- EIT Digital has named Green City Solutions from Germany as the best European technology scaleup in the field of Digital Cities
- Green City Solutions competed against eight other finalists for access to support for international growth
The Berlin-based scaleup Green City Solutions has been awarded first place in the Digital Cities category of the EIT Digital Challenge. The EIT Digital Challenge aims to identify the next wave of Europe's top scaleups - fast growing startups who are ready to scale-up their operations - to help them grow internationally and raise funding.
Green City Solutions wowed the judges at the finals competition held at the #CLOUD Business Center in Paris, France, with Green City Solutions created the CityTree, a freestanding 4x3 m unit combing smart sensors with real plants. The construction has the same effect as up to 275 regular urban trees, but requires 99% less space and 90% less investment.
The company will receive access to EIT Digital's pan-European innovation network and the chance to benefit from the business growth support provided by the EIT Digital Accelerator and additionally €50,000 in cash.
Second place went to FOR CITY from France whose technology offers a collaborative platform where public authorities and project owners can visualise and combine their plans for city infrastructures in 3D to simulate their ideas for the city of the future.
The Germany-based Civocracy was awarded third prize. They have a B2B online platform that aims to enable meaningful interaction between societal stakeholders such as local governments, organizations, citizens and businesses in order to foster participation, collaboration and transparency.
"Over the years, the EIT Digital Challenge has identified some of the best digital scaleups in Europe. It shows that Europe not only has an abundance of startups with innovative ideas but also entrepreneurs with great ambitions to enter other markets. We are impressed byGreen City Solutions, For City and Civocracy and their technologies. We think they will have a real impact on the Digital Cities landscape in Europe and we look forward to getting to know them better," explains Dominik Krabbe, EIT Digital Challenge Lead.
In total, ten digital technology companies from across Europe competed in front of an international expert jury for the opportunity to benefit from the EIT Digital innovation network. The top three teams have been invited to an exclusive two-day event being held by the EIT Digital Accelerator in Berlin in December.
Here, Green City Solutions #1, For City #2 and Civocracy #3 will have the chance to meet the winners from the other categories, connect with EIT Digitals' unrivalled ecosystem during a networking evening and discuss their growth strategies with international EIT Digital experts during workshops.
The EIT Digital Accelerator comprises a team of experienced business developers and fundraising experts. They operate from 13 cities across Europe as well as a hub in San Francisco. Since 2012, they have supported more than 200 startups in accessing new markets and helped them raise more than €75 million in investment to date.
