The Connective, Greater Phoenix’s regional smart city consortium, successfully partnered with Leading Cities to co-host CleanTech Connect, a virtual pitch event spotlighting the brightest cleantech entrepreneurs to drive investment in smart city technologies. In September, cleantech investors, startups, and industry experts connected to take cleantech solutions to the next level.
“The mission behind CleanTech Connect aligns perfectly with The Connective’s mission to accelerate the adoption of smart city technologies in cities,” said Ben Williams, Program Manager at The Connective. “We believe that by bringing together visionaries, investors, and start-ups, we can create a lasting impact and unlock the potential of cleantech innovation for smart city development.”
As the premier virtual event uniting the brightest minds in cleantech innovation, participants explored groundbreaking cleantech solutions, dived into emerging trends, and made lasting global connections. This event provided a platform to showcase innovative cleantech solutions and foster meaningful connections to drive sustainable urban development.
The Connective and Leading Cities have a well-established partnership, with The Connective playing a crucial role in launching a Leading Cities led pilot project in Surprise, Arizona. The project, initiated by Leading Cities’ 2022 QBE AcceliCITY Resilience Challenge, combined recycling with 3D-printing technology to give discarded plastic a new lease on life.
“We chose The Connective as a partner because of their demonstrated leadership in driving smart city initiatives in the Greater Phoenix region,” said Mike Lake, Founder and CEO at Leading Cities. “The Connective has helped expand Leading Cities’ global ecosystem into Arizona uniting innovators, investors, government officials, and industry experts to provide new solutions to local challenges accelerating the transition towards sustainable and resilient cities.”
This second edition of CleanTech Connect was again hosted in LaunchPad 11, the world's first member-based virtual ecosystem designed for sustainability and resiliency industries. LaunchPad 11 provides a dynamic online venue for innovators, investors, and city leaders to engage, collaborate, network, and drive sustainable urban development with partners globally. The interactive platform facilitated easy connections and engagement with industry leaders, making it an ideal environment for discovering and promoting cutting-edge cleantech solutions. LaunchPad 11’s powerful portal provides unparalleled connectivity among industry leaders and change makers— accelerating adoption and scaling of game-changing innovative solutions directly impacting the myriad of global threats communities are facing.