What MedCities / MedCités does

MedCities (MedCités) is a non-profit association of Mediterranean cities and metropolitan areas, registered in Spain as ASSOCIACIÓ MEDCITIES I/O MEDCITES and headquartered in Barcelona, with a parallel Knowledge Transfer Center based in Lebanon. Founded in 1991, the association currently has 17 employees and 91 member cities spanning the Northern, Southern, and Eastern Mediterranean shores as well as Portugal and Jordan, with Barcelona Metropolitan Area acting as the Secretariat host and Montpellier's Mayor Michaël Delafosse currently serving as President. Its purpose is to empower Mediterranean local governments to achieve strategic priorities, build sustainable governance capacity, and represent a unified Mediterranean voice in international forums such as the UCLG World Congress.

The association's core products are the MedCities network itself (membership, General Assemblies, working groups, project coordination across five pillars: Strategic Planning, Sustainable Urban Services, Environment and Biodiversity, Social Cohesion, and Economic Development) and MedUrbanTools (medurbantools.com), a multilingual knowledge-sharing platform that organizes urban-development best practices into cases, voices, and tools, complemented by a physical Knowledge Transfer Center in Lebanon for the Eastern Mediterranean. Active thematic projects include D4N, C4LA, Gov4GreenMed, ANERIS, MedCUC, NATURIncMed, URWAN, and LASERmed, several of which are funded under the EU's Interreg Euro-MED programme.

MedCities generates revenue through two streams: recurring membership dues paid by participating local authorities, and project-based funding from EU and international cooperation grants, with procurement of services routed through the Catalan public procurement platform. The go-to-market is community-led and event-driven, relying on annual rotating General Assemblies, regional conferences, and participation in major forums (UCLG World Congress, EURegionsWeek, Cities Forum) to recruit new member cities and deepen engagement. The customer base is exclusively governmental — municipal and metropolitan authorities — with no commercial customers or pricing, consistent with its non-profit status.

Name

MedCities / MedCités

Legal name

ASSOCIACIÓ MEDCITIES I / O MEDCITES (MedCities)

Website

https://medcities.org

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

MedCities is a Barcelona-based non-profit association of 91 Mediterranean cities and metropolitan areas that delivers capacity building, project coordination, and a multilingual knowledge platform (MedUrbanTools) to empower local governments across the Mediterranean basin, Portugal, and Jordan.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Barcelona

HQ country

Spain

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership Dues: MedCities operates as a membership association with local authorities from Mediterranean-basin countries, Portugal, and Jordan paying membership dues. The association is registered as ASSOCIACIO MEDCITIES I / O MEDCITES (ESG66401258) in Spain.
2. Project Funding: The association implements EU-funded projects (Interreg, Euro-MED) and international cooperation projects that provide operational funding. Current projects include D4N, C4LA, Gov4GreenMed, ANERIS, MedCUC, NATURIncMed, URWAN, LASERMed, and others.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

MedCities is a non-profit association of 91 Mediterranean cities and metropolitan areas that provides capacity building, strategic planning support, and project coordination services to local governments across the Mediterranean basin, Portugal, and Jordan. It operates the MedUrbanTools knowledge sharing platform and a Knowledge Transfer Center in Lebanon, and implements EU-funded cooperation projects focused on strategic planning, sustainable urban services, environment and biodiversity, social cohesion, and economic development.

Product overview

MedCities is an association of Mediterranean cities providing a network and knowledge-sharing platform for sustainable urban development. The core offering consists of the MedCities Association Services—a network connecting Mediterranean local governments for strategic planning, capacity building, and cooperation—and MedUrbanTools, a complementary knowledge sharing platform organizing best practices into cases, voices, and tools. Additionally, a Knowledge Transfer Center in Lebanon supports member cities with expertise exchange. The organization focuses on five project pillars: Strategic Planning, Sustainable Urban Services, Environment and Biodiversity, Social Cohesion, and Economic Development, implementing various thematic projects such as Dialogue 4 Nature (D4N), Community for Living Areas (C4LA), Gov4GreenMed, ANERIS, MedCUC, and NATURIncMed.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• MedCities Association Services Membership-based network services for Mediterranean local governments including strategic planning support, capacity building, working group coordination, and representation in international forums such as UCLG World Congress.
• MedUrbanTools Knowledge Platform An online knowledge sharing platform on urban development in the Mediterranean that organizes materials into cases, voices, and tools for sustainable urban development best practices, available to member cities and the public.
• Knowledge Transfer Center A knowledge transfer facility based in Lebanon supporting Mediterranean cities with expertise exchange, training, and capacity building in sustainable urban development for the Eastern Mediterranean region.

Quantifiable outcome

• Network of 91 Mediterranean cities representing all three Mediterranean shores
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Anima Invest NetworkminorOthers · 28 November 2019Observer member admitted at the 2019 General Assembly in Tunis. Anima Invest Network joined as an observer member to participate in MedCities activities and deliberations.
• UCLG (United Cities and Local Governments)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMedCities brings the Mediterranean voice to UCLG World Congress events, participating in sessions on public service innovation, climate action, decentralised cooperation, and multilevel governance.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Eurocities: Eurocities is a network of major European cities focused on urban policy, knowledge exchange, and EU project participation. Highly comparable to MedCities' model of city-membership association delivering sustainable urban development projects, though Eurocities focuses on EU members while MedCities spans all three Mediterranean shores.
• ICLEI (Local Governments for Sustainability): ICLEI is a global network of local and regional governments committed to urban sustainability, with project portfolios, knowledge platforms, and capacity-building offerings. Directly comparable to MedCities in mission (sustainable urban development) and operating model (membership association implementing projects).
• PLATFORMA: PLATFORMA is a pan-European coalition of local and regional authorities engaged in international development cooperation. Directly comparable to MedCities in mobilizing municipal governments for international cooperation projects funded by the EU and member states.
• CEMR (Council of European Municipalities and Regions): CEMR is the broadest European association of local and regional government associations, representing municipal interests in EU policy. Comparable to MedCities' role as a Mediterranean municipal voice, though CEMR's geographic scope is wider and its members are national associations rather than individual cities.
• AIMF (International Association of Francophone Mayors): AIMF is an association of Francophone local governments that operates knowledge exchange, capacity building, and project support for member cities. Comparable to MedCities in mission and member-driven model, though geographically restricted to Francophone countries, including North African MedCities members.

Regional players

• Commonwealth Local Government Forum: CLGF is a network of local government associations and ministries from Commonwealth countries, supporting democratic local governance and sustainable development. Operates in a different geography but shares MedCities' model of building municipal capacity through peer exchange and project-based cooperation.

Broad incumbents

• UN-Habitat: UN-Habitat is the United Nations agency for sustainable urbanization, working with governments and cities on urban policy, planning, and development globally. Operates at a much larger scale than MedCities with overlapping focus areas but as a multilateral UN entity rather than a city membership association.
• UCLG (United Cities and Local Governments): UCLG is the global umbrella network for cities and local governments, of which MedCities is effectively a regional section. Overlapping mandate on municipal diplomacy, decentralized cooperation, and global advocacy, with broader geographic reach and larger institutional footprint.

Emerging players

• Resilient Cities Network: Resilient Cities Network (formerly 100 Resilient Cities) supports member cities in building urban resilience to physical, social, and economic challenges. Partial overlap with MedCities' environment and biodiversity work, focused on resilience rather than the broader sustainable urban development scope.
• C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group: C40 is a global network of mayors focused specifically on climate action and urban sustainability. Partial overlap with MedCities' climate and environment pillar, but C40 concentrates on megacities and climate-specific initiatives rather than the broader sustainable urban development mandate.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/MedCities
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCx6oSxzy3obUDgelx595gAQ
• Facebookfacebook.com/126584867544117
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/medcities-medcit%C3%A9s

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about MedCities / MedCités