The first ICLEI Innovation Demo Day was held this Tuesday (15/12) and marked the end of the project's acceleration phase. Out of the 11 startups chosen to participate in this process, five were selected to apply their solutions in Brazilian cities that are part of the ICLEI South America network. They are: Arbolink, Anubz, Exati, Verde Novo, and Verde Drone. Gaia was chosen as the breakout startup.

“This is a very special afternoon for us who champion urban sustainability,” began Rodrigo Perpétuo, executive secretary of ICLEI South America. “Holding this Demo Day shows us a path of hope, as it demonstrates that there is ample room for innovation in favour of sustainability.”

The acceleration phase of ICLEI Innovation developed innovative solutions for the management of urban green areas and urban forestry policies, prioritising replicable and scalable technologies. Over 12 weeks, through an acceleration methodology developed by FCJ Venture Builder, as well as a robust and qualified network of institutional partners and supporters, ICLEI Innovation supported, mentored, connected, and developed the participating startups. 

Bernardo Egas, Rio de Janeiro's (RJ) Secretary of Environment and president of Fomenta Rio, one of the project's sponsors, stated that the capital of Rio de Janeiro has the conditions to implement and certify some of the solutions. “We have managed to unite the themes of innovation and sustainability in Rio de Janeiro, and ICLEI Innovation is entirely aligned with this mission.”

The acceleration of ICLEI Innovation also included a mentoring process. One of the startups' patron mentors, the vice-president of Fomenta Rio, Rafael Ponzi, states that the solutions presented make room for ideas and new projects that benefit citizens. 

“In some cases, the solutions are for problems that cities don't even know they have. During the mentorship, I was able to understand the projects and see how they work within the city's processes, bringing new tools for them to scale. It was a fruitful exchange, which brought a lot of content to everyone.”

The Demo Day also featured an intervention by Frederico Celentano, president of Ade Sampa, on the iThe importance of fostering innovation for the development of solutions to urban challenges faced by local governments, as well as a presentation by Felipe Barbosa and Alice Monteiro from SEALL on the material results of ICLEI Innovation and the connection of the proposed solutions with the UN's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Among the next steps for ICLEI Innovation are in-depth meetings with the winning start-ups, where the prospects for trials in the project's partner cities will be evaluated, with priority given to São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, and Porto Alegre, as well as to the capitals that make up the CB27 Forum.

Demo Day marks the end of ICLEI Innovation's first acceleration programme, but the start of ICLEI South America's programmatic action in the innovation and sustainability ecosystem. “The new economy is the green economy, which preserves, conserves and respects the environment and biodiversity. This is the bet of ICLEI Innovation and this is the transformational movement that we want to foster,” Perpetuo concludes.

Watch the Demo Day in full: