Bengaluru Launches Urban Innovation Challenge To Tackle Sustainability Issues

Bengaluru is set to become a hub for sustainable urban innovation with the launch of the Yes/Bengaluru Urban Innovation Challenge.

The initiative, part of the global Yes/Cities programme led by the World Economic Forum (WEF) and UpLink, will support early-stage innovations in areas such as air quality, water management, and extreme weather conditions.

"The early-stage innovations that could help solve these challenges need support, strategic collaborations, mentorship and innovative sources of financing to help them scale and widen their impact," it said in a statement.

One of the most notable success stories from the Yes/Cities initiative comes from the San Francisco challenge. It is a collaborative effort involving the Government of Karnataka, the Greater Bengaluru Authority, and a coalition of partners.

"Yes/Bengaluru's goal is to transform Bengaluru into a model for sustainable urban development and scale impactful solutions across India and beyond," the statement read.

Known as India's Silicon Valley, Bengaluru has been selected as the launch location because of its innovative and entrepreneurial culture, state-of-the-art infrastructure, and vibrant IT and start-up ecosystem. 

With almost 40 per cent of India's population predicted to live in cities by 2030, there is an urgent need for sustainable urban solutions. Cities like Bengaluru, where over half of the population is under 30 and tech-savvy, are well-positioned to test innovative technology.

Within six months, its electric was able to be folded into the mayor's plans within the City of San Francisco for their first foray into curbside electric vehicle charging. We have been able to do what we've done in New York and replicate it on the West Coast, but in a fraction of the time," said the company's co-founder, Tiya Gordon.

Yes/Cities is a global initiative that enables cities to run location-based challenges to revitalise their communities, create circular economies, and ignite community entrepreneurship, led by the World Economic Forum's Centre for Urban Transformation and UpLink, the Forum's early-stage innovation initiative.

How to enter the challenge?

Start-ups are invited to submit their solution to the Yes/Bengaluru Urban Innovation Challenge on UpLink. The challenge will be open for submissions between 14 October 2025 and 14 November 2025, with the winning innovations announced early in 2026.