Accelerate your project ideas with the Smart Cities Marketplace Matchmaking services!

Matchmaking services provided by the Smart Cities Marketplace aim to help cities and city consortia with their project proposals to achieve climate neutrality. The offered services aim to help with identifying projects, or further shaping project ideas to become bankable through tailor-made technical assistance. Matchmaking services also aim to help investors to find smart city proposals. Projects with a high maturity level can be further supported through the deal meetings with the platform’s Investor Network. The Smart Cities Marketplace‘s support is thus provided throughout the ‘Explore’, ‘Shape’ and ‘Deal’ stages of the respective projects.

Interested cities or city consortia can respond by providing as much information as possible in the intake form, available here, with the details of their projects.

The call is open for six weeks after its launch after which applications will be assessed and a personalised follow-up will be assured regarding the matchmaking services that the Smart Cities Marketplace can provide you with. A response within the timeframe of this call will ensure that your application is followed up promptly. However, the intake form is permanently available on the website, in case you would like to apply at a later stage (further calls will follow).

The Smart Cities Marketplace is launching a call for applications for matchmaking services from 16 February until 31 March.

To be eligible for this call, applications must comply with the following minimum requirements:

• Applications must concern project concepts to be situated in one of the EU Member States, or in a country being eligible under the Horizon Europe programme
• Applicants must represent a city or a consortium including at least one city that endorses the project. Small and mid-sized cities, meaning cities with less than 100.000 inhabitants are the main target group of the matchmaking, although larger cities are also welcome to apply.
• Applicants must have identified a project or technology suitable for intervention (i.e., in the area of clean energy, sustainable mobility and digital solutions), the geographical area in which the project is planned, the main target beneficiaries of the project, and the main stakeholders to be engaged.

Applicants can also take advantage of the Smart Cities Marketplace services, which provide support for developing project ideas. In order to prepare and/or improve the project to become eligible for an application, we recommend consulting the growing collection of Solution Booklets available on the Smart Cities Marketplace website here.

If you need help with filling out the intake form, you may consult the Guidance Document available, or contact the Smart Cities Marketplace via the helpdesk. Not all fields are mandatory, but – depending on how advanced your project idea is – try to provide as much information as possible.

An info day on the call is planned to be held online shortly after the publication of this call. More information will be provided on the website. Please note that the Smart Cities Marketplace does not provide any grants, but projects are to be matched with investors in the ‘Deal’ phase.