Washington DC, October 28, 2024
The U.S. Department of State, through its U.S.-ASEAN Smart Cities Partnership (USASCP), have announced the launch of the $3 million Smart Cities Business Innovation Fund 2.0 (BIF 2.0), in collaboration with the Stockholm Environment Institute. This initiative aims to support micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in ASEAN member states pioneering innovative, carbon-neutral solutions to urban challenges.
In 2022, the inaugural Business Innovation Fund supported individual projects ranging from $100,000 to $200,000 for a total of $1 million in awards. Projects in Cambodia, Indonesia, the Lao PDR, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Vietnam received funding for agroecology gardens, biodegradable seaweed packaging, plastics recycling, carbon footprinting, hydrologic flood monitoring systems, and solar panel recycling. This initiative underscores the U.S. commitment to accelerate urban sustainability and climate action across the ASEAN region.
Tripling the impact of the first iteration, the Smart Cities Business Innovation Fund 2.0 (BIF 2.0) will provide $3 million in financing for carbon-neutral urban innovation projects The U.S. Department of State will partner with Enterprise Singapore, a government agency which champions enterprise development under Singapore’s Ministry of Trade and Industry, and will finance select joint projects between ASEAN member states and Singapore to expand private sector cooperation and promote ASEAN-Singapore business partnerships to accelerate urban innovation and sustainable market solutions.
This partnership with Enterprise Singapore will support Singapore-based companies’ collaboration with entities in ASEAN, defined as companies, NGOs, and universities registered with at least 51 percent ownership in an ASEAN member state, through joint activities such as research and development to bring projects to market. Interested parties can submit proposals between October 2024 and February 2025 at usascp.org/apply.
Source – U.S. State Department