akuwat, and Grameen bank are some of the institutions in developing countries for aspiring entrepreneurs.

11.   Sale and leaseback transaction A company sells some of its equipment to a lessor, such as a bank or another financial institution, which leases the equipment back to the company. Thus the company is no longer the owner of the equipment but keeps the use of it. This commercial transaction allows to companies to have at their immediate disposal the cash to make investments in new business opportunities.

12.  Keep your financing requirement to minimum. Squandering your cash will play havoc with your business. Efficient management is most important thing in keeping your finances under control.

13.  Efficient management Keep your debtors’ collection day to minimum.

14.     Buying on credit. Buying on credit is another means of financing with added advantage that it is interest free. The down-side is that relationship with client can deteriorate if you fail to pay within stipulated time.

15.      Merchant cash advances. It is selling your future credit sales against a lump sum amount. For example if you get 10,000 Rupees lump sum than you have to sell 13000 rupees worth of future sale to the lender.