The Córdoba Smart City Fund is highlighted in Bogota > Municipality of Córdoba

• The Municipality of Cordoba presented its entrepreneurial experience at one of the largest festivals in Latin America.
• It has been recognized for implementing innovative solutions in areas such as education, health, environment, mobility and social inclusion, among others.
• The fund has invested more than $1 million in 10 startups that help solve challenges locally and globally.

The Córdoba Smart City Fund (FCCI), an initiative promoted by the Municipality of Córdoba and IDB Lab, continues to define trends in the field of international innovation. Recently, he left his mark at two important events held in Bogotá, Colombia, where his influence and contribution to the Latin American region was recognized.

FCCI is an open innovation program run by the Ministry of Planning, Modernization and International Relations, Ministry of Economy and Finance, through CorLab de Córdoba Acelera, with support from IDB Lab. Through this initiative, the municipality of Córdoba collaborates with the private sector to invest in startups to implement innovative solutions in areas such as education, health, environment, mobility and social inclusion, among others.

International Festival of Innovation: FestiBO 2023

FCCI is presented as a success story at FestiBO 2023, the largest public innovation festival in Colombia and one of the main in Latin America. This activity was organized by the Bogota Mayor’s Office, the Bogotá Public Innovation Laboratory, the ICT Provincial Superior Council, the Agata District, and the Bogota Connection District.

The Municipality of Córdoba was represented by Luciano Crisavolli, CorLab Director of Córdoba Acelera, who participated in a panel discussion on Govtech, presenting the main characteristics of FCCI, the first Govtech fund in Latin America.

In this regard, Crisavoli noted: “The invitation of the Municipality of Córdoba to present its Fund for Entrepreneurs as a success story shows once again the success of Mayor Martín Lariora in betting on entrepreneurs and innovation”.

Moreover, he added: “These experiences reinforce Córdoba Capital’s position as a benchmark in innovative public policies and open up new opportunities for cooperation at the regional level”.

In this meeting, national and international experts gathered to participate in conferences, workshops and activities related to public innovation. International speakers selected by Bloomberg Philanthropies to represent cities leading in public innovation: San Francisco (USA), Amsterdam (Netherlands), Reykjavík (Iceland), Washington D.C. (USA), Mexico City (Mexico), Bogotá (Colombia) and Cordoba (Argentina).

CAF Symposium: Subnational Digital Innovation

The fund was also presented as a success story within the framework of the “Subnational Digital Innovation in Latin America” symposium, organized by the CAF Latin American Development Bank.

This meeting brought together representatives of subnational governments from Argentina, Mexico and Colombia, who presented success stories and discussed the challenges and opportunities that new technologies present to the region.

As a case of success in subnational governments in Argentina, Hernán Perín, Director of Innovation at the Minister of Planning, Modernization and International Relations of the Municipality of Córdoba, presented the case of the FCC in the panel discussion: “Experiences and Challenges of Digital Innovation in Cities”.

During the conversation, the importance of digital innovation in cities and how it can be an effective way to solve specific problems for the population was highlighted. The essential role of public-private cooperation is highlighted, a notable example of which is the FCCI of the Municipality of Córdoba.

In this case, it was highlighted that FCCI invests in innovative projects to solve public and social challenges through the implementation of new technologies, has technical assistance from CAF for their design and is currently receiving funding from IDB Lab.

More about the Cordoba Smart City Fund

Initiated by Mayor Martin Llaryora, the FCCI has put the city of Córdoba at the forefront in terms of public policies for innovation. To date, the fund has invested more than $1 million in 10 impactful startups that are developing innovative solutions to solve public and social challenges locally and globally. Currently, there are 7 more projects in the investment process and closed its last call with over 220 applications from technology projects from Argentina and the region.

With the support of IDB Lab, it is proposed to invest in 10 startups annually with the aim of implementing more than 100 innovative solutions in the city of Córdoba in a period of 10 years. This will allow the city to be positioned as a benchmark in technology solutions for other cities in the region.

The initiative has been recognized internationally by organizations such as IDB, SEGIB, OECD and CAF for its cutting-edge public policy approach to promoting innovation. It has also received the prestigious Sadosky 2022 Award for Regional Innovation and was selected as a finalist for the Smart and Innovative Cities Initiatives (ICII 2023) Award.

The participation of the Cordoba Smart City Fund in these international events demonstrates the commitment of the Municipality of Cordoba to promoting innovation and making a positive impact in society.

To learn more about the fund, click on the following link