Boston-based Leading Cities has announced AcceliCITY, a global competition providing Smart City startups with access to international clients, capital from a global network of Smart City educated investors, and tools and knowledge in doing business with cities. The program bridges the gap between startups, cities, and businesses by providing select startups with access to Leading Cities’ proven track record of successful policy implementation, Smart City tools, and a broad global network. bee smart city partners with AcceliCITY and Leading Cities to leverage its expertise and network to support Smart City startups.
Leading Cities and several partnering organizations - among them bee smart city - empower the AcceliCITY program to lower the cost of innovation for startups, cities, and corporations by streamlining the innovation and sales cycles for Smart City solutions. All partners provide access to an international network of mentors, investors, and decision-makers in city governments.
The AcceliCITY program connects smart city solutions directly with business users and know-how to implement in cities around the world. Smart City startups learn to speak the language of government, further bridging the gap between startups and municipalities. Startups gain new opportunities for funding with the implementation of their solutions, while governments gain new opportunities to operate at the rate of innovation.
After evaluating applications, semifinalists will be selected to participate in a month-long virtual mentoring program. Then, finalists will be selected to participate in the AcceliCITY boot camp in the fall of 2018 in Boston, USA. Startups will be chosen for their unique profiles and the potential they represent. They will receive support from local mentors and globally recognized Smart City experts. The boot camp in Boston provides exposure to—and feedback from—investors, as well as a demo day for potential pilot projects with local municipalities. Winners will be showcased at the Smart City Expo in Barcelona, Spain—the world’s largest Smart City event with more than 600 participating cities.
According to Michael Lake, founder and CEO of Leading Cities, the new AcceliCITY model is unmatched in terms of need and potential reward. “Cities have an amazing opportunity to capitalize on a technological revolution. However, it can be challenging to find incentives to adopt these new technologies and successfully implement them. Our new AcceliCITY program overcomes this by matching entrepreneurs with expert mentors, understanding best practices for doing business with governments, and gaining access to investment funding.”
bee smart city co-founders Bart Gorynski and Thomas Mueller, who will both act as mentors of AcceliCITY startups, state: "There is a huge potential for smart city startups presented by this unique program. We will provide a special support package in media coverage and partner network access for the selected startups with a value of 25,000 €. We look forward to the selection and encourage startups to apply for AcceliCITY!"
Startups and Mentors can apply at AcceliCITY.com - since it is a rolling application, startups should consider an early application.
