Meteosim, a company specialising in meteorological and environmental services located in Barcelona Science Park, has won a prestigious competition sponsored by the World Bank. The company has been selected to install and implement a numerical weather forecasting model in Malawi, and to train the country’s meteorological team. With this innovative system, the country will be better equipped to manage the impact of meteorological events on society with very positive consequences for agriculture, food security, water resources and the health and quality of life of the population.

MeteoSim, the global leader in the provision of meteorological and environmental services, has won a prestigious competition sponsored by the World Bank as part of its Development Project P161392: the “Malawi Resilience and Disaster Risk Management Project”, to implement a numerical weather forecasting model for Department of Climate Change and Meteorological Services of Malawi to train the country’s meteorological team, thus reinforcing their position as a global benchmark in the meteorology domain.

This accomplishment comes at a significant time for MeteoSim, which this year celebrates its 20^th anniversary. Over these past two decades, the company has demonstrated its capacity for operations in over 43 countries, providing knowledge and innovative, customised technological solutions in the fields of meteorology and air pollution both in the private sector (mining, chemical, oil and gas and insurance), as well as in the public sector, with significant projects undertaken for national and international meteorological and environmental agencies (the United Arab Emirates, Bangladesh, Angola, Malawi, Saudi Arabia and Colombia, among others).

Winning this World Bank competition is an acknowledgement of MeteoSim’s expertise and experience in the development of numerical weather forecasting models, as well as their ability to offer customised, efficient solutions, and to contribute to the management of projects in diverse environments.

This particular project will enable the Malawi Meteorological Services to significantly improve their forecasting ability, as it will contribute to the better management of weather events and resources throughout the country. Malawi is one of the most disadvantaged countries in the world: it has a population 21 million, it is highly dependent on agriculture, and over recent years it has seen an increase in extreme weather conditions such as flooding and drought, with severe repercussions for food safety, water resources and the living conditions of its inhabitants.

“We are proud to have won this significant World Bank competition and to be able to collaborate with Malawi Meteorological Services”, says Oriol de Tera, Meteosim’s CEO. “Our extensive experience and technical knowledge will enable us to provide Malawi with an advanced, high-quality solution. This project is a clear example of our company’s mission: to help our clients by providing technology. We are committed to contributing to the country’s development and to strengthening its resilience in the face of climatic challenges”.

Founded in 2003, MeteoSim was initially focussed on renewable energy, but moved away from this sector following the sale of its joint venture with American company AWS Truepower LLC to Underwriters Laboratories in 2016. In recent years, the company has
focussed its efforts on providing meteorological and air pollution solutions through its Software as a Service (SaaS) model. In 2022, with a workforce of 17, the company achieved a turnover of €1.7 m, 75% of which was derived from SaaS and recurring revenue.  In 2023, the company, now with a workforce of 21 employees, is forecast to exceed a turnover of €2 m.

“Our strategic plan now” – says Oriol de Tera – “is to focus on pushing growth in the chemical and mining sectors, where tightening regulations are triggering the need for tools provided by MeteoSim. This plan should independently lead us to once again double the size of our workforce and turnover over the following years”.