Woza: the Desafía Program startup building deep-tech foundations for global impact

16.04.2025 11:00, Rita Longobardi

Meet Fernando Tadakuma, Co-Founder of Woza. The deep-tech startup develops scalable platforms that enable enterprises and governments to address complex challenges with tangible real-world solutions. In May, Fernando and the other nine Desafía Team members will participate in a two-week immersive business program across Zurich, Lausanne, and Bern to establish sustainable growth pathways in Switzerland's innovative ecosystem.

Fernando Tadakuma is a 37-year-old data engineer from Argentina, now based in Bilbao, with a Japanese heritage and a deep passion for data and technology. Though he didn’t conclude his Systems Engineering degree, he has spent over a decade building data infrastructure across public and private sectors. His journey began as a database administrator for a public organization in Argentina, and later as Lead Data Engineer for a US-based AgTech startup, where he helped design parametric indices to transfer climate risk from farmers to financial markets. In 2021, he founded his deeptech startup in Bilbao, focused on building platforms that tackle environmental challenges—from climate data infrastructure to tools that accelerate decarbonisation. The goal is to bridge the gap between complex data systems and actionable sustainability solutions.

Can you tell us who your product or solution helps, and how?
Woza is a deep-tech intelligence company building next-generation platforms to decode the physical world.
We develop deep-tech platforms that help enterprises and governments tackle Earth’s most complex challenges—from climate risk and sustainability compliance to supply chain transparency and productivity optimization.
At our core, we combine science, engineering, and artificial intelligence to create real-time, predictive intelligence that turns data into action—and complexity into clarity.

What market are you addressing and what is the potential of your startup in that market?
Woza helps governments and enterprises tackle large-scale challenges like climate risk, energy transition, and sustainability compliance. Our deep-tech platforms provide real-time intelligence for high-impact decisions in sectors such as AgriFood, Energy, Forestry, Insurance, and Government.

With global demand for climate and sustainability intelligence projected to exceed $100B by 2030, and new regulations accelerating adoption, Woza is well positioned. Our technology is already active in over 30 countries, with a roadmap to scale across key industries.

What are your team’s key achievements to date?
Woza has earned over 20 awards in just three years, reflecting the strength of its vision, technology, and execution. The journey began in Switzerland with the Lisk Builder Prize, awarded for software that helps small producers measure environmental impact—a mission that continues to guide the company. Since then, Woza has been recognized by Iberdrola, Google (as a Cloud Ready Sustainability partner), WebSummit, and innovation hubs like Gobe and Beaz for its deep-tech platforms and global impact.

What do you expect from Desafìa, and how will it help you achieve your vision?
From Desafía Switzerland, we seek support in three key areas:
Market access – Connecting with stakeholders in sustainability, energy, and risk to validate our solutions.
Partnerships – Engaging with enterprises and public sector actors to scale our impact.
Positioning – Gaining visibility and insights to grow in Switzerland and Europe.
The program is a strong fit with our goal: transforming deep-tech into a driver of global sustainability and resilience.

Why Switzerland represents a great opportunity for you?
Switzerland represents a strategic opportunity for Woza because it aligns deeply with the global challenges we are solving—climate change, energy transition, sustainability, and risk resilience. Swiss firms stand out for their environmental focus, tech leadership, and long-term vision—ideal partners to scale our solutions. Our deep-tech platforms are built for complex, high-standard environments like Switzerland. Entering this market would enable us to partner with mission-aligned organizations and extend our impact in a leading innovation hub.