An entrepreneurial publishing organization, founded and led by a Scotsman born in Singapore and educated in the law at The University of Edinburgh, is making a name for itself as "the leading news authority on water developments" in targeted, international regions, namely the Middle East and Africa, Southern and Eastern Asia, Eastern Europe and the Former Soviet Union, and Latin America and the Caribbean.

David Duncan, the Founder and CEO of OOSKAnews, firmly believes that water will be to the 21st century what oil was to the 20th. And with a publishing background in the petroleum sector on his résumé, it seemed only logical that he put that expertise to work providing customers with the valuable, timely, and previously disparate water information they find so valuable.

The series of weekly newsletters published by OOSKAnews offers subscribers up-to-date news on developments taking place in the water sector, what business opportunities those might offer, and environmental impacts, both actual and potential, posed by water-related projects, as well as evolution of water policy and changes amongst the individuals responsible for that policy.

To do all this, OOSKAnews employs over 120 reporters in more than 40 countries around the world, experts on their region finely attuned to the kind of water information most valuable to subscribers.

And where is this international publishing colossus located, you might ask? Why, Warrenton, of course, just on Main Street. "I studied law at Edinburgh," Duncan says, "but I also worked on the University newspaper and the publishing and reporting really blossomed into what I really loved to do."

After meeting at an Edinburgh bar where they were both working, and after Duncan finished his law studies, Duncan and his wife-to-be, Donna, moved to the U.S., got married in Alexandria, and started their life together.

Duncan went to work for The Washington Times, experiencing both the editorial and publishing sides of professional newspapering. Soon, Duncan and his new family, which by now included a son, Sam, moved back to Scotland for a period. At that point Duncan got involved first in a dotcom startup, where he developed a taste for entrepreneurship, and later in a "sector-specific publisher of international business news" that had found a niche translating Russian news into English and making that available to international organizations interested in the business climate afforded by the states of the former Soviet Union.

While a success, Duncan realized the publications needed a bit more focus, and oil and gas seemed the perfect place to look. Eventually, Duncan grew the company from 2 employees to 18, not including freelance journalists on the ground, and expanded the coverage area from former Soviet states to include China, Africa, Latin America and the Middle East.

The newsletters being produced were timely and valuable. "The 'developing world' was where we found our real sweet spot," explains Duncan. "It's really, really easy to track oil and gas developments in Texas. Doing that in Angola is a lot harder, and that's where we provided incredible value for our customers."

By this time, though, the Duncans, now including daughter Helen, had moved back to Virginia. Duncan found himself commuting between the United States and the United Kingdom, and he began to wonder if maybe there was a better way.

OOSKAnews was born.

"I loved the publishing business, and I knew the model I'd helped create at my previous job was a strong one. Transforming it to focus on water made so much sense."

Water, it may come as a surprise, represents the 4th or 5th largest business sector in the world, depending on whom you talk to; representing $470 billion annually, water lines up right alongside defense, oil and gas, pharmaceuticals, and information technology.

That kind of money touches a lot of organizations and sectors, from supply chain to finance, from governments to NGOs, from big users to distributors, from engineering to agriculture.

"Our customers are the senior strategic decision-makers at these water-involved multinational organizations. Getting information from reliable, on-the-ground sources in areas of the world where information traditionally can be hard to come by is incredibly valuable for those individuals and the organizations they represent."

Annual subscriptions to OOSKAnews run from $3,000 - $24,000 per year, depending on title and distribution. Since the newsletters are distributed electronically via the Internet, subscribers can choose single reader distribution all the way to organization-wide distribution.

Stories published in the newsletters come from established, local and international journalists, economists, academics and water sector specialists.

OOSKA doesn't take advertising, and relies solely on its subscription model to keep it going. "We're working for our subscribers," Duncan points out. "If the product we're putting out doesn't work for them, doesn't give them value, they don't resubscribe, it's that simple. Given the fact we've had an 80% renewal rate over the last three years, though, I think we're providing our customers with something they need and something they want."

Future plans for OOSKA involve leveraging the ties with their journalists to expand the newsletters into other, topical areas, and expanding the OOSKA brand, forming partnerships with organizations around the world. The most recent of those, a partnership with Ergo, a global primary research and consulting firm, will provide custom studies to businesses and investors exploring opportunities in the global water market.

"It's an exciting time to get into water," says Duncan with a smile.

OOSKAnews may be found online at http://www.ooskanews.com/