Smart City Sweden

What Smart City Sweden does

Smart City Sweden is a state-funded export platform and showcase for Swedish smart and sustainable city solutions, managed by IVL Swedish Environmental Research Institute and financed by Swedish government agencies including the Swedish Energy Agency, Vinnova (Sweden's Innovation Agency), and Formas under the Team Sweden umbrella. It serves two primary constituencies: (i) international city governments, municipal authorities, and urban planners seeking sustainable urban-development expertise, and (ii) Swedish cleantech companies seeking international exposure and export opportunities.

The platform operates a hybrid physical/digital delivery model. Physically, it runs six regional offices across Sweden (Central, East, North, South, South-East, West), hosted by regional partners such as Business Region Göteborg, North Sweden Cleantech, Sustainable Business Hub, Dalarna Science Park, and Cleantech Östergötland, together with a central headquarters in Stockholm at IVL. Digitally, it maintains a Virtual Showroom offering VR tours, online courses, webinars, films, and SmartTalks, alongside a searchable best-practices database organized across six focus areas (Energy, Climate & Environment, Mobility, Digitalisation, Urban Planning, Social Sustainability). Between 2019 and 2021, the platform welcomed more than 6,500 visitors from over 100 countries.

The organization is not a commercial enterprise. The platform is free to international stakeholders, generates no product or licensing revenue, and has only 7 employees. Its business model is government grant funding channeled through IVL, with recent mandate expansion via participation in Impact Innovation programs including the Wave (Water for Vital Environments) initiative and Shift2Access. Commercial activity is indirect: the platform facilitates introductions between Swedish solution providers (e.g., Againity, Inrego, Hifab International) and international municipal clients (e.g., NLS Waste Services in Uganda, Reppie Waste-to-Energy in Ethiopia, City of Windhoek in Namibia, City of Helsingborg in Sweden), without capturing direct transactional revenue.

Name

Smart City Sweden

Legal name

Smart City Sweden

Website

https://smartcitysweden.com

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Smart City Sweden is a state-funded export platform managed by IVL Swedish Environmental Research Institute that connects international city governments and municipalities with Swedish sustainable urban solutions through six regional offices, delegation visits, and a Virtual Showroom across six focus areas.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Sustainable Urban Solutions Export Platform

NAICS

Administration of Housing Programs, Urban Planning, and Community Development (9251), Administration of Urban Planning and Community and Rural Development (92512)

akta.pro primary industry

Smart Cities & Urban Innovation Programs (Digital Planning, Civic Tech for Cities) (BPAIANAJ)

akta.pro secondary industries

Sustainable Cities, Urban Development & Green Infrastructure (BPADALAL), Active Transportation & Micromobility Infrastructure (Bike/Ped Networks, Shared Mobility Programs) (BPAIALAI)

Keywords

• Sustainable city solutions
• Smart city platform
• Cleantech export platform
• Urban sustainability showcase
• Circular economy knowledge

Headquarters

HQ city

Stockholm

HQ country

Sweden

HQ region

Europe

Offices6 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. State Funding: Smart City Sweden is a state-funded initiative and export platform financed by Swedish government agencies including the Swedish Energy Agency, Vinnova (Sweden's Innovation Agency), Formas, and managed by IVL Swedish Environmental Research Institute as part of Team Sweden.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Smart City Sweden is a state-funded export platform that connects international city governments, municipalities, and development organizations with Swedish smart and sustainable city solutions. It delivers this through a Virtual Showroom (VR tours, courses, webinars, films, SmartTalks), a searchable Best Practices database, organized Visit Programs across six Swedish regions, and a directory of Swedish cleantech companies. The platform covers six thematic focus areas: Energy, Climate & Environment, Mobility, Digitalisation, Urban Planning, and Social Sustainability.

Product overview

Smart City Sweden is a state-funded export platform and showcase operated by IVL Swedish Environmental Research Institute. It functions as a comprehensive platform presenting Swedish smart sustainable city solutions to international audiences. The platform offers virtual access through its Virtual Showroom (including virtual tours, courses, webinars, films, and SmartTalks), a searchable Best Practices database organized by focus areas and regions, and organized visit programs to Swedish cities. The platform covers six thematic focus areas: Energy, Climate & Environment, Mobility, Digitalisation, Urban Planning, and Social Sustainability, and documents international success stories of Swedish solutions being adopted abroad.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Virtual Showroom

Quantifiable outcome

• 6,500+ international visitors from over 100 countries welcomed between 2019-2021
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and major.

• IVL Swedish Environmental Research InstitutecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerIVL Swedish Environmental Research Institute manages Smart City Sweden as part of its operations. IVL is a leading Swedish environmental research institute that coordinates the platform's activities and research initiatives.
• Business SwedencoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorGovernment agency supporting Swedish companies' international expansion. Partner in Smart City Sweden's export platform helping connect Swedish cleantech companies with international markets.
• Hifab International ABmajorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerConsulting firm contracted by NLS Waste Services in Uganda to support and project manage construction of waste-to-energy plant in Kampala. Smart City Sweden facilitated this connection as part of its international collaboration efforts.
• NLS Waste Services Ltd (Uganda)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLocal waste management contractor in Kampala, Uganda, working with Smart City Sweden to develop a waste-to-energy plant. Smart City Sweden organized virtual study visits and pre-feasibility studies to support this project.
• RISE - Research Institutes of SwedenmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerRISE leads the Wave program (Water for Vital Environments) that Smart City Sweden participates in as part of Impact Innovation. Focuses on system change for water resource management.
• North Sweden CleantechcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorRegional office managing Smart City Sweden North operations, supporting northern Swedish companies in showcasing sustainable solutions to international delegations.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• RISE Research Institutes of Sweden: Sweden's state-owned research institute partnering with Smart City Sweden on Impact Innovation programs (e.g., the Wave program on water); comparable as a publicly funded Swedish R&D and innovation partner in the smart city ecosystem.
• Forum Virium Helsinki: A Helsinki-based innovation company developing and piloting smart city solutions, comparable in its public-sector-led role connecting city governments with technology providers and serving as a demonstration node for international visitors.
• Amsterdam Smart City: A public-private partnership platform that aggregates and showcases Dutch smart and sustainable urban solutions to international delegations, mirroring Smart City Sweden's model of using a national showcase to drive cleantech export and city-to-city knowledge transfer.
• Business Sweden: Sweden's government-backed trade and investment promotion agency, directly comparable as a state-funded export platform helping Swedish companies — including cleantech — reach international markets.
• Gate21: A Danish public-private partnership focused on green transition and smart city solutions, operating similarly to Smart City Sweden as a national platform showcasing sustainable urban innovation to international stakeholders.

Broad incumbents

• UN-Habitat: The United Nations programme for sustainable urban development, working with governments on urban planning, housing, and climate resilience; comparable as an international body engaging the same municipal and government audience Smart City Sweden serves.
• ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability: A global network of local and regional governments working on sustainability; comparable as a higher-level platform connecting municipalities seeking sustainable urban solutions, overlapping with Smart City Sweden's primary audience.
• C40 Cities: A global network of major cities focused on climate action and sustainable urban development; comparable as a higher-level international platform where Smart City Sweden plugs in via its delegation and project work.

Others

• Smart City Expo World Congress: The leading international smart city event held annually in Barcelona; comparable as a venue/platform through which Smart City Sweden channels delegations and showcases Swedish solutions, and an ecosystem participant in the same audience.
• Nordic Innovation: An inter-Nordic organization funding and promoting Nordic sustainable solutions internationally; comparable as an adjacent export-oriented public platform that competes and collaborates for visibility of smart city and cleantech offerings.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/smart-city-sweden

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Subsidiaries6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Smart City Sweden