Drive the Cities
Circular transition
We are supporting talented entrepreneurs to drive the city’s circular transition.
Circular Cities programme accelerates advanced start-up teams with innovative solutions fostering the circular economy in urban areas.
Circular Cities offers grants for start-ups combined with a tailor-made accelerator programme with circular focus and climate impact. We connect start-ups with the largest climate-focused community in the world powered by EIT Climate-KIC ClimAccelerator as well as investors, partner cities, corporates and ecosystem partners. The programme will be run virtually, free of charge and in English.
We are looking for talented entrepreneurs to drive the city’s circular transition.
We focus on cities as they contribute to waste generation and over 70% of greenhouse gas emissions to the planet. This is a consequence of the make-use-dispose linear cycle of the current global economy.
Cities and regions have the potential to change the existing economic model towards a circular model, in which planetary boundaries are respected and materials, components and products in use stay in the economy as long as possible.
The objective of the circular economy is to design consumption and production systems to create and retain value.
Drive circularity in cities by addressing the most urgent urban challenges innovating in the sectors of circular construction, mobility and circular products and services.
Thematic Areas
Beyond these thematic pillars we are welcoming additional circular innovations in any other relevant area for the cities circular transition.
We support digitalisation of services (e.g. data management, analytics, informatics, telematics, automation) as a main vertical of the programme across all mentioned areas, mobility, food, etc.
We are also looking for innovations in the areas of municipal water, waste and energy to support cities with resource efficiency.
Cities and Ecosystem Partners
We are looking for more
partner cities!
If you are a city interested in internationalising your local start-ups and fostering innovative circular solutions across Europe contact us
Our Partner VCs
and Investors
If you are a VC and Investor looking for great start-up teams to expand your portfolio on sustainability contact us here and get the chance to be part of our selection process in all stages and follow up our start-up’s journey!
Our Partner
Organisations
Do not miss the chance to be part of our programme and foster the future of circular cities. If you a corporate, research institute, or any other interested organization that supports start-up teams and accelerator programme contact us here
Programme structure
Business Model
Development
- 25 teams will be supported
- Grant: up to € 3.000 per team
- Duration: 8 weeks
Validation &
Traction
- Only 15 teams will be selected to advance to this stage
- Grant: up to € 15.000 per team
- Duration: 12 weeks
Investment
Readiness
- 10 teams will be invited to Stage 3 No grants
- Duration: 10 weeks
Programme highlights
Start-up teams
- EIT Climate-KIC grant funding up to 18k per team and potential extra grant funding by our corporate partner Veolia
- Training and coaching sessions with circular focus and Climate Impact Training powered by EIT Climate-KIC
- Comprehensive overview of investment opportunities via EIT CKIC Investor Marketplace and our VC partner PrimeCrowd
- Connecting start-ups with experts and circular scientists via mentoring opportunities
- Peer-to-peer learning and access to our alumni community
-
Pitching and collaboration opportunities with investors, corporate and cities partners
Partner cities
- Internationalisation of the start-ups and scalability of their solutions
- Collaboration opportunities with circular start-ups
- Expansion of the start-up ecosystem and learn from new ecosystems
- Forster resiliency in careers and green jobs
Corporate Partners
- Receive visibility for your organization and increase marketing value
- Play a credible role in supporting the fight against climate change and be acknowledged as a good corporate citizen
- Market-knowhow and trends
- Work with entrepreneurs active in your field of business
- Scale impact through a proven programme
Eligible Criteria
Business stage:
Start-ups and businesses that are at MVP stage, ideally revenue generating (or close to)
Registration status:
Preferable companies that are already registered, or in the process of registration. We can only support business registered in Europe*. The legal entity cannot be older than 5 years.
*Companies from the UK, Switzerland and other countries associated to Horizon Europe may participate on the programme, but will not receive grant funding as they are not signed up to the Horizon Europe programme.
Team: start-up teams that have a minimum of 2 founders, which together hold at least 75% of equity and are committed to working full-time on their venture.
Market scalability: your business solution has the potential for scalability and monetisation in the market, particularly to the markets of our partner cities.
Programme fit: your business needs targeted capacity building, networking and financial assistance to succeed. And your team is willing to work with cities to help them advance their circular transitions.
Circular economy thematic focus: Start-ups with solutions that are addressing one of our main circular thematic pillars (circular mobility, food, construction, textile, tourism, electronics), or it is focusing on any other relevant area for the cities circular transition. Digitalisation services that enable circular transformation are also key sector for our programme.
Timeline
-
Open call
Open call14 February
-
Closing date
Announcement of selected teams17 April
-
Programme Start
Announcement of selected teams29 April
-
Stage 1
Stage 125 April to 14 June (8 Weeks or 2 months)
-
Stage 2
Stage 221 June to 14 September (12 weeks or 4 months)
-
Stage 3
Stage 320 Sept – 25 November (10 weeks or 3 months)
-
Demo Day
Demo Day02 December
Testimonials
Frequently Asked
Questions
Start-ups and businesses that are at MVP stage, ideally revenue generating (or not far off) and looking to develop and scale their solutions such that they can have a systemic impact on our economy, on consumer behaviour and on Europe’s transition to a net-zero, carbon circular economy in urban areas.
Anywhere in the European Union, start-ups do not need to be exclusively registered in one of our partner cities. UK and Swiss companies may participate but will not receive grant funding.
Your company must be incorporated or registered as a trading entity, or at the end of the registration process.
- Stage 1: 25 April to 14 June (8 Weeks or 2 months)
- Stage 2: 21 June to 14 September (12 weeks or 4 months)
- Stage 3: 20 sept – 25 November (10 weeks or 3 months)
- Demo Day: 02 December
Those companies selected to progress to Stage 2 of the accelerator must consent to equity investment from EIT Climate-KIC. This investment is in the form of a services-for-equity agreement (SFEA) and is structured as a convertible security* with a value of up to EUR 75,000 (similar to a SAFE note or Advanced Subscription Agreement). This equity is not related to the value of the grant, which is separate and non-refundable. Furthermore, the SFEA is not a valuation instrument, so will not distort the valuation set by other third-party investment the company attracts.
As part of this agreement EIT Climate-KIC will provide services including:
- Fundraising support and connections to our network of investors
- Carbon Impact Forecasting and validation
- EU Policy support and connection to (funding) opportunities
- Connecting start-ups to corporates and partners within the EIT Climate-KIC network
The standard terms of this agreement are: no valuation cap; a 20% discount; a 24-month longstop date** and zero interest.
*This instrument is not a convertible loan, meaning no debt or liabilities will be recorded on your balance sheet.
**Longstop date: This is the deadline for the convertible trigger event to occur. If the conversion does not occur on or before this date, the conversion will happen at the pre-agreed floor price.
More information on the SFEA instrument will be provided during Stage1.
No problem, just send an email to: info@circular-cities.com
Please follow Circular Cities LinkedIn site to keep up to date with deadlines.
