Urban Data Collective wins big in Europe!

This summer has been a busy one for us at Urban Data Collective as we took full advantage of the REACH data incubator programme to develop a new data driven service, together with a current customer.

For context, the REACH data incubator is an EU funded initiative, collectively run by different organisations, with the  aim of supporting breakthrough innovations enabled by data value chains across different sectors. Its goal is to overcome existing “data silos” by making it  easier to access, share and reuse data in a secure and trusted manner.

When we came across the programme at the beginning of this year, we thought that this opportunity was super-aligned with what we do - focused on the urban data economy space.

So we applied to it and ended up being selected alongside 33 other start-ups from a cohort of more than 125 applicants across Europe.

We had one month to develop an initial proof-of-concept and business model before being invited to Paris at the end of May to pitch it in front of a jury, alongside the other 33 startups. Happily, we managed to be one of the 10 winners to proceed to the next stage where we would develop an MVP of the presented concept, and we also won a bit of money on the way (Yay!).

This meant however that our summer holidays were mostly canceled as we spent all available time building the MVP together with Surrey County Council. Our summer of hard work paid off as we pitched the MVP and revised business proposition in Bilbao last week.

We are really excited and pleased to announce that we managed to be one of the winners again!

We are now one of the last 5 startups from the initial 125 standing, which is a great confirmation that we seem to be doing something right! To battle out the winner with the most traction, we will meet again at the AI & Big Data Expo in London at the beginning of December. 

But more importantly the opportunity has allowed us to develop a data-driven solution called “Cities In Charge” on top of our Urban Data Exchange that can help many local authorities to get the most out of their EV charge point infrastructure and ensure that they are able to rapidly transition towards a net zero future.

Curious to learn more about our award-winning solution?

Then reach out to us or come and join us in Sheffield next week on the 13th Oct 2022 at the Electric Vehicle (EV) Charging show case, where we will provide a demonstration of it. You can also learn more Cities In Charge by reading our recent interview with the REACH data incubator team.

Watch this space for more details on Cities In Charge and how we make a difference to cities with urban data…