The Smart Cities Marketplace was present at this year’s Urban Futures Conference, held in Stuttgart, Germany from 21 - 23 June 2023.
In addition to being featured at the stand of consortium partner ICLEI - Local Governments for Sustainability, the Smart Cities Marketplace was introduced to participants of the workshop “How to get the European Union to Finance your Project”, co-led by Alis-Daniela Torres (ICLEI Europe), Nikita Shetty (BABLE Smart Cities) and Marco Buemi (Expert Evaluator for EU-Funded Projects).
The workshop was attended by a range of stakeholders, including city representatives and planners, as well as solution providers. Participants discussed both the various challenges faced when identifying and pursuing EU funding sources and the potential strategies for overcoming these roadblocks. This included finding the right partners, aligning smart city projects to city plans, utilizing appropriate standards and measuring impact, and generating project acceptance through citizen engagement. Importantly, engaging private investors is key to fostering public-private partnerships and upscaling projects.
The Smart Cities Marketplace offers a range of services that can support ambitious public authorities seeking to finance their smart city project. This includes solution booklets on capitalizing and implementing smart city ideas, webinars and financing masterclasses, and a matchmaking process to build relations with investors and create funding opportunities.