The 11 start-ups chosen are committed to tackling common urban challenges in areas such as air quality, carbon emissions, digital inclusion and congestion.
Leading Cities, a global non-profit driving city resiliency and sustainability, in partnership with QBE North America, has named 11 urban technology start-ups selected as finalists for the QBE AcceliCITY Resilience Challenge.
According to Leading Cities, with the Covid-19 pandemic as a backdrop it has become “even clearer” that there is greater need for improvement in the foundations, efficiency, and health of cities globally to create long term sustainability and resilience.
It claims this year’s QBE AcceliCITY finalists represent the innovative solutions that are becoming crucial for cities in the face of increasing threats in the ever-changing urban environment of the 21st century.
This year, these globally sourced start-ups were selected from several hundred that applied from 37 countries. The entrepreneurs leading these ventures are committed to tackling common urban challenges in areas such as air quality, digital infrastructure and communications technology, to public transportation, renewable energy, and more.
“Communities around the world are in desperate need of innovative solutions, but antiquated and broken procurement systems often prevent such innovation within government”
Some 50 semi-finalists were previously selected and participated in a business-to-government focused, web-based curriculum. Each of the teams received one-on-one mentorship from global experts. The 11 finalists will participate in the AcceliCITY boot camp (5-8 October) and compete for $100,000 in prize money.
“Communities around the world are in desperate need of innovative solutions, but antiquated and broken procurement systems often prevent such innovation within government,” said Michael Lake, president and CEO of Leading Cities.
“The QBE AcceliCITY Resilience Challenge identifies the best of the best and makes them accessible to local governments.”
At its core, AcceliCITY aims to lower the cost of innovation for start-ups as well as cities and corporations by streamlining the innovation and implementation cycles for smart city solutions.
Leading Cities’ AcceliCITY programme connects start-up’s smart solutions directly with business users and said it provides the channels and know-how to deploy in cities.
About the finalists:
Leading Cities seeks to connect cities across the globe with innovations and insight to drive resiliency, equity, and sustainability. This is achieved by cultivating a global network of forward thinkers from the public, private, academic, and non-profit sectors as well as delivering advanced research, emerging trends and vetting solutions that will address urban challenges.
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