QBE AcceliCITY Resilience Challenge

What is QBE AcceliCITY?

• QBE AcceliCITY is one of the Top 5 GovTech accelerators in the world. It serves as a runway for emerging urban solution providers while simultaneously reducing the risk and cost of innovation for cities.
• Throughout the course of the program, teams participate in a business-to-government focused web-based curriculum, direct interaction with city leaders, free access to the virtual LaunchPad 11 global community, and an intensive Boot Camp led by international business, government, and smart city leaders. QBE AcceliCITY webinars and workshops are designed to help companies navigate the nuanced challenges of working with governments, distinguish and convey venture value, and network within an expansive Smart and Resilient City ecosystem. The program culminates with pitch events where $150,000 in city pilot opportunities are awarded.

Why Pilot Projects?

• Pilot Projects have proven to be the best opportunity for emerging solutions to enter the marketplace, provide a proof of concept, and build trust-based relationships with city leaders.

Value to Cities

• For cities, QBE AcceliCITY serves to mitigate the risk that often comes with innovation by connecting local governments with globally sourced, expert-vetted Smart & Resilient City solutions. With hundreds of applications each year, from upwards of 70 countries, QBE AcceliCITY’s vetting process serves to bring forth the best and most prepared solution providers, ready to tackle the pressing urban challenges facing cities today. Through QBE AcceliCITY, Leading Cities builds confidence in city leaders to execute innovative solutions bolstering community resilience in a time when it is needed most.

Program Benefits

• Connect
  • with clients, investors and partners
• Grow
  • your venture’s sales readiness
• Win
  • Up to $150,000 in cash and paid pilots

Prize Details

At Leading Cities, they recognize that startup growth and impact require capital from both investors and clients. The AcceliCITY program connects winners with funding, a pilot project, and a pipeline of clients from cities worldwide.

• AcceliCITY Grand Prize
  • The winner of AcceliCITY will receive a $100,000
  • City pilot sponsorship generously provided by QBE.
  • Winners’ pilot project proposals will be featured as AcceliGOV competitions for cities.
• People’s Choice Award East
  • This is an additional opportunity to win $25,000
  • In funding generously provided by QBE
  • Winners of the People’s Choice Awards are selected in October
• People’s Choice Awards West
  • This is an additional opportunity to win $25,000
  • In funding generously provided by QBE
  • Winners of the People’s Choice Awards are selected in October

Smart Challenge Tracks

• Proptech – Prize: $25,000
  • Leading Cities, in partnership with the QBE Foundation, proudly announces the ‘QBE AcceliCITY Resilience Challenge Proptech Track.’ The Proptech Track is available to entrepreneurs whose innovations provide sustainable, loss mitigation solutions for the Commercial Property sector. They are searching for solutions that will allow us to identify or minimize potential hazards more quickly, lessen the effects of property damage, decrease business disruption or home evacuation caused by property damage, as well as other creative solutions to challenges at the intersection of property insurance and sustainability.
• Humanitarian – Prize: Paid Pilot Project
  • As part of the ‘QBE AcceliCITY Resilience Challenge Humanitarian Track’ hosted by Leading Cities, Australian Red Cross Humanitech, and QBE Foundation are in search of transformative technology solutions from visionary entrepreneurs. The focus is to narrow the divide between data, community decision-making, and localized action. Access to reliable and pertinent data enables communities to identify local initiatives in response to climate change. However, current methods may not fully harness local expertise and resources vital for effective, community-led climate adaptation actions, often sidelining the most marginalized and vulnerable individuals.

For more information, visit Leading Cities.