The Smart Cities Marketplace (SCM) held a dedicated financing masterclass this week, bringing together city representatives and experts to explore innovative ways of funding sustainable urban development.
Luigi Lo Piparo, Matchmaking Coordinator of the Smart Cities Marketplace, opened the session by welcoming participants and introducing the Marketplace’s mission to support European cities on their journey towards climate neutrality. He highlighted the platform’s role in connecting local authorities with expertise, partners and financial solutions to accelerate impactful projects.
Following the introduction, SCM matchmaker Jorge Rodrigues de Almeida provided an overview of emerging financing models for cities. He outlined a range of innovative mechanisms, discussed the diversity of available capital sources, and explained the core principles required to ensure long-term financial viability for urban projects.
The masterclass then shifted to practical city experiences. Anamaria Luca from Alba Iulia (Romania) presented the municipality’s ongoing initiatives in urban mobility, intelligent public transport, green city development, energy and environmental management. She detailed how the city has successfully secured funding to implement these projects and maintain momentum in its transition efforts.
Sofia Santos of consultancy firm Systemic shared insights into green finance opportunities for municipalities. Her presentation covered relevant business models and emerging financing instruments that can support cities in scaling up sustainability-driven investments.
Paulo Perames, representing the municipality of Braga (Portugal), outlined the city’s pathway towards achieving carbon neutrality by 2050. He showcased Braga’s strategies and current activities, with a particular emphasis on climate adaptation, including reforestation efforts and the renaturalisation of water bodies.
To conclude, Hanna Lewandowska from Bydgoszcz (Poland) presented the city’s priorities, ongoing projects and long-term expectations. She highlighted the progress made through the Smart Cities Marketplace technical assistance programme, noting that Bydgoszcz was among the first cities to benefit from this support.
The masterclass underscored the increasing importance of innovative financing in enabling cities to deliver ambitious climate and sustainability goals, while demonstrating the value of knowledge exchange within the Smart Cities Marketplace community.