The City of Munich's innovation competition is entering its next round. The goal of the competition is to find innovative solutions for specific urban challenges and test them in a real urban test field as part of a co-creation process. The competition is aimed at the Munich startup community, students, founders, and anyone with creative and viable ideas for smarter urban development.
Challenges 2025
This year’s tasks include:
- Smart Event: digital event process
- Integration 2.0: Online applications for humanitarian residence permits made easy
- Munich Urban Jungle: Digitize biodiversity!
- Public Art Digital Experience
- Unleashing Open Data Potential for Munich
Target group and application process
Anyone interested in developing solutions to the urban challenges advertised is welcome to participate. Whether startups, students, or innovative founders – everyone is invited to submit their ideas. The application deadline is May 18, 2025, at 11:59 PM. Concepts can be submitted in German or English. However, the presentation to the jury and the implementation phase will be conducted in German.
The finalists will be announced in June 2025. They will present their ideas to an expert jury consisting of representatives from the city administration and various entrepreneurship centers. The awards ceremony will take place on July 23, 2025, at the Munich Urban Colab.
The Innovation Award and Co-Creation
The innovation prize is endowed with €10,000 for each winning team. But the competition offers more than just financial support: The winners will have the opportunity to further develop and test their ideas in collaboration with the city administration. Up to €15,000 in in-kind support is available for this purpose. In the co-creation phase, which begins in fall 2025, the winning teams will have the chance to refine and test their solutions in a real, urban context. This phase lasts between three and six months.
All finalists who present their proposed solution to the jury will also receive recognition for their participation in the competition in the amount of 1,000 euros and a free ticket for the Munich Startup Festival on July 16, 2025 at Backstage Munich.
Support for founders and networking
The innovation competition is conducted in cooperation with various entrepreneurship centers. These centers offer the award winners coaching and consulting in the further development of their ideas and business models. The winners also have the opportunity to present their results at pitch and networking events, establish contacts with investors, and engage with company representatives from the startup community.
Further information on the innovation competition of the City of Munich
